The ‘M*A*S*H’ Emmy Award Winner Was 87

Loretta Swit, who rose to fame in her two-time Emmy Award-winning role as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the long-running M*A*S*H, died Thursday at her home in New York City. She was 87 and the expected cause of her passing was from natural causes.

Born November 4, 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey, Loretta Swit began her career in the early 1960s as an actress Off-Broadway in the Actor’s Playhouse production of An Enemy of the People. In 1961, Swit appeared in the Circle in the Square production of The Balcony and later toured with the national company of Ash Wednesday. Additionally, she played one of the Pidgeon sisters in a theater production of The Odd Couple, among other roles on stage.

Prior to M*A*S*H, Swit’s early roles on television included episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. M*A*S*H, based on the 1970 film of the same name, arrived in 1972, which ultimately changed her career. After a low-rated inaugural season, CBS moved M*A*S*H to the cushy Saturday 8:30 p.m. time period out of the then top-rated show in primetime, All in the Family, and into The Mary Tyler Moore Show. M*A*S*H was scheduled on Saturday for just one season but was able to stand on its own by season three. It ran for 11 seasons, rising to No. 3 over in that final season.

During her tenure M*A*S*H, Swit acted in other projects, including films Freebie and the Bean in 1974 and Race With the Devil in 1975. But perhaps her greatest acting achievement during filming the war dramedy was as the original Christine Cagney opposite Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey in the 1981 TV movie/pilot for Cagney & Lacey. Swit was interested in continuing in the series, but was contracted to M*A*S*H. After Meg Foster played Cagney in the six-episode abbreviated first season of Cagney & Lacey, Sharon Gless took over the role.

Swit’s other film roles included agent Polly Reed in Blake Edwards’ satire of Hollywood in S.O.B. in 1981, comedy Board Heads in 1998, and Play the Flute, her final role, in 2019.

Swit was also an animal activist, serving on the boards of Actors and Others for Animals and The Wildlife Waystation and as a spokesperson for the Humane Society. In 2016, she founded SwitHeart Animal Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to ending animal cruelty.

“While Loretta Swit may have been known to most as Major Margaret Houlihan, she was known to PETA as a major champion for all animals. A longtime vegan, she reminded everyone that “animals are my friends, not my food,” and at every turn, she encouraged people to spay, neuter, and adopt animals in need. The world has lost a kind soul and animals a true friend, and PETA will always treasure her legacy of compassion,” said PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in a statement.

In 1983, Swit married actor Dennis Holahan, who guest-starred on M*A*S*H and became romantically involved with Swit’s Margaret Houlihan. They divorced in 1988.

MeTV will celebrate Loretta Swit with memorable episodes of M*A*S*H showcasing Swit’s Margaret Houlihan beginning Monday, June 2 through Friday, June 6 at 7 p.m. ET and 7:30 p.m. ET, respectively.