Loretta Swit, Beloved M*A*S*H Actress, Dies at 87

Loretta Swit, who played Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the hit comedy series M*A*S*H, died today at her home in New York. She was 87.Loretta Swit, known worldwide as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan from the legendary comedy series M*A*S*H, has died at the age of 87. She died in the early morning hours at her home in New York from suspected natural causes, her spokesman Harlan Boll confirmed.



Swit was a mainstay of M*A*S*H, where she was the only female lead to remain a regular throughout its 11-season, 251-episode run. Her portrayal of the complex, resilient, and initially stern military nurse earned her 10 Emmy nominations, winning two, in 1980 and 1982.

“We saw Margaret evolve,” Swit said in a 2005 interview. “That was unprecedented in what was then considered a sitcom. But M*A*S*H was not a regular sitcom.”

Swit began her television career in 1969, guest-starring on shows including Hawaii Five-O (1968), Mission: Impossible, and Bonanza. Yet it was her work on M*A*S*H — a spinoff of Robert Altman’s film of the same name — that made her immortal.

Although M*A*S*H started out slow in the ratings, it grew into a cultural phenomenon. The 1983 finale drew more than 105 million viewers — still a record in American television history.

Loretta Swit leaves an indelible legacy in television history and in the hearts of millions of fans. Her contributions to M*A*S*H and her groundbreaking role as Margaret Houlihan will be remembered for generations to come.