Loretta Swit (Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan)Loretta Swit (L-R of split-screen image) played head nurse and chief stick-in-the-mud Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the "M*A*S*H." But it was actress Sally Kellerman (inset) who first created the character in the 1970 movie version that spawned the TV series. And it was in the film where Margaret got her nickname "Hot Lips." In the memorable scene, Frank and Margaret are unaware that a microphone...
more Loretta Swit (Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan)Loretta Swit (L-R of split-screen image) played head nurse and chief stick-in-the-mud Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the "M*A*S*H." But it was actress Sally Kellerman (inset) who first created the character in the 1970 movie version that spawned the TV series. And it was in the film where Margaret got her nickname "Hot Lips." In the memorable scene, Frank and Margaret are unaware that a microphone is under their bed while they are getting frisky. The whole camp hears her say to Frank, "Kiss my hot lips," over the PA.
Loretta Swit went on to win two Emmy Awards for the role. Although she stayed with the series for all 11 seasons, she tried to exit in 1981 to take the part of Chris Cagney on "Cagney & Lacey." When producers held her to her contract, she stayed at the 4077th and left Lacey to find another partner.
After "M*A*S*H" ended, Swit appeared in numerous TV movies. She also appeared on the TV series "Diagnosis Murder," "Murder, She Wrote," "Love Boat," and "Burke's Law." She became a staple of the game show circuit, appearing on "Win, Lose or Draw," "Password," and "Hollywood Squares."
Swit moved away from TV and film, but has continued her
stage career in "The Vagina Monologues," "Mame," and more recently "Amorous Crossing" at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Florida. She also performed in "Love, Loss and What I Wore" in New York in 2011. Currently she can be seen performing as Eleanor Roosevelt in a one-woman show
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