Legendary M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit has died at the age of 87.
Swit was known for playing the iconic character Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan on the hit series.
The actress died Friday at her home in New York City, her publicist Harlan Boll confirmed.
A police report states that Swit passed of suspected natural causes soon after midnight on Friday, her publicist shared with The Hollywood Reporter.
The actress received acclaim for her role on the series, and received two Emmys for her portrayal.
Throughout her time on M*A*S*H, she received a total of 10 Emmy nominations. Her presence was felt in the majority of the show’s 11 seasons, as she graced screens in 240 out of the program’s 251 episodes.
M*A*S*H was a television adaptation of Robert Altman’s 1970 film and was set against the backdrop of the Korean War. The show followed a team of US doctors and nurses stationed at a fictional army hospital.
The series finale of M*A*S*H, in which Swit appeared, captivated an astounding audience of 105 million viewers. This remarkable viewership solidified it as one of the most-watched narrative TV episodes in the history of television.
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.
Swit was born on November 4, 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York
Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Swit honed her craft as a student at New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts, according to THR. She performed in repertory.
Following a move to Los Angeles in 1970, she built up her acting resume with roles in on Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, and eventually M*A*S*H.
Over the show’s 11 seasons, she appeared in a majority of the episodes that included the widely-watched season finale.
For her work, she twice earned the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy or Variety or Music Series – once in 1980 and then again in 1982.
While she may be best known for her role of Hot Lips, she wasn’t fond of her character’s nickname.
‘I understand nicknames come with great love and admiration for a character,’ she told Fox News in 2023. ‘But it was an insult as far as I was concerned. She wasn’t just a piece of anatomy. She was a major in the United States Army, and she should not be disrespected.’
‘This was a woman who had rank, who worked hard and wanted to be good at her job,’ she said. ‘She was an inspiration. I was proud of her. I was proud to represent all the servicewomen out there. I wanted to make a change.’
M*A*S*H wasn’t the only iconic show Swit appeared in. Her resume also boasts appearances in Murder, She Wrote and The Love Boat.
The actress also had roles in a number of movies, including ‘Freebie and the Bean’ in 1974, ‘Race With the Devil’ in 1975, 1981’s ‘S.O.B’ and ‘BoardHeads’ in 1998.
She co-starred alongside Tyne Daly in the 1981 pilot for ‘Cagney & Lacey’, but could not continue in the role when It was picked up, due to contractual obligations to ‘MASH’.
According to her IMDb, she does have one more film coming out – a role in the upcoming drama Second Chances.
As far as her theatrical credits, THR reports that Swit was also an active member of the theater community in Chicago and in 1991 she was honored with the Sarah Siddons Award for her contributions to the theater.
She starred in Shirley Valentine, a one-woman play, over 1,000 times and also became part of The Vagina Monologue’s touring cast in 2003.
Swit was born Loretta Jane Szwed on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey.
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.
Swit was married to actor Dennis Holahan, from 1983 until their divorce in 1995.
A passionate animal rights activist, she was a vegetarian for many years before becoming a vegan in 1981.
