Loretta Swit

**Loretta Jane Swit** (born November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the long-running Emmy-Award winning CBS-TV series *M\*A\*S\*H*.

## Early life

Loretta was born in Passaic, New Jersey, of Polish descent. She studied with Gene Frankel in Manhattan and considered him her acting coach. She regularly returned to his studio to speak with aspiring actors throughout her career. Swit is also a singer who trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before entering the theater. She graduated from Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic, NJ, in 1955.

## Television

When Loretta arrived in Hollywood in 1970, she appeared in guest roles in numerous CBS television shows, including *Gunsmoke*, *Mission: Impossible*, *Hawaii Five-O*, and *Mannix*, where she first acted with future *M\*A\*S\*H* fellow cast member Larry Linville, who was a cast regular on the popular crime drama series at the time.

### M\*A\*S\*H

Starting in 1972, Loretta auditioned for and got selected to play the role of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the television series *M\*A\*S\*H*. She inherited the star-making role from actress Sally Kellerman, who portrayed Houlihan in the feature film. Swit was one of only four cast members (the others being Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher) to stay for all 11 seasons of the show, from 1972 to 1983.

She and Alda were the only two actors to have been in both the pilot episode and the finale; she appeared in all but 11 of the total of 251 episodes. Swit received two Emmy Awards for her work on *M\*A\*S\*H*. Later, she was also the first M\*A\*S\*H star to visit South Korea, when she narrated the documentary Korea, the Forgotten War.
Her favorite episodes are *"Hot Lips & Empty Arms"*, *"Margaret's Engagement"* and "The Nurses".

### Cagney & Lacey

In 1981, Loretta played the "Christine Cagney" role in the movie pilot for the CBS television series *Cagney & Lacey*, but was precluded by contractual obligations from continuing the role. Actress Meg Foster portrayed Cagney for the first six episodes of the television series, with Sharon Gless taking over the role from that point on.

### Other TV appearances

Loretta also guest-starred in sitcoms such as *The Love Boat*, and game shows as *Win, Lose or Draw*, *Match Game*, *Pyramid*, and *Hollywood Squares*. She also starred in Christmas programs such as the television version of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and 1987's PBS Special A Christmas Calendar. In 1992, she hosted the 26-part series Those Incredible Animals on the Discovery Channel. Swit's latest appearance was on GSN Live on October 10, 2008.

### Theatre

In 1967, Swit toured with the national company of *Any Wednesday*, starring Gardner McKay. She continued as one of the Pigeon sisters opposite Don Rickles and Ernest Borgnine in a Los Angeles run of *The Odd Couple*.

In 1975, Swit played in *Same Time, Next Year* on Broadway opposite Ted Bessell. (NOTE: Alan Alda co-starred with Ellyn Burstyn in the 1978 film, of which Alda was nominated for Best Actor, and Burstyn won the award for Best Actress.) She also performed on Broadway in *The Mystery of Edwin Drood*. From there, she played Agnes Gooch in the Las Vegas version of *Mame*, starring Susan Hayward and later, Celeste Holm. Most recently, Swit has toured with *The Vagina Monologues*.

She has played Shirley Valentine, a one-woman play, since the 1990s into the 2010s, appearing in a variety of locals and revivals.

In October–November 2003, she starred as the title character in North Carolna Theatre production of *Mame* in Raleigh, NC.

## Musical Career and other interests

Swit joined neo-folk band, Roses Never Fade in 2012. They have begun recording an all star album for Neuropa records in Belgium. Alongside Mike Wisdom, Nathan Apocalypse, and Nicholas David Brewer (aka Nick Fiction). Many fans anticipate this all star albums release, Roses Never Fade 'In The Red Basement'. Loretta is also a gifted at equestrian, and
over the years appeared in numerous national competitions, winning several. She shared her interest in horseback riding with former fellow M\*A\*S\*H co-star Harry Morgan, and they even appear riding together horseback in the 4th-season episode "Bug Out" as the 4077th was relocating back to their site in the second part of the two part episode.

## References

1. ↑ Barnes, Clive. "Stage: 'Same Time,' 1976", February 21, 1976. Retrieved on November 7, 2011.
2. ↑ Christiansen, Richard (July 26, 1990). Loretta Swit Offers A Splendid `Shirley Valentine`.
3. ↑ Kates, Kathryn (September 24, 2010). Loretta Swit is Shirley Valentine. She Knows Media.
4. ↑ North Carolina Theatre. Nctheatre.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2011. Retrieved on May 17, 2011.

## External links

* Loretta Swit links at FreeOnes
* Loretta Swit at Babepedia
* Loretta Swit article at *Wikipedia*
* Thomas, Nick (Jan 5, 2017). M\*A\*S\*H’s Loretta Swit paints to help animals. Retrieved on January 14, 2017.