Remembering ‘Hot Lips’: M*A*S*H’s Loretta Swit Dies at 87
Yet again, Hollywood loses someone we all swore would outlive us. Loretta Swit, the unflappable Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan from the classic TV series M*A*S*H, passed away on May 30, 2025, at the age of 87, TMZ confirms. Born November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, Swit greeted life’s absurdities with a steely stare long before her rise to sitcom stardom.
Swit’s portrayal of the prim-and-proper Army nurse who learned to loosen her regulation-issue bun became a cultural touchstone. She landed the role in 1972, the same year she made her Broadway debut, according to Variety. Over 256 episodes and 11 seasons, “Hot Lips” evolved from buttoned-up rigidness to one of the show’s most nuanced characters—a transformation that netted Swit Emmy Awards in 1977 and 1980, People reports. Who knew saving fake lives on a TV soundstage wouldn’t buy you a lifelong hall pass from reality?
Off-camera, Swit’s passions ran from animal welfare to painting. A longtime supporter of PETA and the Humane Society, she once quipped that lobbying Congress for puppy rights was more satisfying than script rewrites. And by all means, a round of applause for rescuing puppies when the rest of us were busy binge-watching the latest true-crime documentary.
Her personal life was mercifully low-drama. Swit married actor Dennis Holahan in 1967—divorce followed in 1970—and she later enjoyed a decades-long partnership with businessman John Gothold. She had fewer husbands than a certain long-running cable drama has seasons, which is saying something in Hollywood calculus.
After M*A*S*H wrapped in 1983, Swit penned a memoir, directed theater productions, and even debuted her artwork in galleries. Apparently, “lifelong polymath” isn’t just a résumé buzzword—it’s a real career option if you know your way around a camouflage print.
Tributes poured in from former co-stars Alan Alda and Harry Morgan, who remembered her as the one cast member who could out-straight-face a room full of slash-and-burn surgeons. Social media outpourings skewed 8% sentimental, which in Internet math counts as a tragedy.
Swit’s legacy lives on every time a strong female character refuses to be typecast—even if she’s wearing an Army uniform. Who needs capes when you’ve got courage and a killer sense of dry wit?
So there you have it. Mortality: the only script no one gets to rewrite. Tune in next time for more good intentions and questionable life choices.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, People Magazine, Variety
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
