Loretta Swit, ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan on ‘MASH,’ Dies at 87
Loretta Swit, who played Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on seminal TV comedy “MASH,” died Friday at her home in New York City. She was 87.
Her rep Harlan Boll said she died of natural causes.
For her work on “MASH” Swit was Emmy nominated for outstanding performance by a supporting actress in a comedy every year from 1974-83, winning the Emmy in 1980 and 1982.
Her “MASH” co-star Alan Alda remembered her on X, writing “Loretta was a supremely talented actor. She deserved all her 10 Emmy nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it. She worked hard In showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one joke sexist stereotype into a real person — with real feelings and ambitions. We celebrated the day the script came out listing her character not as Hot Lips, but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here.”
A damned shame. Margaret was a great TV character, and though I’ve always been dubious about the show’s gradual turn from a comedy into a drama as it got older, she definitely benefitted from it.
