Thrust into the national limelight for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the television series M*A*S*H, Loretta Swit’s career has since then steadily been on the rise. She is an American theater and television actress who has picked up two Emmy Awards along the way.
She has acting credits in films like The Love Boat (1977), Supertrain (1979), The Love Tapes (1980), The Kid from Nowhere (1982) and many others. Aside from acting, Loretta is also a committed animal rights advocate and author. She authored “Switheart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit.” Let’s take a look at all the interesting things that have happened in her career and family life.
Loretta Swit’s Career Achievements
Before the many laudable career accomplishments that we have come to associate Loretta Swit with, she was a little girl born on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey to Lester and Nellie Swit. Of Polish descent, she got her education from Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic before she later moved on to Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey from where she graduated in 1957.
She started out her career in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Her career in drama and acting began when she started studying at acting coach Gene Frankel’s studio in Manhattan, New York City.
Through the course of her career, Swit went back to the studio from time to time to offer support and encouragement to up-and-coming actors. Swit’s training also included time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and she is considered a singer of repute.
Loretta had her first acting role on stage with the Any Wednesday Company. She got roles in the Broadway play, Same Time, Next Year in 1975. Another Broadway performance of hers was in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She was also part of the Mame (Las Vegas version) which starred Susan Hayword in which she played Agnes Gooch. In more recent times, She has been part of The Vagina Monologues tour.
More so, Loretta Swit starred in the October 2003 production of Mame by the North Carolina Theatre, appearing as the title character. She went on to register appearances in other works including Amorous Crossings, a Mark Miller play in 2010 and in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks in 2017 at Buffalo, New York.
The highly talented actress started appearing on television series in 1969 following her move to Hollywood. She played guest roles in several TV series including Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible.
One of the main roles that have come to make Loretta Swit a household name is that of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, a head nurse in M*A*S*H. The TV series was set in a mobile army hospital during the Korean War. Her performance in M*A*S*H earned her two Emmy Awards. Swit narrated the documentary of Korea, the Forgotten War. She is also the first M*A*S*H actor/ess to actually visit South Korea.
She has also recorded some successes in feature films, making appearances in works such as the 1972 film Stand Up and be Counted, Race with the Devil of 1975, as well as S.O.B (1981). She also played B.D. Tucker in Beer (1985) and Mrs. Jones in Beach Movie (1998) among a few others.
Loretta’s career has been highlighted by some important awards including 2 Primetime Emmy Awards from 10 nominations, a People’s Choice Award, TV Land Award and 4 Golden Globes for her work on M*A*S*H (1972). In addition to all these, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
How Rich is the M*A*S*H Actress?
Loretta Swit has enjoyed a very successful career thus far. It is thanks to this that she has a net worth that has been estimated at $4 million. She made her fortune mainly from her acting. Part of her earnings has also come from her endorsement of various popular brands.
Loretta Swit’s Marriage and its Collapse
In 1983, the celebrated actress walked down the aisle with Dennis Holahan who is also an actor and attorney. While it was her first marriage, it was the second marriage for the actor whose first marriage to Wylie O’Hara ended less than 8 years after it began.
A partner at one of the largest law firms in California – Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith where he specializes in entertainment, media, and intellectual property litigation. Dennis appeared in an episode of M*A*S*H together with Loretta. Before joining Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, he had run one of the top entertainment-related law practices in the Los Angeles area for over 20 years.
Holohan’s marriage to Wylie O’Hara came to an end in 1973 and then he later met Swit on the set of the television series ‘M-A-S-H.’ After they got married in a small San Fernando Valley church, they were off to Egypt for their honeymoon.
Although the marriage survived for more than 10 years, the two did not have children between them. The union finally came crashing in 1995 and ended in a dirty divorce. But then, there is no revelation on the real reason why the marriage ended.
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