# Who played the guitar in Suicide is Painless from MASH? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488 "2015-12-27T20:40:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/1 "2015-12-27T20:40:50Z")
I know Johnny Mandel wrote the tune and Robert Altman’s 14-year-old son wrote the lyrics but I can’t for the life of me find out who played the strings so beautifully … ---
**Author:** ![piston\_broke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@piston\_broke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piston_broke)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/2 "2015-12-27T20:57:50Z")
Tommy Tedesco. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/3 "2015-12-27T20:57:55Z")
I believe it was written for Ken Prymus to sing and play in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/4 "2015-12-27T21:38:04Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society (and one of my favorite songs of all time, btw). ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/5 "2015-12-27T23:40:17Z")
> [@piston\_broke](#): > > Tommy Tedesco. That’s the guy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvME4fQkPyA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvME4fQkPyA) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/6 "2015-12-27T23:57:35Z")
> [@piston\_broke](#): > > Tommy Tedesco. Selbstmord ist schmerzlos? Nah, too faint a trace, running down the leg… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/7 "2015-12-28T01:23:28Z")
During the “Last Supper” sequence, Ken Prymus sang it but Corey Fischer played the guitar (good chance he was overdubbed, though). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/8 "2015-12-28T01:31:29Z")
Yeah, I was assuming Tedesco, from the Wrecking Crew of LA studio musicians. Co-written by Robert Altman’s son. As I recall the story, dad got a flat seventy grand for directing, while in the space of a decade Mike made “over a million” in royalties, as of 1980. Which was before syndication. > [@](#): > > Robert Altman had two stipulations about the song for Mandel: first, it had to be called “Suicide Is Painless”; second, it had to be the “stupidest song ever written”. Altman tried to write the lyrics himself, but found that it was too difficult for his 45-year-old brain to write “stupid enough”. Instead he gave the task to his 14-year-old-son, Michael, who apparently wrote the lyrics in five minutes. > **[Suicide Is Painless](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless)** > > "Suicide Is Painless" (also known as "Theme from M\*A\*S\*H" or "Song from M\*A\*S\*H") is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics) for the 1970 film M\*A\*S\*H. In addition to being performed by characters in the film, it plays during the title sequence as sung by The Ron Hicklin Singers. An instrumental version was used as the theme music for the TV series based on the film, playing over the opening and closing credits. > The song was written for Ken Prymus, the actor playing... ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/9 "2015-12-28T03:20:35Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As I recall the story, dad got a flat seventy grand for directing, while in the space of a decade Mike made “over a million” in royalties, as of 1980. Which was before syndication. How ironic that nearly all those royalties came from the TV show, which used an instrumental version of the song. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/10 "2015-12-28T07:35:16Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > How ironic that nearly all those royalties came from the TV show, which used an instrumental version of the song. > > Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. 🙂 That’s why Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the Star Wars theme from TOS. Royalties!!! If you’ve ever read them, they’re incredibly inane. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/11 "2015-12-28T09:38:57Z")
I struggle to believe the son wrote the lyrics. They are rather more world weary, literary and worldly than I would expect from a fourteen yr old. I wonder rather if there wasn’t some financial or taxation reason for saying he did. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/12 "2015-12-28T14:32:06Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > That’s why Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the Star Wars theme from TOS. Royalties!!! If you’ve ever read them, they’re incredibly inane. Johnny Carson is credited with co-writing “Johnny’s Theme” with Paul Anka although I suspect his actual contribution was writing his name. Apparently the song generates $400,000 a year in royalties which the Carson estate gets half. > **[Johnny's Theme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny%27s_Theme)** > > "Johnny's Theme" is an instrumental jazz song played as the opening theme of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from the show's inception in 1962 through its finale in 1992. The piece was composed by Paul Anka and Johnny Carson, based on a previous composition by Anka. It was performed by The Tonight Show Band, which released an arrangement by Tommy Newsom in 1986 as part of its Grammy Award-winning debut album. The single release also earned a Grammy nomination. > "Johnny's Theme" has since ... ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/13 "2015-12-28T17:08:26Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > That’s why Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the Star Wars theme from TOS. Royalties!!! If you’ve ever read them, they’re incredibly inane. Nitpick: That would be Star Trek. Not Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/14 "2015-12-28T21:03:04Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > Nitpick: That would be Star Trek. Not Star Wars. [Bill Murray](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53DQgbj2mIc) wrote lyrics for the Star Wars theme. ---
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-guitar-in-suicide-is-painless-from-mash/741488/15 "2015-12-31T09:31:06Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I struggle to believe the son wrote the lyrics. They are rather more world weary, literary and worldly than I would expect from a fourteen yr old. I wonder rather if there wasn’t some financial or taxation reason for saying he did. Maybe, maybe not … He was evidently a creative kid, going by the fact he went on to become an artist (still checking this out) rather than something more prosaic. And the lyrics profound? Not to me - his dad wanted something inane for the priceless Last Supper scene, and got it. But shit, we all find meaning in different ways. You will never know believe the ways Blue Oyster Cult have spoken to me over the years. Or the Bee Gees