Loretta Swit, M*A*S*H's Margaret Hoolihan, dies at 87

[Ed Nielson]

Loretta Swit, the actress and animal activist forever known for her pioneering turn as the disciplined Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the acclaimed CBS sitcom M*A*S*H, has died. She was 87.

Loretta Swit, Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 87

The two-time Emmy winner almost starred on 'Cagney & Lacey' and helped lead the way for women playing strong, professional characters on television.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[tbolt909]

Swit was very good on M*A*S*H. I always preferred the first 3 years of the show with Wayne Rogers and McClean Stevenson. The writing and comedic timing were top notch in those seasons. The writers had the Hot Lips character go through a marriage and quick divorce in later seasons. That storyline got a bit tiresome, but she was good in the show.

Some may remember the horror film "Race With The Devil".
Swit was in that with Peter Fonda. A Satanic Cult harasses 2 couples in an RV in that 70's flick...

 

[crainbebo]

An icon of '70s and '80s television. RIP Hot Lips...condolences to Alan Alda, and her family/friends

 

[DOGDOG]

Having "been there", I never saw anything funny about field treatment facilities during wartime. As such, I never saw one minute of the program.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I like what someone said on another site. As frustrated as she got with the antics of the doctors, she was always a professional when it came to medical care.

 

[tbolt909]

Having "been there", I never saw anything funny about field treatment facilities during wartime. As such, I never saw one minute of the program.

Keep in mind, it was a TV show. Many doctors and medical professionals that served in Korea were technical advisors for the show. They praised the writers for the authenticity.

Hogan's Heroes was a show about a POW camp during WWII. How the Nazis became a source for a Comedy is baffling...

 

[KeithE4]

Hogan's Heroes was a show about a POW camp during WWII. How the Nazis became a source for a Comedy is baffling...

Very simple: All of the actors who played Nazis were Jewish. Some had spent time in prewar internment camps, and others fled the country to escape Hitler, or both. They wouldn't have done the show if they had to play those roles seriously. Then there was Robert Clary (LeBeau) who was a Holocaust survivor and lost most of his family to the death camps.

 

[tbolt909]

Very simple: All of the actors who played Nazis were Jewish. Some had spent time in prewar internment camps, and others fled the country to escape Hitler, or both. They wouldn't have done the show if they had to play those roles seriously. Then there was Robert Clary (LeBeau) who was a Holocaust survivor and lost most of his family to the death camps.

The show also borrowed from "The Great Escape" which had some comedic moments. "Hogan's Heroes" was a fairly good show. The problem was that all the Nazis were portrayed as inept buffoons. That was not realistic at all.
You're correct the show could not be done with an accurate depiction of German officers...

 

[Ed Nielson]

The show also borrowed from "The Great Escape" which had some comedic moments. "Hogan's Heroes" was a fairly good show. The problem was that all the Nazis were portrayed as inept buffoons. That was not realistic at all.
You're correct the show could not be done with an accurate depiction of German officers...

Mocking the Nazis was the whole point of the show. Werner Klemperer, who played Colonel Klink, took the role on the condition that Klink would never succeed and would always come out the loser.

 

[secondchoice]

My Mother who was a Registered Nurse watched the movie and the show at the beginning, said it started out as a satire of the medical profession. Especially some doctor's inepntness covered by nurses. The Army was an easy setting.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Having "been there", I never saw anything funny about field treatment facilities during wartime. As such, I never saw one minute of the program.

A Korean War veteran I worked with decades ago absolutely hated M*A*S*H. He said in reality a lot of the military doctors were hacks and did more damage than good.

 

[vchimpanzee]

My Mother who was a Registered Nurse watched the movie and the show at the beginning, said it started out as a satire of the medical profession. Especially some doctor's inepntness covered by nurses. The Army was an easy setting.

Other than Frank, I don't recall any inept doctors. Henry was a moron as a leader but not a doctor.

 

[secondchoice]

In the movie they fly to Japan to do surgery on a child of a VIP because the local Doctors blew it.