Posted on 05/30/2025 12:50:21 PM PDT by DFG
Loretta Swit, the actress and animal activist forever known for her pioneering turn as the disciplined Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the acclaimed CBS sitcom M*A*S*H, has died. She was 87.
According to a police report, Swit died just after midnight Friday of suspected natural causes at her home in New York City, her publicist, Harlan Boll, announced.
Swit won two Emmys for her portrayal of the Army nurse — she was nominated 10 times, every year the show was on the air except the first — and appeared on 240 of the series’ 251 episodes during its sensational 11-season run.
Adapting the character from Sally Kellerman‘s film portrayal of the lusty powerhouse, Swit was one of only two actors (along with Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce) to have a role in both the pilot and series finale of M*A*S*H.
That finale, which aired Feb. 28, 1983, attracted a record of nearly 106 million viewers, and a 35-second kiss between Swit and Alda during that episode has been called the most expensive in television history, based on its length and the ad revenue per minute.
As a tough, by-the-book major, Swit’s Houlihan was a rare strong woman on television. “She was [unique] at the time and in her time, which was the ’50s, when [the Korean War] was happening,” Swit said in a 2004 discussion for the TV Academy Foundation website The Interviews: An Oral History of Television.
“And she became even more unique, I think, because we allowed her to continue to grow — we watched her evolve. I don’t think that’s ever been done in quite that way.”
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Sad to hear it. Loretta was also in a great movie with Peter Fonda called Race with the Devil. Rest in peace Loretta.
She was also in a lesser-known movie called “Beer.” Pretty funny, thick satire of the ad industry.
Too bad, I liked her in that role.
Sally Kellerman was my favorite “Hot Lips”.
Never watched it.
When the series went liberal woke, my family quit watching. I wasn’t around much then, but .....
My fav was Hot Lips with the bull whip.
No doubt. You nailed it.
“Even though it had a liberal slant...”
That doesn’t hardly say it IMO.
Yes it was funny, but a kid I was too naive to see it however as an adult I realized it was actually insulting the military.
Not to mention Alan Alda has always been a flaming lib.
Having said all that, RIP Ms. Swit
Race with the Devil was probably the best B horror movie ever. The cast was definitely not B level.
When McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers left I basically quit watching.
Those two made the show IMO.
There was one episode where she let down her guard and was friendly and a tru colleague. It was the time when all conspired against Wichester and his pitting them all against each other. There may have been more but that time was memorable.
She did a great job.
Most of the cast is gone now. That was so long ago.
Wasn't he? I can picture the first Colonel in my mind's eye, but I sure can't name him! They were both excellent. That was one of the best character change-outs ever.
I was always a huge Harry Morgan fan, especially his roles in westerns: "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1942), "High Noon" (1952), " Bend of the River" (1952), and "How the West Was Won" (1962) ."
I liked MASH the movie but I absolutely HATED the TV show MASH.
“As a tough, by-the-book major, Swit’s Houlihan was a rare strong woman on television. “
“Hot Lips”. Right.
Barbara Stanwick on “Big Valley” was way more of a no nonsense kickass babe than Nurse Hoolihan and ten years earlier. No one paid much attention to some kind of strong woman count in movies and TV years ago because it wasn’t really all that rare.
Rough couple of days: First Bernard Kerik, now Hot Lips...
-PJ
So good. No happy ending either!
Good point!
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