Latest news with #MargaretHoulihan
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Loretta Swit obituary
The American actor Loretta Swit, who has died aged 87, achieved worldwide fame as Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan, head nurse with a mobile army hospital during the Korean war, in the TV sitcom M*A*S*H. She appeared in all 11 series, from 1972 to 1983 – longer than the conflict that inspired it – taking over the role played by Sally Kellerman in the 1970 film. Misogyny ran throughout the big-screen version of M*A*S*H in a way that was not present in the 1968 novel by Richard Hooker on which it was the TV version, too, Major Houlihan, a strict disciplinarian, was the butt of sexist jokes from the surgeons and other men in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit, particularly 'Hawkeye' Pierce (played by Alan Alda). Swit – who had the only leading female role in the show – took a stand before the fifth series began. She was then allowed to contribute to her character's development, making Houlihan more three-dimensional, warm and brave. 'I am a feminist, from the top of my head to the bottom of my toenail, and I favour playing strong women,' she told the American magazine Closer Weekly in 2022. From then on, Swit's character was referred to mainly by her real name rather than as 'Hot Lips' and a more human side emerged when Houlihan broke down in front of her nurses, confessing she was hurt by the disdain they held for her because of her stern manner. The character's long-running relationship with Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville) ended and she married Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott (first played by Beeson Carroll and then Mike Henry), whom she later divorced when he cheated on her. Swit's performance won her two Emmy awards as outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, in 1980 and 1982. She might have had global recognition for a second TV role, in a programme that was groundbreaking for its portrayal of women, if the M*A*S*H producers had not refused to let her out of her contract. Swit played the police detective Christine Cagney, alongside Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey, in the feature-length 1981 pilot of Cagney & Lacey. It was the first American police drama to feature women in the two lead roles. In Cagney & Lacey, there was gritty realism and the authenticity of women balancing their work and home lives but, as Swit was unavailable, Meg Foster took over as Cagney when the series began, replaced after six episodes by Sharon Gless. Swit never had another starring vehicle. 'Actors are always identified with certain parts,' she said. 'To some, Marlon Brando will always be the Godfather. That's just how it is.' Perhaps her best film role was as the first female American president – succeeding a former circus clown, a parody of Ronald Reagan – in Whoops Apocalypse (1986), the writers Andrew Marshall and David Renwick's variation on their British sitcom. Loretta was born in Passaic, New Jersey, to parents of Polish descent, Nellie (nee Kassack) and Lester Szwed, an upholsterer, who anglicised the family name to Swit. She attended Pope Pius XII high school, Passaic, where she appeared in school plays, and Gibbs College, Montclair, New Jersey, then had various secretarial jobs. Moving to New York, she trained in acting with Gene Frankel at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1959. Her break in New York theatre came off-Broadway, at the Circle in the Square in 1961 when she joined the cast of the long-running Actors' Playhouse production of The Balcony, by Jean Genet. She spent the rest of the decade exclusively on stage until travelling to Hollywood in 1969. Then, she began to get small roles on television, including three in Hawaii Five-O (between 1969 and 1972) and two in Gunsmoke (both in 1970). Later, she starred on Broadway as Doris in Bernard Slade's 'annual adultery' play Same Time, Next Year (Brooks Atkinson theatre, 1975-76), taking over the role originated by Ellen Burstyn. The New York Times observed that she gave a 'stylish impersonation' of Burstyn, who had won a Tony award for her performance. Swit was on Broadway again in Rupert Holmes's musical version of Charles Dickens's unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Imperial theatre, 1985-86), replacing Cleo Laine in the dual roles of the Princess Puffer and Miss Angela Prysock. One stage part that seemed made for Swit was the title character in the British playwright Willy Russell's one-woman show Shirley Valentine, which she took first in Chicago (Wellington and Wisdom Bridge theatres, 1990), then on an American tour (1995) and Canadian stages (1997 and 2010). The role of the bored Liverpool housewife escaping her humdrum life and uncaring husband had been played in the West End of London and the film version by Pauline Collins, who also took it to Broadway. Swit said of the character: 'A lot of her experiences are universal – her ambition and desire, her lust for life and feelings of frustration at not fulfilling certain aspects of her own potential. I had kinship with her the moment I read the script.' Eve Ensler's comic and at times seriously political play The Vagina Monologues had Swit as one of the three women taking multiple roles, first at the Westside theatre in New York (1999), then in the West End (Arts theatre, 2001-02) and on an American tour (2002-03). The actor was a passionate animal activist and supported many charities, as well as setting up her own, SwitHeart Animal Alliance. Her book SwitHeart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit was published in 2017. Swit's 1983 marriage to the actor and lawyer Dennis Holahan ended in divorce 12 years later. Loretta Jane Swit, actor, born 4 November 1937; died 30 May 2025
3 days ago
- Entertainment
Loretta Swit, Emmy-winning actress known for role on "M*A*S*H" dies at age 87
Loretta Swit, the Emmy award-winning actress who played Major Margaret Houlihan on "M*A*S*H," has died at the age of 87, according to her publicist.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
‘M*A*S*H' actress Loretta Swit dies aged 87
Loretta Swit played Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in the seminal Korean War comedy 'M*A*S*H'. (AP pic) NEW YORK : 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, US media reported. AFP has sought confirmation. '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 mobile 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.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Loretta Swit who played Houlihan on pioneering TV series M.A.S.H dies aged 87
©Press Association Today at 17:18 Loretta Swit, who won two Emmy Awards playing Major Margaret Houlihan on the pioneering hit TV series M.A.S.H, has died aged 87. Publicist Harlan Boll said Swit died on Friday at her home in New York City, likely from natural causes.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Loretta Swit, Emmy-winning actress and star of M*A*S*H, dies aged 87
Loretta Swit, who won Emmy Awards for her role on the comedy series M*A*S*H, has died aged 87. Her publicist, Harlan Boll, said the actress passed away at her home in New York City just after midday on Friday, likely from natural causes. She was best known for her star turn as Major Margaret Houlihan on CBS' M*A*S*H, which aired for 11 years from 1972 to 1983. Based on Robert Altman's 1970 film of the same name, M*A*S*H has been ranked as one of the greatest shows of all time by Rolling Stone and Time Out, with the finale watched by more than 100 million viewers - the most-watched episode of any scripted series ever. In the film, Major Margaret Houlihan was a one-dimensional, promiscuous character nicknamed Hot Lips, but the character was developed and deepened in the show. Swit told Suzy Kalter, author of "The Complete Book of M*A*S*H," that as the show went on, "I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes". She won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1980 and 1982 for her role in the show. Born Loretta Jane Szwed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1937, she was the daughter of Polish immigrants. She enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before arriving in Hollywood in 1969. Along with M*A*S*H, she made appearances in shows like Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible and Bonanza. Swit also made regular appearances in theatre, starring on Broadway in 1975 in Same Time, Next Year, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1986. Swit also appeared in a number of TV musical specials, including The Muppet Show and the Broadway musical It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman.
