4 days ago
'M*A*S*H' star, animal activist Loretta Swit dies at 87
1 of 3 | Loretta Swit attends Wayne Rogers' Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling in 2005. File Photo by Michael Tweed/UPI | License Photo
May 30 (UPI) -- Actor Loretta Swit died Friday, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed with her publicist, Harlan Boll. Swit was 87 and died in her New York City home shortly after midnight.
A police report suspects natural causes but the final coroner's report is pending.
Swit won 2 Emmys out of 10 nominations for her role on M*A*S*H. Swit played Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, the role played by Sally Kellerman in the Robert Altman movie on which the long-running series was based.
During the 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, Swit also starred in the movies Freebie and the Bean and S.O.B. and episodes of The Love Boat.
Following the series, Swit continued to appear in theatrical and television movies, and episodes of Murder, She Wrote, Burke's Law and Diagnosis Murder. Her last screen role was the 2019 movie Play the Flute.
Swit founded the SwitHeart Animal Alliance in 2016 which works in animal rescue, training and preservation. She published a book of animal portraits called SwitHeart: The Watercolor Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit in 2017.
Notable deaths of 2025
Jill Sobule Jill Sobule attends the GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 30, 2023. Sobule, the
Jill Sobule attends the GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 30, 2023. Sobule, the singer-songwriter behind "I Kissed a Girl," "Living Color" and "Supermodel," died at the age of 66 on May 2 from a house fire. Photo by Greg Grudt/UPI | License Photo
