'M*A*S*H' actress Loretta Swit dead: publicist
The entertainment world is mourning the passing of Loretta Swit, the U.S. actress who died at 87 on Friday. Swit was widely celebrated for her memorable performance as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the classic "MAS*H" series, a role that cemented her legacy in television history.
- Magazine
- AFP
- Published Date: 12:24 | 31 May 2025
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.