{"id":171528,"date":"2025-05-30T21:33:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T21:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/loretta-swit-cause-of-death-beloved-mash-actress-passes-away\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T21:33:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T21:33:26","slug":"loretta-swit-cause-of-death-beloved-mash-actress-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/loretta-swit-cause-of-death-beloved-mash-actress-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Loretta Swit Cause of Death: Beloved M*A*S*H Actress Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We have sad news from the world of television today, as Loretta Swit has passed away.<\/p>\n<p>The actress \u2014 who portrayed Margaret \u201cHot Lips\u201d Houlihan on the iconic sitcom<em> M*A*S*H <\/em>\u2014 was 87 years old.<\/p>\n<p>News of Swit\u2019s passing comes to us courtesy of her publicist, Harlan Boll, who noted that he spoke with Swit the previous evening and did not detect anything amiss.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Loretta Swit attends the Farm Sanctuary 25th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on May 14, 2011 in New York City.  \" class=\"wp-image-526773 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-1080x720.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-114184767-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loretta Swit attends the Farm Sanctuary 25th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on May 14, 2011 in New York City.  <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Neilson Barnard\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>No cause of death was given, but a police report obtained by <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/tv\/2025\/05\/30\/loretta-swit-dead-mash-hot-lips\/77938671007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">USA Today<\/a><\/em> indicated that Swit appeared to have died of natural causes.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-loretta-swit-s-epic-career-spanned-decades\">Loretta Swit\u2019s epic career spanned decades<\/h2>\n<p>Born in New Jersey in 1937, Swit moved to Los Angeles in 1970 to try and make it as an actress.<\/p>\n<p>She quickly found work, appearing in small roles on such popular series as <em>Mission: Impossible<\/em>, <em>Mannix<\/em>, <em>Gunsmoke<\/em>, and <em>Hawaii Five-O<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The attention she received from those performances helped her to land the female lead on a CBS sitcom that would go on to become one of the most popular shows in TV history.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-800x1024.jpg\" alt=\"American actor, director and writer Alan Alda in the driving seat of a jeep, surrounded by Loretta Swit and other cast members of the hit television show M.A.S.H, in costume as members of a US Army medical corp. \" class=\"wp-image-526775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-800x1024.jpg 800w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-234x300.jpg 234w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-768x983.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-1600x2048.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-750x960.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-844x1080.jpg 844w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-938x1200.jpg 938w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-scaled.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-800x1024.jpg\" alt=\"American actor, director and writer Alan Alda in the driving seat of a jeep, surrounded by Loretta Swit and other cast members of the hit television show M.A.S.H, in costume as members of a US Army medical corp. \" class=\"wp-image-526775 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-800x1024.jpg 800w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-234x300.jpg 234w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-768x983.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-1600x2048.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-750x960.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-844x1080.jpg 844w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-938x1200.jpg 938w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-scaled.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2659416-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">American actor, director and writer Alan Alda in the driving seat of a jeep, surrounded by Loretta Swit and other cast members of the hit television show M.A.S.H, in costume as members of a US Army medical corp. <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Keystone\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cShe was [unique] at the time and in her time, which was the \u201950s, when [the Korean War] was happening,\u201d Swit said of her <em>M*A*S*H <\/em>character in a 2004 interview at the TV Academy Foundation (per <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/loretta-swit-dead-mash-hot-lips-houlihan-1236233958\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd she became even more unique, I think, because we allowed her to continue to grow \u2014 we watched her evolve. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s ever been done in quite that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swit won two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2024\/01\/matthew-perry-in-memoriam-friends-cast-emmys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Emmys<\/a> for her work on <em>M*A*S*H<\/em>, and along with Alan Alda, she was one of only two stars to have appeared in both the show\u2019s pilot and its final episode.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"659\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-659x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Loretta Swit attends the 2015 Farm Sanctuary Gala at The Plaza Hotel on October 24, 2015 in New York City. \" class=\"wp-image-526774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-659x1024.jpg 659w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-768x1193.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-1319x2048.jpg 1319w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-618x960.jpg 618w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-696x1080.jpg 696w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-773x1200.jpg 773w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-scaled.jpg 1649w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"659\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-659x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Loretta Swit attends the 2015 Farm Sanctuary Gala at The Plaza Hotel on October 24, 2015 in New York City. \" class=\"wp-image-526774 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-659x1024.jpg 659w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-768x1193.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-1319x2048.jpg 1319w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-618x960.jpg 618w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-696x1080.jpg 696w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-773x1200.jpg 773w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-scaled.jpg 1649w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-494137620-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loretta Swit attends the 2015 Farm Sanctuary Gala at The Plaza Hotel on October 24, 2015 in New York City. <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Grant Lamos IV\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She continued to act throughout the \u201980s and \u201990s, accumulating dozens of film and television roles.<\/p>\n<p>Swit came close to starring in <em>two<\/em> classic series, as she portrayed one of the title roles in the pilot for <em>Cagney &amp; Lacey<\/em>, but her contract with <em>M*A*S*H<\/em> prevented her from continuing when the show got picked up a year later.<\/p>\n<p>Though she had not appeared on television in over 20 years, news of Swit\u2019s death made her an instant trending topic on social media as friends, fans, and colleagues rushed to pay tribute.<\/p>\n<p>Our thoughts go out to her loved ones during this enormously difficult time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2025\/05\/loretta-swit-cause-of-death-beloved-mash-actress-passes-away\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 3 minutes We have sad news from the world of television today, as Loretta Swit has passed away. The actress \u2014 who portrayed Margaret \u201cHot Lips\u201d Houlihan on the iconic sitcom M*A*S*H \u2014 was 87 years old. News of Swit\u2019s passing comes to us courtesy of her publicist, Harlan Boll, who noted that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-171528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}