Loretta Swit, an actress best known for her role as Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan on TV show M*A*S*H has died. She was 87.
Swit’s publicist confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the actress died early Friday Morning (Friday evening in Australia).
As per The Hollywood Reporter, a police report states that she died of suspected natural causes at her home in New York city.
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M*A*S*H aired throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and Swit’s character has since become known as a pioneer for portrayals of strong women on screen.
In a 2017 interview with Vulture the actress revealed that it was her idea to have her character break off her affair with character Frank Burns because it was “demeaning”.
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“He’s married, it’s not going anywhere, she has no respect for his craft, his skill as a doctor”, she told the writers.
“She was busy, she was ambitious, she was caring, she wanted to be the best damn nurse in Korea, and that was her ambition. She was a real first.”
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Swit appeared in 240 episodes of M*A*S*H’s 251 episode run and was one of only two actors to appear in both the pilot and the series finale, which drew a record breaking audience with close to 106 million viewers.
During her time on the show the actress won two Emmys and was nominated a whopping 10 times – every year the show aired except for the first.
Alongside her role in M*A*S*H, Swit also appeared in several films including 1974’s Freebie and the Bean, 1998’s BoarHeads and 1981’s S.O.B..
She also appeared in Broadway plays Same Time, Next Year and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Swit was also known for her work as an animal activist.
In 2017 she released a collection of her watercolours of various animals, titling the book Swithearts, with proceeds going toward ending animal cruelty.
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Speaking with Star magazine in 2010, the actress shared her love for her craft, saying that while many see acting as hiding, to her she felt that it was more “revealing”.
“We give you licence to feel,” she said.
“That’s the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that’s when you’re dead.”
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