Alan Alda (1936-) is an Oscar®-nominated American actor, director, screenwriter, comedian and author. Alda is best known for playing Hawkeye Pierce in the television show, M*A*S*H , from 1972 to 1983. His movie career has also been pretty impressive. Alda was voted the 7th biggest movie star in 1981 on their Quigley Annual Poll. His IMDb page shows 66 acting credits since 1958. This page ranks 32 Alan Alda movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, cameos and his movies not released in North America theaters are not included in the rankings.
Alan Alda Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Alan Alda Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Alan Alda movies by the stars of his movies
- Sort Alan Alda movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Alan Alda movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Alan Alda movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Alan Alda movie received.
- Sort Alan Alda movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Alan Alda’s Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses
Alan Alda Possibly Interesting Facts
1. Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo was born on January 28, 1936 in the Bronx, New York City. He is the son of actor, Robert Alda.
2. When Alan Alda was seven years old, he contracted polio. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, consisting of applying hot woolen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles.
3. In 1972, Alda auditioned for and was selected to play the role of Hawkeye Pierce in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film MASH. He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards®, and won five. He was the only actor to appear on every episode of the show. That was 251 episodes.
4. Alan Alda commuted from his home in New Jersey to LA every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H (1972). His wife and daughters lived in NJ, and he did not want to uproot the family to LA, especially because he did not know how long the show would last.
5. In 2005 Alan Alda became the fifth actor to receive an Oscar®, Emmy® and Tony® nomination in the same calendar year (for The Aviator (2004), The West Wing (1999) and Glengarry Glen Ross, respectively).
6. Roles Alan Alda almost played: Jason Miller’s role in The Exorcist, Roy Scheider’s role in All That Jazz, Robert Vaughn’s role in Superman III and Martin Sheen’s role in the television series The West Wing.
7. Alan Alda has been married one time. He has been married to Arlene Alda since 1957. They have three children.
8. With the exception of taking a course in Theater Games, Alan Alda never studied acting. His degree from Fordham University is in Science. He felt that he was a natural performer and that studying would ruin his gift for being natural.
9. Alan Alda’s tennis playing partners? Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder and Dick Van Patten. Makes you wonder how Alda never appeared in a Brooks’ movie.
10. Check out Alan Alda’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
Alan Alda is one of the few people I have seen in a show on Broadway and a show in London. On Broadway I saw him in Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women and in the U.K. I saw him as the narrator in a revival of Our Town. Also in Our Town was Robert Sean Leonard who I also saw on the stage in New York in Arcadia (w/ Victor Garber, Blair Brown and Billy Cruddop). Robert Sean was in Dead Poet’s Society and was a regular on the medical series House, but I digress. Mr. Alda has never been on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. These are the actors on the current list that he has appeared with.
3 SAMUEL L. JACKSON Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
3 SAMUEL L. JACKSON Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
5 WILLEM DAFOE The Aviator (2004)
9 MICHAEL CAINE California Suite (1978)
9 MICHAEL CAINE Sweet Liberty (1986)
33 GREG BRONSON WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000)
64 JOHN LEGUIZAMO Whispers in the Dark (1992)
66 RAY LIOTTA Wanderlust (2012)
72 ALEC BALDWIN The Aviator (2004)
81 MARTIN LANDAU Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
101 DAN AYKROYD Canadian Bacon (1995)
115 RICHARD JENKINS Flirting with Disaster (1996)
129 ROGER BRENNER TOWER HEIST (2011)
133 FAYE DUNAWAY The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
143 BOB HOSKINS Sweet Liberty (1986)
153 BURT YOUNG Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
154 TIM ROTH Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
164 JOSH BROLIN Flirting with Disaster (1996)
170 JULIA ROBERTS Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
173 DUSTIN HOFFMAN Mad City (1997)
184 TOM WRIGHT Murder at 1600 (1997)
186 RICHARD PORTNOW Mad City (1997)
203 DARYL HANNAH Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
206 RIP TORN Canadian Bacon (1995)
206 RIP TORN The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
216 BEN STILLER FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (1996)
216 BEN STILLER TOWER HEIST (2011)
217 JOHN C. REILLY The Aviator (2004)
239 DANNY HUSTON The Aviator (2004)
247 JOE CHREST The Aviator (2004)
261 PETER COYOTE Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
262 NATALIE PORTMAN Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
266 DAN HEDAYA The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
289 DIANE LANE Murder at 1600 (1997)
300 CATE BLANCHETT The Aviator (2004)
306 MERYL STREEP The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
307 MICKEY ROONEY The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
308 DAVID BOSTON MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993)
316 DAVID PAYMER Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
318 ROSEMARY HOWARD TOWER HEIST (2011)
318 ROSEMARY HOWARD WANDERLUST (2012)
320 ROBERT HARVEY Nothing But the Truth (2008)
326 MICHELLE PFEIFFER Sweet Liberty (1986)
327 KEVIN POLLAK Canadian Bacon (1995)
331 JUDE LAW The Aviator (2004)
334 MARISA TOMEI What Women Want (2000)
345 WALLACE SHAWN Canadian Bacon (1995)
351 MICHAEL PENA TOWER HEIST (2011)
362 DYLAN BAKER Diminished Capacity (2008)
363 EDWARD HERRMANN The Aviator (2004)
368 ALLISON JANNEY THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION (1998)
375 ANJELICA HUSTON Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
375 ANJELICA HUSTON Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
385 LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Aviator (2004)
396 JIM BELUSHI Canadian Bacon (1995)
404 JACQUELINE BISSET The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
411 JUDY GREER WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000)
418 RAYMOND J. BARRY MAD CITY (1997)
425 DERMOT MULRONEY FLASH OF GENIUS (2008)
435 JOHN TRAVOLTA Mad City (1997)
436 JOHN C. MCGINLEY Sweet Liberty (1986)
437 DALE DYE Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
438 ELLEN BURSTYN Same Time, Next Year (1978)
452 FRANKIE FAISON Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
454 LUKAS HAAS EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
473 HARRIS YULIN Murder at 1600 (1997)
484 JAMES COBURN California Suite (1978)
493 TED LEVINE MAD CITY (1997)
499 JULIO OSCAR MECHOSO MAD CITY (1997)
503 IAN HOLM The Aviator (2004)
506 GEORGE SEGAL Flirting with Disaster (1996)
521 VIRGINIA MADSEN Diminished Capacity (2008)
537 ZELJKO IVANEK Tower Heist (2011)
541 PAUL RUDD The Object of My Affection (1998)
541 PAUL RUDD Wanderlust (2012)
547 LYNN COHEN Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
553 FRED WILLARD JENNY (1970)
565 DAVID CLENNON Mad City (1997)
569 JAY LENO Mad City (1997)
571 STEVEN RANDAZZO MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993)
574 DREW BARRYMORE Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
598 MEL GIBSON What Women Want (2000)
629 BOBBY CANNAVALE DIMINISHED CAPACITY (2008)
631 VINCENT LARESCA THE AVIATOR (2004)
645 SAUL RUBINEK Sweet Liberty (1986)
647 STEVEN WEISZ TOWER HEIST (2011)
652 BILLY CRUDUP EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
668 HARRY LENNIX RESURRECTING THE CHAMP (2007)
673 MATT DILLON Nothing But the Truth (2008)
675 MATTHEW BRODERICK Diminished Capacity (2008)
680 VICTOR ARGO Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
682 CAROLINE AARON CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989)
690 MARY KAY PLACE A NEW LIFE (1988)
691 JOHN FARRER TOWER HEIST (2011)
713 DIANE KEATON Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
751 KEVIN COONEY MAD CITY (1997)
755 GREG KINNEAR Flash of Genius (2008)
765 ANGELA BASSETT Nothing But the Truth (2008)
769 JOSH HARTNETT RESURRECTING THE CHAMP (2007)
790 EDWARD NORTON Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
800 ANN-MARGRET A New Life (1988)
801 LOIS SMITH Diminished Capacity (2008)
824 WENDELL PIERCE MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993)
859 JANE FONDA California Suite (1978)
863 ROY SCHEIDER Paper Lion (1968)
873 PATRICIA ARQUETTE FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (1996)
882 ANTHONY LAPAGLIA BETSY’S WEDDING (1990)
882 ANTHONY LAPAGLIA WHISPERS IN THE DARK (1992)
884 ROBERT KNEPPER EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
897 JOHN LANDIS Mad City (1997)
899 NATASHA LYONNE EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (1996)
899 WESLEY SNIPES Murder at 1600 (1997)
936 WOODY ALLEN Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
936 WOODY ALLEN Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
936 WOODY ALLEN Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
937 TONY SIRICO Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
948 BILL SMITROVICH FLASH OF GENIUS (2008)
950 RANDALL BATINKOFF MAD CITY (1997)
966 TERI GARR The Moonshine War (1970)
968 KATE BECKINSALE Nothing But the Truth (2008)
968 KATE BECKINSALE THE AVIATOR (2004)
977 JOE PESCI Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
998 ADAM SCOTT THE AVIATOR (2004)
The following actors appeared on the 2000 list but have since fallen off, all appeared with Alan.
93 HARRY CAREY JR. The Moonshine War (1970)
102 DAVID NIVEN The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
119 RICHARD WIDMARK The Moonshine War (1970)
129 CURT JURGENS The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
133 WALTER MATTHAU California Suite (1978)
230 MIA FARROW Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
247 JOHN CANDY Canadian Bacon (1995)
304 BO HOPKINS The Moonshine War (1970)
358 CLAIRE BLOOM Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
373 RICHARD PRYOR California Suite (1978)
400 VALERIE PERRINE What Women Want (2000)
412 SAM WATERSTON Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
516 MADELINE KAHN Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
531 LILYAN CHAUVIN The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
535 FRANK CAMPANELLA The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
561 ROBERT PROSKY Mad City (1997)
577 OSSIE DAVIS Gone Are the Days! (1963)
594 G.D. SPRADLIN Canadian Bacon (1995)
602 MAGGIE SMITH California Suite (1978)
606 ALBERTO MORIN The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
607 VINCENT GARDENIA Jenny (1970)
642 MARTIN SCORSESE The Aviator (2004)
651 MELVYN DOUGLAS The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
656 ALLAN RICH Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
681 BRADFORD DILLMAN The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
685 PETER MALONEY The Object of My Affection (1998)
687 LAUREN HUTTON Paper Lion (1968)
725 AL CERULLO Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
727 DIANE BAKER Murder at 1600 (1997)
743 WILLIAM WINDOM The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
752 PATRICK MCGOOHAN The Moonshine War (1970)
758 MICHAEL HIGGINS The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
770 GOLDIE HAWN Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
774 BETTE MIDLER What Women Want (2000)
792 LOIS CHILES Sweet Liberty (1986)
804 NICOLAS COSTER Betsy’s Wedding (1990)
817 JACK CARTER The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
836 CURT LOWENS The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
841 NIGEL HAWTHORNE The Object of My Affection (1998)
864 JERRY ORBACH Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
955 KENNETH WELSH The Aviator (2004)
Alan has appeared with 25 Oscar winners;
ALLISON JANNEY THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION (1998)
ANJELICA HUSTON Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
ANJELICA HUSTON Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
CATE BLANCHETT The Aviator (2004)
DAVID NIVEN The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
DIANE KEATON Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
DUSTIN HOFFMAN Mad City (1997)
ELLEN BURSTYN Same Time, Next Year (1978)
FAYE DUNAWAY The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
GOLDIE HAWN Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
HELEN HUNT WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000)
JAMES COBURN California Suite (1978)
JANE FONDA California Suite (1978)
JULIA ROBERTS Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Aviator (2004)
MAGGIE SMITH California Suite (1978)
MARISA TOMEI What Women Want (2000)
MARTIN LANDAU Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
MELVYN DOUGLAS The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
MERYL STREEP The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
MICHAEL CAINE California Suite (1978)
MICHAEL CAINE Sweet Liberty (1986)
NATALIE PORTMAN Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
PATRICIA ARQUETTE FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (1996)
RITA MORENO The Four Seasons (1981)
SANDY DENNIS The Four Seasons (1981)
WALTER MATTHAU California Suite (1978)
Hey Dan
1. As epic as the first list is…it is surprising that Alda is not on the Top 1000.
2. At 82…not thinking he is going to get on that list…..he was actually born 13 days after my dad….way back in 1936.
3. That is cool that you have seen him on both sides of the big pond (Atlantic Ocean).
4. Your entertainment experiences always amaze me.
5. Bess Flower Award goes to…..drumroll…..Woody Allen with 3 movies.
6. 25 Oscar winners…is low…but a good percentage for his 32 movies…I imagine he worked with some Oscar winners on his numerous television roles.
Good feedback.
I have seen 4 Alan Alda movies.
The Aviator is a favourite of mine.
The other films I have seen are:
California Suite
Everyone Says I Love You – seen for being a musical; usually avoid W.A.
The Moonshine War – another Richard Widmark film that is not a favourite
RE: M*A*S*H: I have watched this series a lot over the years, but I have never seen the final episode in its entirety. I tried watching it once and stopped watching it after about half an hour.
Hey Flora.
1. Thanks for the thoughts on Alan Alda.
2. 4 Alda movies seen is still 12.50% of his movies.
3. So Widmark did not get The Moonshine War to the top of the Flora favorites list….interesting.
4. The Aviator is Alda’s Oscar nominated role.
5. Glad I am not alone in the MASH final episode criticism.
Good stuff as always.
I saw 10 including top 6. not a fan. no 10s, no favorites. hidden gem: what women want, a 9, his top box office effort. i love to laugh. loved the Wayne Rogers/ mclean Stevenson MASH, not so much the alan alda MASH without Trapper and Henry.
Hey bob cox. Thanks for the visit, tally and comment. Even though you are not a huge Alda fan….you have seen almost a 1/3 of his movies. I agree with you on two points. The first seasons of MASH were the funniest…..always loved Frank Burns more than Charles Winchester in the “bad guy” role. Also, I do not have any favorite Alda movies…some are good, but certainly not ones I re-watch. Good stuff as always.
Date of Birth in lead-in?
Hey Bob….well either Alan Alda was 7 when he started playing Hawkeye in MASH or I made a mistake…..since I rarely make mistakes I am going to assume Alda was indeed 7 when MASH started….lol. Mr.Alda was born in 1936….I will fix that when I get home. Thanks for the heads up.
Hey Bob…Alan Alda now has the correct birthyear….thanks again for the headsup.
HI BRUCE
You never can rule out someone making a movie aged 7. After all as we have discussed previously Jeff Bridges debuted aged 2 as a baby being carried aboard a train in 1951’s The Company She Keeps; Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was 8 years old; and reading through Joel’s book [which I am hugely enjoying – thanks very much again] I get the impression that The Master may have written some of his great critiques when HE was an infant!
“Alan Alda’s screen presence has grown with age and experience.” – The Master
Anyway Alan Alda has just 4 $100 million crashers in the table above and in only one of them could he be said to be the star [The 4 Seasons]. Alan’s other 28 movies in the table gross about $860 million collectively – average of just $30 million approx per flick.
Steve’s no doubt right that Alan is more famous for TV’s MASH than for any of his big screen movies. However I personally most remember Alan for 1971’s The Mephisto Waltz, a big favourite of W o Bob as well, though I see that it just misses the 60% rating yardstick that represents a “good” movie on this site.
IMDB credits Alan overall with 40 acting awards and 61 nominations so Alan deserves his Cogerson page as Possibly Interesting Facts information above also makes abundantly clear- I’m glad to see that “old friend” back by the way as I have missed it.and I think Flora also values it as I do. “Voted UP!” for an excellent statistical summary of Alda’s career. Alan’s net worth is said to be $40 million.
Hey Bob. True….7 is not too young to make a lasting impact. But being 7 and playing a Korean War doctor might be a little bit of a stretch…..lol. Doogie Howser in MASH….now that would have been a short lived movie.
I agree, his stand alone movie career has not been as awesome as his television career. When he reach the Quigley list…he was at the height of his career. A television and movie star…..not many can make that glad at the same time…but he could from the late 1970s to early 1980s.
Interesting that WoB likes The Mephisto Waltz…..I have not seen it….but I read about it when I was putting this page together…sounds like it was made because of the success of Rosemary’s Baby…I will have to check that one out.
Glad you liked our “old friend”…..with time limitations….gotta admit….that friend has become harder and harder to find time for…..I think the “trailer pages” have made it take a back seat.
Good stat collections…and good feedback as always.
I’ve seen just six of the 32 films on the chart – The Aviator, Bridge of Spies, Tower Heist, The Mephisto Waltz, California Suite and Murder at 1600.
The Aviator being my favorite from that list.
Alda has always been more famous for his role as Hawkeye in the tv series MASH than any of his film roles. Looking at your trivia he won 5 emmys for that show and was the only person to appear in every episode. Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye in the original movie.
What Women Want was his biggest movie eh, didn’t see it.
Nice work Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve. Thanks for the feedback on Alan Alda. I have actually seen 20 of these movies. I loved him as Hawkeye…still miffed the final MASH episode left him in such a horrible mental state. I understand their logic…and it is one of the highest rated tv events of all-time…but his character dealt with horrible stuff all the time….seems weird to end the series that way….what a minute, am I talking tv here…..stop….Bad Cogerson…lol.
Ah movies again. I have seen most of his movies….but not thinking there is a single one I really love and want to watch repeatedly. His two Caine movies are fun….but hardly his best work. What Women Want is a fun movie….entertaining enough to check out at least once. I have seen 5 of your 6….only missing The Mephisto Waltz. To Kill A Clown was a big VHS renter back in my video store days….had to be because of Alda’s tv star wattage.
Good stuff as always.