3 days ago
'M.A.S.H' actress dead at 87
NEW YORK, N.Y. (WSAV) — Loretta Swit, the two-time Emmy Award-winning actress best known for her role as Major Margret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on 'M.A.S.H.' has died. She was 87.
Swit appeared in all but 11 episodes of the series, nearly four times longer than the Korean War itself. She pushed for a better representation for women.
'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. She became more of a real person,' Alda told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018.
The CBS show aired for 11 years from 1972 to 1983, revolving around life at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which gave the show its name. The two-and-a-half-hour finale on Feb. 28, 1983, was watched by over 100 million viewers, at the time the most-watched episode of any scripted series ever.
'M.A.S.H.' won a Peabody Award in 1975 'for the depth of its humor and the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit and, as well, to offer a profound statement on the nature of war.'
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