Loretta Swit

Loretta Swit (born Loretta 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 as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H, for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards in each season of the long-running show, and won two, in 1980 and 1982.

Early life Loretta Jane Szwed was born on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, to Nellie and Lester Szwed, both of Polish descent. Her father was a salesman and upholsterer. Swit's brother, Robert, was six years and one day her senior. As a child, Swit was a member of a Girl Scout troop sponsored by the Holy Rosary R.C. Church of Passaic.

She graduated from Pope 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. She graduated from Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey, in June 1957, then was employed at a variety of clerical jobs, including as a stenographer in Bloomfield, New Jersey; personal secretary to Elsa Maxwell; secretary to the ambassador from Ghana to the United Nations; and at the American Rocket Society in New York City while being trained to dance by a classmate, Elizabeth Parent-Barber, a Rockette and student at the New York School of Ballet. During this time, she began developing her acting career.

She studied drama with Gene 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 the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Theatre Swit's first off-Broadway appearance was in the Actors Playhouse production of An Enemy of the People. In 1961, Swit landed a role in the Circle in the Square production of The Balcony, written by Jean Genet and produced by José Quintero. She also performed on Broadway during the 1980s in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. From there, she played Agnes Gooch in the Las Vegas version of Mame, starring Susan Hayward and later, Celeste Holm.

She played Shirley Valentine, a one-woman play, from the 1990s into the 2010s, appearing in a variety of locales and revivals.

In October to November 2003, she starred as the title character in North Carolina Theatre's production of Mame in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In August to September 2010, Swit starred in the world premiere of the Mark Miller play Amorous Crossing at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida, directed by Tod Booth.

In 2016, Swit appeared in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania and again, in 2017, in Buffalo, New York.

Television When Swit arrived in Hollywood in 1969, she performed guest roles in various television series, including Hawaii Five-O (her first TV credit), Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, and Mannix.

M*A*S*H

Starting in 1972, Swit played the extremely capable head nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the television series M*A*S*H, a comedy set in a U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Swit inherited the star-making role from actress Sally Kellerman, who had portrayed Houlihan in the feature film. In the first few seasons, her character was single and blindly patriotic, and she had no friends among the camp surgeons and nurses, with the notable exception of her married lover, Major Frank Burns, portrayed by Larry Linville. Over time, her character was considerably softened. She married a lieutenant 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 were Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, and William 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 256 episodes. Swit received two Emmy Awards for her work on M*A*S*H.

Her favorite episodes were "Hot Lips and Empty Arms", "Margaret's Engagement", and "The Nurses".

She also had a close relationship with Harry Morgan, who played Colonel Sherman T. Potter. They became neighbors after the series ended, until his death on December 7, 2011. Swit remained close to Alda, along with his wife, three daughters, and seven grandchildren.

Cagney and Lacey In 1981, Swit played the role of Christine Cagney in the movie pilot for the television series Cagney & Lacey, but was precluded by contractual obligations from continuing the role. Meg Foster portrayed Cagney for the first six episodes of the television series, then Sharon Gless took over the role.

Other TV work Swit also guest-starred in television shows, including The Muppet Show, Bonanza, The Love Boat, and Gunsmoke. She also appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows, including Match Game, Pyramid, Win, Lose or Draw, Password, and Hollywood Squares. Additionally, she starred in Christmas programs such as the television version of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and 1987's PBS special A Christmas Calendar. In 1988, she hosted Korean War—The Untold Story, a documentary on the true events of the war, and went to South Korea to film it, becoming the first M*A*S*H cast member to actually visit the country since Jamie Farr's service there in the mid-1950s while a member of the U.S. Army. In 1992, she hosted the 26-part series Those Incredible Animals on the Discovery Channel. Swit's last appearance was on GSN Live on October 10, 2008.

She was also in the TV movie The Last Day (1975), with Richard Widmark and Robert Conrad.

Swit guest-starred with Mike Connors in Mannix, episode 78, season four, "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 the Hawaii Five-O episode titled "Three Dead Cows at Makapuu", which aired February 25, 1970. She also starred in the Hawaii Five-O episode "Bait Once, Bait Twice", on January 4, 1972.

Personal life and death

Swit was once linked with musician Bill Hudson. She married actor Dennis Holahan in 1983 and divorced him in 1995. Holahan played Per Johannsen, a Swedish diplomat who became briefly involved with Swit's character in an episode of M*A*S*H. She was a vegetarian for many years before becoming a vegan in 1981.

Swit wrote a book on needlepoint, titled A Needlepoint Scrapbook.

Swit died from natural causes at her home in New York City, on May 30, 2025, at the age of 87.

Filmography Film + Loretta Swit film credits 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

Television + Loretta Swit television credits 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 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

Awards and honors In 1991, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theater. Swit received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.

Published works