Loretta Swit, the two-time Emmy Award-winning actress best known for her role in the iconic television series M*A*S*H, passed away on Friday at the age of 87, her publicist confirmed.
Swit died at her New York home; the cause is believed to be natural causes, pending a coroner’s report, according to her publicist, Harlan Boll, speaking to the BBC.
In M*A*S*H, Swit portrayed Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, a US Army nurse. The series, a comedic portrayal of a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War, ran for eleven seasons (1972-1983), achieving unparalleled success.
Nominated for numerous awards, Swit appeared in nearly every episode, including the record-breaking finale, which drew 106 million US viewers.
M*A*S*H remains one of the most celebrated and successful television series in US history, its finale holding the record for most-watched TV episode until 1983.
Swit’s character, “Hot Lips,” was a complex portrayal of a strong yet vulnerable nurse whose nickname stemmed from an affair with Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville).
The show cleverly used humor to address serious issues such as racism, sexism, and the effects of PTSD within the military context of the post-Vietnam era.
Based on the 1968 novel, “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors,” by a former Army surgeon, the show resonated deeply with audiences.
Born Loretta Szwed in New Jersey, Swit trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Beyond M*A*S*H, her prolific career spanned television, film, and even game shows.
Her stage credits include Broadway productions such as Same Time, Next Year, Mame, and Shirley Valentine, the latter earning her Chicago’s prestigious Sarah Siddons Award.
Her extensive television work included appearances on The Muppet Show, Mission: Impossible, and Murder, She Wrote. In addition to her Emmys, Swit received four Golden Globe nominations.
In a 2010 interview with Star magazine, Swit eloquently stated, “Acting is not hiding to me, it’s revealing. We give you license to feel. That’s the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that’s when you’re dead.”
Discussing her M*A*S*H character, she once shared, “Around the second or third year, I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes. … She was a character in constant flux; she never stopped developing.”
Beyond her acting career, Swit was a dedicated artist and animal rights activist, founding a charity to combat animal cruelty, according to Boll.
Jamie Farr, her M*A*S*H co-star (Corporal Klinger), affectionately referred to Swit as his “adopted sister,” stating, “From the first time I met her, on what was supposed to be a one-day appearance on M*A*S*H, we embraced each other and that became a lifetime friendship. I can’t begin to express how much she will be missed.”