Skip to content 
His dancing became an important part of his professional identity.
He also had a brief recording career, releasing music including the 1965 single “Five Different Girls.”
By then, his career had already covered Broadway, movies, television, music and dance.
And then came the role that would introduce him to an entirely new generation.
Enter Ho-Jon
In 1972, MASH* premiered on CBS.
The series was based on the 1970 film and followed the doctors and staff of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War.
The show was funny, but it was never simply a comedy.
It mixed absurd humor with stories about war, friendship, fear, loss and the emotional strain placed on people living in extraordinary circumstances.
Adiarte played Ho-Jon, a young Korean character connected to the doctors at the 4077th.
He appeared in seven episodes during the show’s first and second seasons.
For many viewers, Ho-Jon was simply part of the colorful collection of characters that made the early episodes of MASH* so memorable.
But Adiarte’s performance helped give the show’s fictional world another dimension.
He wasn’t playing the central hero.
He wasn’t delivering the biggest speeches.
He wasn’t the character whose name appeared in television listings.
Yet he was part of the foundation of the series.
He was there near the beginning.
And that is why longtime fans still remember him.
Then He Walked Away
One of the most fascinating parts of Adiarte’s story is what happened next.
Unlike many performers who would have tried to build an entire career around a hit television series, Adiarte eventually left MASH*.
He departed during the second season to pursue college, with financial support raised to help him attend school in the United States.
It was an unusual decision.
The series had the potential to become a major television success.
And it did.
MASH* ultimately ran for 11 seasons, becoming one of the defining television shows of its era.
But Adiarte’s path was different.
He had already experienced something most actors spend their entire lives chasing.
He had worked in major Broadway productions.
He had appeared in classic Hollywood musicals.
He had danced on television.
And he had become part of the early history of MASH*.
Then he chose to pursue another direction.
The Brady Bunch
Even after leaving MASH*, Adiarte wasn’t finished with television.
He appeared in The Brady Bunch during the famous Hawaii storyline.
For viewers who grew up watching the series in reruns, the Hawaii episodes became some of the show’s most recognizable installments.
Adiarte played a tour guide during the family’s Hawaiian adventure.
It was another example of the strange longevity of his career.
A performer could discover him in The King and I, then Flower Drum Song, then MASH*, and then suddenly see him again while watching The Brady Bunch.
He had become part of several different generations of popular culture.
Yet his career remained remarkably understated.
A Familiar Face Without the Fame
That may be the most interesting thing about Patrick Adiarte.
He was never a conventional superstar.