‘M*A*S*H’ Actress Loretta Swit Dies at 87 — Alan Alda Recalls 'Supreme Talent'

Loretta Swit, best known for her role as Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on “M*A*S*H,” has died at 87.

Her publicist Harlan Boll, citing a police report, told The Hollywood Reporter that Swit died just after midnight on Friday. While her cause of death is unknown, authorities reportedly suspect natural causes.

Boll told TMZ he had spoken with Swit on Thursday night and she seemed fine. Loretta’s maid, however, found her inside her NYC apartment in the morning. She was pronounced dead at noon.

Swit starred as Houlihan, an initially know-it-all nurse who softened during the show's run, on "M*A*S*H" from 1972-1983, appearing in all but 11 of the show's 250-plus episodes. She and Alan Alda — with whose Hawkeye Pierce her character had a love-hate relationship — were the only actors to have appeared in both the pilot and the finale.

In the "M*A*S*H" finale, seen by a record-breaking 106 million viewers, a long kiss between Hot Lips and Hawkeye was dubbed the most expensive kiss in TV history due to the astronomical advertising rates.

She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 of her character, a trail-blazing example of a professional woman on TV 50 years ago, "That woman was so lonely and she was trying to do such a good job. And nobody appreciated her." Hot Lips became Margaret over time, and softened when her character broke off her affair with conniving Maj. Frank Burns (Larry Linville).

Her iconic performance, which built on the version of Hot Lips played by Sally Kellerman in the 1970 "M*A*S*H" movie, earned Swit 10 Emmy nominations and two wins, as well as four Golden Globe nods.

Alda, 89, remembered his old co-star on X, writing, "Loretta was a supremely talented actor. She deserved all her 10 EMMY nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it. She worked hard In showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one joke sexist stereotype into a real person — with real feelings and ambitions. We celebrated the day the script came out listing her character not as Hot Lips, but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here."

Swit was born November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey. After a series of jobs that included working as a secretary for legendary society figure and writer Elsa Maxwell, she studied dance at the New York School of Ballet.

Her earliest off-Broadway work was at the dawn of the '60s, and she continued with stage work while pursuing TV and movie roles. Even after her success on "M*A*S*H," Swit carved out time to appear on Broadway in "Same Time, Next Year" (1975) and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1985).

She made her TV debut on a 1969 episode of "Hawaii Five-0," going on to guest on "Mission: Impossible" (1970), "Gunsmoke" (1970), and "Bonanza" (1972).

"M*A*S*H" occupied much of her time, but she appeared in the feature films "Deadhead Miles" (1972), "Stand Up and Be Counted" (1972), "Freebie and the Bean" (1974), "Race with the Devil" (1975), and "S.O.B." (1981) during her run on the show.

She played Cagney on "Cagney & Lacey" when the show was launched with a TV movie in 1981, but the role was recast with when she could not come to terms with producers. She was replaced by Meg Foster, who was in turn replaced by Sharon Gless.

Swit set sail on "The Love Boat" five times (1977-1984), and focused on other guest work, TV movies, and stage roles — including more than 1,000 performances in the one-woman show "Shirley Valentine." Her final TV work was on an episode of "Diagnosis: Murder" in 1998, and she returned to feature films after an absence of more than 20 years for a role in the religious-themed "Play the Flute" (2019).

The big-hearted actress was known for her animal-rights advocacy, and had been vegan for more than 40 years. She founded SwitHeart Animal Alliance, a nonprofit that combats animal cruelty.

She was married to actor Dennis Holahan, with whom she'd worked on "M*A*S*H," from 1983-1995.

THR reports that donations in her memory can be made to Actors & Others for Animals and/or the SwitHeart Animal Alliance.