Latest news with #HotLipsHoulihan
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Loretta Swit, M*A*S*H Star, Dies at 87
Loretta Swit, beloved for her groundbreaking role as Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on M*A*S*H, died on May 30, 2025. She was 87. Swit's portrayal of Major Houlihan helped transform the character from a punchline to a powerful presence—one of the first truly complex female figures in primetime comedy. Over the show's 11-season run, Swit was nominated for an Emmy every season, winning twice, in 1980 and 1982. Her passing drew heartfelt tributes from fans and longtime co-stars Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, and Jamie Farr, as well as from PETA, where she was a passionate advocate for animal rights. Jamie Farr said in a statement released to USA Today: 'I dearly loved Loretta! As close as family can get… I can't begin to express how much she will be missed.' According to PETA's website, Swit 'worked with many animal charities and had her own called 'SwitHeart Animal Alliance.' This charity works to bring back dogs from Afghanistan to reunite them with their human companions and matches veterans with homeless animals.' They also ask that those who can would adopt a new friend from a shelter in her memory. Behind the scenes, Swit was a vocal advocate for gender equity, pushing for deeper storylines for women both in the writers' room and onscreen. Standing up to a male-dominated industry can be lonely. In one memorable scene, Major Houlihan finally expresses her loneliness and need for someone on her side, but Swit is clearly speaking from her own heart. ☕️ #ClassicMASH #MASH #mash4077 #war #majormargarethoulihan #margarethoulihan #hotlips #lorettaswit #coffee " class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7251202849466535211"> Though set during the Korean War, M*A*S*H spoke to a generation grappling with Vietnam, Watergate, and shifting social norms. The show's mix of humor and heartbreak helped audiences process the real costs of war and still does. It continues to air in reruns, especially around Memorial Day and Veterans Day, reminding viewers that behind every uniform is a human story. Swit's legacy lives on in those stories and in the countless lives she touched, both on and off screen.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
M*A*S*H legend Loretta Swit made glamorous career move just three months before she died
M*A*S*H legend Loretta Swit made one last glamour career move just months before her death at age 87. The actress died on Friday, May 30 at her New York City home, her publicist Harlan Boll confirmed. Prior to her death, Loretta graced the cover of Elysian Magazine for the Spring 2025 issue. The actress attended the cover launch party on February 6, 2025 - three months before her passing. The cover features the star beaming in a close up snap for the cover image, rocking glam makeup. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. A police report states that Swit passed of suspected natural causes soon after midnight on Friday, her publicist shared with The Hollywood Reporter. Swit was born on November 4, 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York Swit honed her craft as a student at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, according to THR. Swit was known for playing the iconic character Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on the hit series. The actress received acclaim for her role on the series, and received two Emmys for her portrayal. In total, she earned 10 Emmy nominations for M*A*S*H and appeared in the majority of the show's 11 seasons, gracing screens for 240 of the program's 251 episodes. M*A*S*H was an adaptation of the Robert Altman's 1970 film and was set during the Korean war. It followed a team of US doctors and nurses at a fictional army hospital. It's series finale in 1983 - of which Swit appeared in - was watched by 105 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched narrative TV episodes of all time. The original Robert Altman film was a dark comedy that starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce, Elliot Gould as Trapper John McIntyre and Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips Houlihan, based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. For the TV series, Alan Alda stepped into the Hawkeye role, with Wayne Rogers playing Trapper John and Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Reilly) becoming the only cast member from the movie to reprise that role for the TV series. The half-hour comedy series was known for its ability to blend both comedy and drama, though Swit previously said she believes it was the humor that made the show stand out. 'Initially when we started out, everyone wondered how we were going to be able to pull off a comedy about the war, but we did. The secret behind M*A*S*H's success,' she told First for Women last year. Swit added, 'Laughter and humor were our defense against standing in blood and working on bodies that were young enough to be in school.' She admitted there was nothing inherently funny about war, but added, 'you needed the funniest people in the world to make this believable and this cast exceeded that and more.' Swit won two Emmys for playing Hot Lips, and had nothing but praise for the lauded series finale. 'The last program, titled Goodbye, was the jewel of the crown, and M*A*S*H was a very important piece of Americana, so it was an honor to be a part of that magic,' she said. M*A*S*H won 14 Emmy Awards, earned 109 nominations, plus the series took home a Peabody Award in 1975. Loretta also starred in Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible (1970), Mannix, The Love Boat, The Muppet Show, Cagney & Lacey, Murder, She Wrote, Beer, Whoops Apocalypse and Beach Movie to name a few.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Farewell to ‘Hot Lips': ‘M*A*S*H' actress Loretta Swit dies at 87
NEW YORK, May 31 — Loretta Swit, the US actress who brought Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan to life in the seminal Korean War comedy series M*A*S*H has died. She was 87. Swit who played the high-strung but flirty Houlihan for the entire TV run of the smash series, was nominated for 10 Emmy awards for her work, winning two of them. Her death, at her home in Manhattan, was announced by her publicist, who said she was believed to have died of natural causes. M*A*S*H, which sprang from an Oscar-winning 1970 film, aired initially in 1972 and was a hit until it finished in 1983. The comedy was set in a field hospital for the US Army during the Korean War, and starred Alan Alda as Benjamin 'Hawkeye' Pierce. The series tackled a range of issues from the tragic to the light-hearted, and was sometimes seen as a satire on US involvement in Vietnam — a war that was still happening when it first began airing. 'Few actresses captured the imagination of generations of television viewers with the certainty and charm of Loretta Swit,' a statement from publicist Harlan Boll said. 'As the quick-witted, impassioned Major Margaret Houlihan... Ms. Swit became an American icon.' Alongside an extensive stage repertoire, Swit appeared in over 25 movies, including playing Christine Cagney in the TV movie that became the long-running cop show Cagney and Lacey. Obligations to the makers of M*A*S*H meant she could not continue into the TV series' lengthy run, and the role was ultimately filled instead by Sharon Gless. Other movies during Swit's career included Race With the Devil, a 1975 horror starring Peter Fonda, and 1972's Stand Up and Be Counted with Jacqueline Bisset. — AFP
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
M*A*S*H actor Loretta Swit has died, aged 87
Loretta Swit, the American actor best known for her role as "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H, has died, aged 87. The two-time Emmy-Award-winning actor died at her New York City home on Friday likely from natural causes, her publicist said. Swit played Major Margaret Houlihan, the demanding head nurse of a behind-the-lines surgical unit during the Korean War on the pioneering hit TV series. Alan Alda and Swit were the longest-serving cast members on the CBS show, which was based on Robert Altman's 1970 film. Born in New Jersey, the daughter of Polish immigrants, Swit enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, then paid her dues for years in touring productions. In 1969, she arrived in Hollywood and was soon seen in series such as Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, and Bonanza. Then in 1972, she got her big break when she was asked to audition for the role of "Hot Lips". The series aired for 11 years from 1972 to 1983, revolving around life at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which gave the show its name. The two-and-a-half-hour finale in 1983 lured more than 100 million viewers, the most-watched episode of any scripted series ever. The growing awareness of feminism in the 1970s spurred Houlihan's transformation from caricature to a real person, but a lot of the change was due to Swit's influence on the scriptwriters. "Around the second or third year, I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes," Swit once said. National Comedy Center executive director Journey Gunderson said Swit's talent extended well beyond that iconic character, with acclaimed work on both stage and screen that showcased her intelligence, versatility and passion. "Loretta Swit's portrayal of Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan was groundbreaking — bringing heart, humour, and strength to one of television comedy's most enduring roles. Swit appeared in all but 11 episodes of the series, nearly four times longer than the Korean War itself, exploring issues like PTSD, sexism and racism. "One of the things I liked, with Loretta's prodding, was every time I had a chance to write for her character, we'd get away from the Hot Lips angle and find out more about who Margaret was," Alda told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. "She became more of a real person." AP
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Loretta Swit Dies: The ‘M*A*S*H' Emmy Award Winner Was 87
Loretta Swit, who rose to fame in her two-time Emmy Award-winning role as Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in the long-running M*A*S*H, died on Thursday at her home in New York City. She was 87 and the expected cause of her passing was from natural causes. Born November 4, 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey, Loretta Swit began her career as an actress Off-Broadway in the Actor's Playhouse production of An Enemy of the People. In 1961, Swit landed a role in the Circle in the Square production of The Balcony and later toured with the national company of Ash Wednesday. Additionally, she played on of the Pidgeon sisters in the theater in The Odd Couple, among other roles on stage. Prior to M*A*S*H, Swit's early roles on television included episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. In 1972 came M*A*S*H, which ultimately changed her career but started out slowly. After a low-rated inaugural season, CBS moved M*A*S*H to the cushy Saturday 8:30 p.m. time period out of the then top-rated show in primetime, All in the Family, and into The Mary Tyler Moore Show. M*A*S*H only aired on Saturday one season, but was able to stand on its own by season three. It ran for 11 seasons, rising to No. 3 over in that final season. During her tenure M*A*S*H, Swit acted in other projects, including films Freebie and the Bean (1974) and Race With the Devil (1975) and BoardHeads (1998), but perhaps her greatest acting achievement was as the original Christine Cagney opposite Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey in the 1981 TV movie/pilot for Cagney & Lacey. Swit was interested in continuing in the series, but was contracted to M*A*S*H. After Meg Foster played Cagney in the six-episode abbreviated first season, Sharon Gless took over the role. Swit's other film roles included agent Polly Reed in Blake Edwards' satire of Hollywood in S.O.B. in 1981 and Play the Flute, her final role, in 2019. Swit was also an animal activist, serving on the boards of Actors and Others for Animals and The Wildlife Waystation and as a spokesperson for the Humane Society. In 2016, she founded SwitHeart Animal Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to ending animal cruelty.
