Loretta Swit, Margaret Houlihan on 'M*A*S*H,' dies at 87
Loretta Swit, Margaret Houlihan on 'M*A*S*H,' dies at 87
Loretta Swit, the Emmy-winning actress best known for playing head nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the classic TV series "M*A*S*H," has died, according to reports. She was 87.
According to a police report, Swit died of suspected natural causes just after midnight Friday, May 30, her publicist Harlan Boll told USA TODAY.
Swit infused humanity into the highly capable head nurse through 11 seasons of CBS's Korean War dramedy set in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. The Maj. Houlihan character originated in Richard Hooker's 1969 novel "M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors" and appeared in director Robert Altman's 1970 hit film adaptation.
The humorless Houlihan, played by Sally Kellerman on the big screen, earned the nickname "Hot Lips" from an overheard amorous conversation with her married lover, Frank Burns (Robert Duvall). Kellerman received an Oscar nomination but declined the follow-up TV role.
The previously little-known Swit earned two best supporting actress Emmy Awards (1980, 1982) from 10 nominations and global fame in the "M*A*S*H" series that ruled CBS from 1972 to 1983 – lasting over three times as long as the war it satirized. Swit and Alan Alda, who starred as wisecracking surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, were the only two characters to appear in both the September 1972 pilot and the series' famed 2½-hour 1983 finale, watched by more than 100 million viewers.
Sally Kellerman The original 'Hot Lips' Houlihan from 'M*A*S*H' movie, dies at 84
The daughter of Polish immigrants born on Nov. 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, high school cheerleader Swit nurtured a childhood dream of being an actor. After earning a degree from New York City's American Academy, Swit started on the stage, starring in regional touring and off-Broadway productions.
A trip to Hollywood led to a 1970 three-episode appearance on TV's "Gunsmoke" and roles on "Mannix," "Hawaii Five-0" and "Mission: Impossible." Swit said in an interview with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences that she had no comedic clips to submit for the "M*A*S*H" audition. "I was jumping off cliffs or getting shot," she said. "I hadn't done any comedy on film. I had only done comedy on stage."
After earning the Maj. Houlihan role, Swit only sought assurances from show creators Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart that the show would be included in the network lineup.
"I said, 'Fellas, I'm running out of gas, I've done many pilots,'" Swit recalled. "And they said, 'This is going to be 'the one.' And it was."
Swit brought evolutionary changes to the character, such as phasing out the infamous nickname, "Hot Lips."
"She was so much more than a piece of anatomy," Swit told Yahoo Entertainment in 2023. "I kept telling the writers, 'She's more than this.'"
Houlihan left her married paramour, Maj. Burns (played on the TV series by Larry Linville), endured a short marriage to philandering Lt. Colonel Donald Penobscott and showed more empathy to her fellow colleagues.
Houlihan "was unique at that time and in her time, which was the 1950s when it was really happening," Swit said. "She became even more unique 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."
After starring as NYPD Det. Chris Cagney, alongside Mary Beth Lacey (Tyne Daly) in the 1981 TV movie pilot of "Cagney & Lacey," Swit tried to leave "M*A*S*H" for the new CBS series. "I loved that character, and I was tempted to be on my own show as opposed to being part of an incredible ensemble where the show was the star," Swit told Yahoo Entertainment. However, "M*A*S*H" producers wouldn't let Swit go (Meg Foster took over the Cagney part on TV before Sharon Gless).
Even Swit's personal life was heavily "M*A*S*H"-influenced, including a December 1983 marriage to actor Dennis Holahan, whom she met when the actor made a guest appearance as Swedish diplomat Per Johannsen, who was briefly involved with Houlihan. The real-life couple divorced in 1995.
"M*A*S*H" historically closed operations in February 1983, with the emotional finale airing in more than 45% of U.S. households. The "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" episode remains the most-watched episode of any scripted series ever. Houlihan gave a long kiss goodbye to frequent rival Pierce in the finale, which Alda directed.
The actress branched out into movies, starring as Hollywood gossip columnist Polly Reed in Blake Edwards' 1981 dark comedy "S.O.B." and playing besieged President Barbara Adams in the 1987 comedy "Whoops Apocalypse."
Swit appeared in made-for-TV movies like "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (1983) and "14 Going on 30" (1988), made celebrity guest appearances on game shows like "Match Game," "Win Lose or Draw," "Pyramid," and "Hollywood Squares," and starred in five different episodes of "The Love Boat" (including a November 1984 episode with Holahan).
The actress declined to appear in the short-lived CBS post-war sequel series "AfterMASH" which starred original series alums Harry Morgan (who died in 2011), Jamie Farr and William Christopher (who died in 2017). Yet, the former TV head nurse stayed close to her co-stars.
"We might as well be joined at the hip," Swit told Fox News in 2017. "We see each other quite frequently. Every time we lose a comrade, it's a body blow. We feel it harshly, badly. People always ask me, 'Do you ever see them?' When do I not see them?! These aren't casual acquaintances from years ago. This is my family."
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