Loretta Swit | |
|---|---|
 Swit onM*A*S*H set in 1972 asMajor Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan | |
| Born | Loretta Jane Szwed (1937-11-04)November 4, 1937 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 2025(2025-05-30) (aged 87) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1967–2019 |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | |
| Signature | |
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Loretta Swit (bornLoretta Jane Szwed; November 4, 1937 – May 30, 2025) was an American stage and television actress. She was widely known for her character roles, especially her role asMajor Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan onM*A*S*H, for which she was nominated forEmmy Awards in each season of the long-running show, and won two, in 1980 and 1982.[1]
Loretta Jane Szwed was born on November 4, 1937,[2] inPassaic, New Jersey, to Lester and Nellie Szwed (née Kassack), who were both of Polish descent. Her father was a salesman and upholsterer. Swit's brother, Robert, was six years and one day her senior.[3] As a child, Swit was a member of aGirl Scout troop sponsored by the Holy Rosary R.C. Church of Passaic.[4]
She graduated fromPope Pius XII High School in Passaic in 1955, where she had been a cheerleader, had taken part in theatrical productions, and was co-captain of the girls' basketball team.[5][6][7] She graduated fromKatharine Gibbs School inMontclair, New Jersey, in June 1957, then was employed at a variety of clerical jobs, including as astenographer inBloomfield, New Jersey; personal secretary toElsa Maxwell; secretary to the ambassador fromGhana to the United Nations; and at theAmerican Rocket Society in New York City while being trained to dance by a classmate, Elizabeth Parent-Barber, aRockette and student at the New York School of Ballet. During this time, she began developing her acting career.[8]
She studied drama withGene Frankel in Manhattan and considered him her acting coach. She regularly returned to his studio to speak with aspiring actors throughout her career. Swit was also a singer, having trained at theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts.[9]
Swit's firstoff-Broadway appearance was in the Actors Playhouse production ofAn Enemy of the People. In 1961, Swit landed a role in the Circle in the Square production ofThe Balcony, written byJean Genet and produced byJosé Quintero.[8]
In 1967, Swit toured with the national company ofAny Wednesday, starringGardner McKay. She continued as one of the Pigeon sisters oppositeDon Rickles andErnest Borgnine in a Los Angeles run ofThe Odd Couple.[citation needed]
In 1975, Swit played inSame Time, Next Year onBroadway oppositeTed Bessell.[10] She also performed on Broadway during the 1980s inThe Mystery of Edwin Drood. From there, she played Agnes Gooch in the Las Vegas version ofMame, starringSusan Hayward and later,Celeste Holm.[citation needed]
She playedShirley Valentine, a one-woman play, from the 1990s into the 2010s, appearing in a variety of locales and revivals.[11][12]
In October–November 2003, she starred as the title character inNorth Carolina Theatre's production ofMame inRaleigh, North Carolina.[13]
In August–September 2010, Swit starred in the world premiere of theMark Miller playAmorous Crossing at theAlhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida, directed by Tod Booth.[14]
In 2016, Swit appeared inSix Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at Totem Pole Playhouse inFayetteville, Pennsylvania.[15] and again, in 2017, inBuffalo, New York.[citation needed]
When Swit arrived inHollywood in 1969, she performed guest roles in various television series, includingHawaii Five-O (her first TV credit),Gunsmoke,Mission: Impossible, andMannix.
Starting in 1972, Swit played the extremely capable head nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the television seriesM*A*S*H, a comedy set in a U.S.Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during theKorean War. Swit inherited the star-making role from actressSally Kellerman, who had portrayed Houlihan in the feature film. In the first few seasons, her character was single andblindly patriotic, and she had no friends among the camp surgeons and nurses, with the notable exception of her married lover, Major Frank Burns, portrayed byLarry Linville. Over time, her character was considerably softened. She married alieutenant colonel but divorced soon after. She became good friends with her fellow officers, and her attitude towards the Koreans in and around the camp became more enlightened. The change reflected that of the series in general, from absurdist dark humor to mature comedy-drama. Swit was one of only four cast members to stay for all 11 seasons of the show, from 1972 to 1983 (the others wereAlan Alda,Jamie Farr, andWilliam Christopher).
Swit and Alda were the only actors to have been in both the pilot episode and the finale; she appeared in all but 11 of the total of 256 episodes. Swit received twoEmmy Awards for her work onM*A*S*H.
Her favorite episodes were "Hot Lips and Empty Arms", "Margaret's Engagement", and "The Nurses".[16]
She also had a close relationship withHarry Morgan, who playedColonel Sherman T. Potter. They became neighbors after the series ended until his death on December 7, 2011.[17] Swit remained close to Alda, along with his wife, three daughters and seven grandchildren.[18]
In 1981, Swit played the role of Christine Cagney in the movie pilot for the television seriesCagney & Lacey but was precluded by contractual obligations from continuing the role.Meg Foster portrayed Cagney for the first six episodes of the television series, thenSharon Gless took over the role.[citation needed]
Swit also guest-starred in television shows, such as:The Muppet Show,Bonanza,The Love Boat andGunsmoke. She also appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows, including:Match Game,Pyramid,Win, Lose or Draw,Password andHollywood Squares. Additionally, she starred in Christmas programs such as the television version ofThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever and 1987'sPBS specialA Christmas Calendar.[19] In 1988, she hostedKorean War—The Untold Story, a documentary on the true events of the war, and went toSouth Korea to film it, becoming the firstM*A*S*H cast member to actually visit the country since Jamie Farr's service there in the mid-1950s while a member of theU.S. Army. In 1992, she hosted the 26-part seriesThose Incredible Animals on theDiscovery Channel. Swit's last appearance was onGSN Live on October 10, 2008.
She was also in the TV movieThe Last Day (1975), withRichard Widmark andRobert Conrad.[20]
Swit guest-starred withMike Connors inMannix, Episode 78, Season 4, "Figures in a Landscape", written by Paul Krasny and directed by Donn Mullally, originally airing on October 10, 1970.
Swit guest-starred as Wanda Russell in theHawaii Five-O episode titled "Three Dead Cows at Makapuu", which aired February 25, 1970. She also starred in theHawaii Five-O episode "Bait Once, Bait Twice", on January 4, 1972.
Swit was once linked with musicianBill Hudson.[21] She married actorDennis Holahan in 1983 and divorced him in 1995.[22] Holahan played Per Johannsen, a Swedish diplomat who became briefly involved with Swit's character in an episode ofM*A*S*H.
Swit was ananimal rights activist.[23][24] She was a vegetarian for many years before becoming avegan in 1981.[25]
Swit wrote a book onneedlepoint, titledA Needlepoint Scrapbook.[26]
Swit died at her home in New York City, on May 30, 2025, at the age of 87.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Stand Up and Be Counted | Hilary McBride | |
| 1973 | Deadhead Miles | Lady With Glass Eye | |
| 1974 | Policewomen | Police clerk | Uncredited |
| Freebie and the Bean | Mildred Meyers, Red's Wife | ||
| 1975 | Race with the Devil | Alice | |
| 1981 | S.O.B. | Polly Reed | |
| 1985 | Beer | B.D. Tucker | |
| 1986 | Whoops Apocalypse | President Barbara Adams | |
| 1996 | Forest Warrior | Shirley | |
| 1998 | Beach Movie | Mrs. Jones | |
| 2019 | Play the Flute | Mrs. Kincaid |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1972 | Hawaii Five-O | Anna Schreuder / Wanda Russell / Betty | 4 episodes |
| 1970 | Mission: Impossible | Midge Larson | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| Mannix | Dorothy Harker / Jill Packard | Episodes: "Only One Death to a Customer" (Season 3-Episode 20), "Figures in a Landscape" (Season 4-Episode 04) | |
| Gunsmoke | Belle Clark / Donna | Episodes: "The Pack Rat", "Snow Train" (Parts 1 & 2) | |
| 1971 | Cade's County | Ginny Lomax | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Rosalyn | Episode: "The Convicts" | |
| 1972 | Fireball Forward | Nurse (uncredited) | TV movie |
| Bonanza | Ellen Sue Greely | Episode: "A Visit to Upright" | |
| Young Dr. Kildare | Alice | Episode: "The Nature of the Beast" | |
| 1972–1983 | M*A*S*H | Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan | Main cast Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series(1980, 1982) People's Choice Award for Favorite Female TV Performer(1983) Nominated –Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series(1974–79, 1981, 1983) Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy(1980, 1982) Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film(1974, 1983) |
| 1972 | Love, American Style | Doris | Segment "Love and the Pick-Up Fantasy" |
| 1973 | Ironside | Sally Pearson | Episode: "Ollinger's Last Case" |
| Match Game | Herself | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star | |
| Shirts/Skins | Linda Bush | TV movie | |
| Love, American Style | Mary Beth Scoggins | Segment "Love and the Locksmith" | |
| 1973–1979 | Pyramid | Herself | 90 episodes |
| Match Game | 51 episodes | ||
| The Mike Douglas Show | 6 episodes | ||
| 1974 | Petrocelli | Ella Knox | Episode: "By Reason of Madness" |
| The Merv Griffin Show | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1975 | The Last Day | Daisy | TV movie |
| It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman | Sydney | ||
| Rickles | Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan | TV special | |
| The Bobby Vinton Show | Herself | 1 episode | |
| Celebrity Bowling | 2 episodes | ||
| 1976 | Good Heavens | Maxine | Episode: "Good Neighbor Maxine" |
| 1977 | The Hostage Heart | Chris LeBlanc | TV movie |
| 1977–1978 | The Love Boat | Terry Larsen / Anoushka Mishancov | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Supertrain | Alice Phillips | Episode: "Hail to the Chief" |
| Mirror, Mirror | Sandy McLaren | TV movie | |
| Friendships, Secrets and Lies | B.J. | ||
| Valentine | Emily | ||
| 1979–1980 | Password Plus | Herself | Game Show Contestant / Celebrity Guest Star (4 episodes) |
| 1980 | The Muppet Show | 1 episode | |
| The Love Tapes | Samantha Young | TV movie | |
| 1981 | Cagney & Lacey | Detective Christine Cagney | |
| 1982 | The Kid from Nowhere | Caroline Baker | |
| Games Mother Never Taught You | Laura Bentells | ||
| 1983 | First Affair | Jane Simon | |
| The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Grace Bradley | ||
| 1984 | The Love Boat | Kathy Ross | Episode: "My Mother, My Chaperone/The Present/The Death and Life of Sir Albert Demerest/Welcome Aboard" |
| 1985 | The Execution | Marysia Walenka | TV movie |
| Sam | Samantha Flynn | TV pilot episode | |
| Miracle at Moreaux | Sister Gabrielle | TV movie | |
| 1986 | Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story | Deo Fisher | |
| 1987 | A Christmas Calendar | Herself (Host) | TV special |
| 1988 | 14 Going on 30 | Miss Louisa Horton | TV movie |
| Dolly | LuWanda Novack | Episode: "#1.19" | |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Special | Wanda Karpinsky | Episode: "My Dad Can't Be Crazy... Can He?" |
| 1990 | A Matter of Principle | Jane Short | TV movie |
| 1991 | Hell Hath No Fury | Connie Stewart | |
| Memories of M*A*S*H | Herself / Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan | TV special | |
| 1992 | Batman: The Animated Series | Marcia Cates (voice) | Episode: "Mad as a Hatter" |
| A Killer Among Friends | Detective Patricia Staley | TV movie | |
| The Big Battalions | Cora Lynne | TV miniseries | |
| 1994 | Murder, She Wrote | Kim Mitchell | Episode: "Portrait of Death" |
| 1995 | Burke's Law | Evelyn Turner | Episode: "Who Killed the Sweet Smell of Success?" |
| 1997 | Cow and Chicken | Judge (voice) | Episode: "Space Cow/The Legend of Sailcat" |
| 1998 | Diagnosis: Murder | Maggie Dennings | Episode: "Drill for Death" |
| 1999–2004 | Hollywood Squares | Herself | 6 episodes |
| 2002 | M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion | Herself / Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan | TV special |
