Loretta Swit was born Loretta Szwed on November 4 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She acted in repertory and made her off-Broadway debut in An Enemy of the People. On Broadway she was an understudy for the role of Ellen Gordon in Any Wednesday and she toured with the play in 1967. She also toured with Mame in the role of Agnes Gooch. She moved to Los Angeles in 1969. She made her television debut in a guest appearance on Hawaii Five-O that same year. In 1970 she guest starred on Mission: Impossible, Mannix, and Gunsmoke.
It was in 1972 that Loretta Swit was cast in the role of Major Margaret Houlihan, nicknamed "Hot Lips"in the early seasons of the show, on M*A*S*H. She was nominated ten times for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won twice. In the Seventies she guest starred on the shows Cade's County; The Bold Ones: The New Doctors; Bonanza; Young Dr. Kildare; Love, American Style; Petrocelli; Good Heavens; The Love Boat; Supertrain; and The Muppet Show. She made her film debut in 1972 in Stand up and Be Counted. She appeared in the films Deadhead Miles (1973), Policewomen (1974), Freebie and the Bean (1974), and Race with the Devil (1975). She appeared on Broadway in Same Time, Next Year.
In the Eighties Loretta Swit continued to appear on M*A*S*H until it ended its run after eleven seasons. She guest starred on The Love Boat and ABC Afternoon Specials.. She played Mary Beth Lacey in the the TV movie Cagney & Lacey, but could not play the role when it became a TV series because she was still appearing on M*A*S*H*. she also appeared in such TV movies as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story. She appeared on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She appeared in the films S.O.B. (1981), Beer (1985), and Whoops Apocalypse (1986).
In the Nineties Loretta Swit guest starred on Batman: The Animated Series; Murder, She Wrote; Burke's Law; and Diagnosis Murder. She appeared in the mini-series The Big Battalions. She appeared in the movies Forest Warrior (1996) and Beach Movie (1998). Her last appearance was in the movie Play the Flute (2019).
Loretta Swit will always be best remembered as Major Margaret Houlihan and with good reason. Not only is M*A*S*H one of the greatest and most popular television shows of all time, but Margaret was one of its best characters. What is more, it was Loreta Swit who was largely responsible for the development of Major Houlihan as a character. In The Hollywood Reporter, Alan Alda said, "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." If M*A*S*H is a success, it is largely because of Loretta Swit.
Of course, Loretta Swit played more roles than Margaret Houlihan. In the movie S.O.B. she played venomous Hollywood gossip columnist Polly Reed. In one of her earliest roles, the Mannix episode "Only One Death to a Customer," she played a gangster's moll who operates a fashion boutique. In the TV movie adaptation of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, she played Grace Bradley, the mother who winds up directing the pageant after the original director is injured. Loretta Swit was a an enormously talented actor who could create a variety of fully realized characters She leaves behind a number of memorable performances.
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