Loretta Swit, the Emmy- winning actress best known for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the long-running TV series MASH*, died Friday at her home in New York City. She was 87. A police report indicated natural causes are suspected, though the official report from the medical examiner is pending.
Swit achieved fame on MASH*, where she appeared in all 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983 and won two Emmy Awards. But her work stretched far beyond the Korean War-set series, including a memorable role in the 1975 horror-thriller Race with the Devil, which featured filming in Bandera, Castroville and San Antonio.
One of the film’s standout scenes unfolds inside Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, where the real Arkey Blue is shown singing “Living on Credit” before Swit’s character takes the stage to perform a Patsy Cline number—and then pulls a gun on a bar patron. The resulting shootout leaves bodies on the floor, mixing honky-tonk grit with sharp, dark humor.
In an interview with the Current, conducted with Swit in April,Swit recalled the experience of shooting the road-trip horror film while also appearing on MASH*. In one scene, she drove an RV through the streets herself—something she remembered as both fun and terrifying.
Swit spoke with affection about her co-stars—Peter Fonda, Warren Oates and Lara Parker—as well as about the film’s reputation as a cult classic. She remembered how the cast used the RV for everything, from wardrobe changes to makeup touch-ups, as they moved from location to location.
She also clarified a long-standing rumor that real Satanists were used in the film, laughing it off and attributing it to the eerie realism the filmmakers achieved.
According to Swit, the shoot was grounded in practical effects and physical performances—including a memorable sequence involving live snakes whose venom had been humanely extracted.
While Race with the Devil was the only horror movie she ever made, Swit said the genre was a personal favorite. She credited legendary actor Boris Karloff as a major influence and admired the genre’s ability to both frighten and entertain.
The movie ends on a famously ambiguous note, with the central characters trapped and surrounded by a ring of fire. Swit believed that open-ended final moment is a key reason the film has endured for 50 years. Rather than opting for a remake, she suggested the premise would better lend itself to a sequel—one that picks up from that fiery last shot.
Born Loretta Jane Szwed in Passaic, New Jersey, to Polish immigrant parents, Swit studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before beginning a successful career on stage and screen. Her television credits include appearances on Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O and Bonanza, as well as more than two dozen TV movies. She was also the original Chris Cagney in the pilot for Cagney & Lacey, but could not continue with the series due to her commitments on MASH*.
On stage, Swit made her Broadway debut in Same Time, Next Year and starred in more than 1,200 performances of Shirley Valentine, earning the prestigious Sarah Siddons Award in Chicago.
Later in life, Swit became a passionate advocate for animal welfare. She hosted the Discovery Channel series Those Incredible Animals, which aired in over 30 countries, and founded the SwitHeart Animal Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and caring for animals. She also created a perfume and coloring book to help raise funds for related causes.
Reflecting on her career in her interview with the Current, Swit brushed off questions about her legacy. “I’m living it,” she said.
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