MAS*H Stars Remember Loretta Swit After Her Passing at 87

Loretta Swit, best known for her iconic role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on MASH*, has died at the age of 87. Her former castmates are paying heartfelt tributes to the Emmy-winning actress.

“Loretta was a supremely talented actor. She earned every one of her 10 Emmy nominations — and both of her wins,” wrote Alan Alda, 89, on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, May 30. “But she didn’t just play the role — she created it.”

Alda, who played Dr. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, and Swit were the only two actors to appear in both the pilot and the series finale of MASH*, which ran for 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983. He remembered how dedicated Swit was to transforming her character.

“She worked hard to show the writers how they could evolve her role from a one-note, sexist stereotype into a fully developed character — someone with real emotions and real ambitions,” Alda wrote. “We celebrated the day her character was finally listed in the script as Margaret instead of Hot Lips. Loretta made every moment count.”

Mike Farrell, who joined the cast in Season 4 as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt, also honored Swit on Instagram, sharing a black-and-white photo of her with the caption: “Loretta … 1937–2025 🖤.”

Alongside Alda and Farrell, the last surviving original cast members of MASH* are Jamie Farr and Gary Burghoff.

Swit earned two Emmy Awards for her performance on MASH* and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.

Reflecting on her role in later years, Swit explained how her character gradually evolved over time: “She still had to be one of the antagonists — that was the show’s structure — but by Season 2, we saw she wasn’t happy with Frank and wanted more out of life,” she said. “In Season 3 or 4, there was an episode called The Nurses where she gave a speech about how lonely she was because she was in charge and couldn’t be close to anyone. Her marriage, her divorce, and her affair with Hawkeye in Comrades in Arms all changed her. After that, Margaret and Hawkeye were never really rivals again.”

After MASH*, Swit continued working in television, appearing in several made-for-TV movies and on popular game shows like Match Game, Pyramid, and Hollywood Squares. Her final film role was in Play the Flute, released in 2019.