Alan Alda, the iconic actor who played Captain Pierce Hawkeye on “M*A*S*H,” is said to have met his future bride over a slice of cake. Even while it may sound odd, the actor emphasized that it was the best possible method for them to get to know one other. After what had happened, neither of them had any reason to question the fact that they were made for one other.
In 1956, the two of them went to a party hosted by a common acquaintance. At that time, Alan was a student at Fordham University, while Arlene Weiss was enrolled at Hunter College. The actor, who was known for being a prankster, was seen cracking jokes while seated at the other end of the table.
Arlene was sitting at the other end of the table from him and was laughing at everything he said as he was cracking jokes. When Alan thought back, “I could not look away… I could see her sitting at the far end of the table, but I could still hear her laughing at my jokes.” Alan recalled that there was a rum cake that was sitting on top of a refrigerator during the same party, and it fell off and landed on the floor.
“Only Arlene and I walked in there with spoons and ate it off the floor, so we were the only ones that did that. This is how you come to know it. It’s game over for everyone involved when two individuals consume a cake that fell to the ground.”
It was “unheard of” for a man from Manhattan to take a girl from the Bronx home after their dinner date, but Alan did just that. Eleven months later, the couple went ahead and tied the knot in a ceremony that was kept intimate and understated. They were unaware of the stardom that was in store for them at the moment. They didn’t want anything more than to go about their days in ease.
Even after 65 years, the idea that a relationship should be built on a cake that was dropped still seems like a good one. Despite their advanced years, they delight in sharing a good chuckle with one another. Even though they have come a long way from the time when they lived together in a cramped apartment when they were young, the two continue to support one another enthusiastically.
Finding Contentment in the Icing on the Cake
The couple has been together for more than sixty years, and they are still going strong. They maintain their love for one another despite their advanced ages by continuing to share an infinite supply of jokes with one another and by showing genuine care for one another. They are all over 80 years old, yet they continue to pursue their interests to the fullest. Arlene elaborated as follows:
“I need to compose a blurb for a book that someone else has written. There is some soup that I want to make. I have a delicious chicken that needs to be roasted. I want to get through this book that I’m now reading so badly. I have email communication. There are postings on my Facebook page.”
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While Arlene moves quickly through her lengthy to-do list, Alan works on his own podcast, which is titled “Clear + Vivid with Alan Alda,” and he writes and hosts it. Regardless of this, they consistently make time for one another. Laughing together was described as “the true glue that keeps us joyfully and voluntarily hooked together” by the pair.
Alan is an actor who specializes in comedy, so he is particularly aware of the significance of having a good laugh. The actor expressed his belief that he feels laughing briefly renders a person weak, which paves the way for social settings to go off without a hitch. The marriage of Alan and Arlene shows how seriously they take the aforementioned principle.
Arlene referred to the two of them as the “Guffawing ones,” and they were also responsible for bringing new life into the earth. Their names are Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice Alda, and they have three children. At first, they made do with a little income to raise their children, but Alan was soon cast in the role of Hawkeye. But after that, it was a question of how to schedule my time effectively.
Arlene was the one who had to take care of the kids since Alan was gone almost all the time for work. In the meanwhile, she decided that she did not want to become a passive observer while her husband went out and accomplished something with his life, so she began working on literary projects and taking up photography. Even at the most difficult parts, they were able to get through it by laughing a lot.
The Aldas Must Confront Their Age
The performers were fortunate to still have their health despite the fact that they were able to effectively raise Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice through one of the busiest periods in their life. On the other hand, Alan received his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the year 2015. He didn’t break his silence on it until 2018, when he made the first public announcement about it.
Even though he is getting up there in years, Alan may still be seen acting in movies and television series. When asked how having Parkinson’s impacted his profession, he responded by saying that he has always been very honest with the crew about his condition. In many instances, filmmakers were not deterred from working with Alan because of his condition, but rather saw fresh chances to further develop his characters. He added:
“My line of work does not include acting as if I am not ill. One of the reasons I choose to discuss it in public is because I want to reduce some of the associated stigma… A state of depression is a typical response, although it’s not actually essential in the situation. I mean, things may go a lot worse, but it doesn’t mean your life is over. You do not perish as a result of it; rather, you perish together with it.”
During a stroll with his wife, the actor noticed some of the signs of Parkinson’s disease for the first time. After looking at him, she saw that he was not moving his arms in any way. They considered this peculiar, but shortly after, he also began acting out his dreams, which occasionally included aggressive behavior. Not much longer after that, he received the official diagnosis.
Alan needed to make certain adjustments to his way of living in order to meet the requirements of his new body. After having a nightmare in which he flung a pillow at Arlene, he began placing a cushion between them while they slept together so that he would not accidentally damage her while they were asleep. In addition to this, he began engaging in regular physical activity as a means of alleviating the pain and other physical problems. It was said that:
“When your fingers are stiff, it might be difficult to tie your shoelaces. Imagine trying to play the violin while your hands are covered in mittens. The one bright spot is that despite everything, I am becoming more certain that I will always be able to find a solution.”
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Despite his diagnosis, Alan stays upbeat. He has done a good job of making his own life enjoyable. He says that “laughing with my wife” makes him happiest, and the sickness has made him convinced that life is a process of “adapting, modifying, and revising.” He spends his days conducting his podcast and playing chess with Arlene.