Set up to fail...hmmmm.By the directors/producers/script writers? How would they have done that,apart from telling him,because they were unhappy with his performances and/or his character,that they were gonna kill him off?
The tv execs set him up. I distinctly remember all the MASH actors emphasizing that one point.
They gave him a choice, play the lead or you’ll never act again. It would have been wiser for him to tell them to shove it and then go into theatre until a good part came along.
The only thing show business will not forgive is failure.
I’m sure if the nod was given from the union heads to punish him, the orders were followed.
That’s why they killed him off when he left the series. I read that they did this purposefully so he wouldn’t be able to have a change of heart and want back on the series.