These memorable M*A*S*H guest stars were married in real life
He was Hawkeye's "best" enemy and she was the original Rosie.
Hawkeye is driving alone when a North Korean soldier stops his vehicle. Holding Hawkeye at gunpoint, the soldier points to Hawkeye’s medical supplies. It becomes apparent to Hawkeye there’s a wounded soldier nearby. Switching into surgeon mode, Hawkeye tries to convince the soldier that this doctor is not his enemy.
This dramatic storyline arrives in M*A*S*H‘s ninth season premiere, “The Best of Enemies,” and the North Korean soldier who struggles to trust the show’s star doctor is played by an actor known only as Mako.
We’d seen Mako on M*A*S*H before. He first appeared as a doctor in the third season episode “Rainbow Bridge,” then as a major in “Hawkeye Get Your Gun,” and a lieutenant in “Guerilla My Dreams.”
But it wasn’t M*A*S*H that was responsible for bringing this esteemed dramatic actor to the spotlight. Eight years before he’d appear on the war drama, Mako was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1966 for his role in the war film The Sand Pebbles.
In that movie — directed by Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) — Mako held his own acting alongside Steve McQueen. Both actors and the director received Oscar nominations for their work on the film.
For Mako, the time must’ve been a high point in his life, because not only was he finally getting recognition as an actor, but he also had married the love of his life a couple of years earlier.
Mako in his various M*A*S*H roles
Mako married Shizuko Hoshi in 1964 in Los Angeles. His bride was brimming with stage talent, too, a choreographer, dancer, actress and director. And she was no stranger to M*A*S*H. In fact, she originated one of the most memorable recurring roles on the show.
In “Mad Dogs and Servicemen,” Hoshi makes her first appearance on M*A*S*H in the same season as her husband Mako. In this episode, she plays Rosie, the bar owner who welcomes the 4077th to relax in her establishment.
Eileen Saki would be the actress most fans remember as Rosie, since she played the character in eight episodes, but Hoshi actually introduced us to the character in the M*A*S*H universe.
Hoshi in her non-Rosie roles
Although this was the only time Hoshi played Rosie, she appeared in four episodes just like her husband. You can see Hoshi play a mother in three different families through the show’s run: the fourth-season episode “Hawkeye,” the seventh-season episode “B.J. Papa San,” and the eighth-season episode “Private Finance.”
Alas, Mako and Hoshi never appeared in an episode of M*A*S*H together. They remained married through that time, raising two daughters and continued to act into the mid-2000s, notably both lending their talents to the Oscar-winning 2005 movie Memoirs of a Geisha.
