Loretta Swit reminisces about her hit TV series M*A*S*H and reveals the secret to the show’s massive success while praising her co-stars
Just over 40 years after the hit TV series M*A*S*H* aired its iconic finale – still one of the most-watched TV broadcasts of all time – star Loretta Swit is reminiscing.
Swit, 86, played Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in the series, which ran 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983, adapted from Robert Altman’s 1970 film.
The series finale – Goodbye, Farewell and Amen – was watched by 105 million viewers – one of the most-watched narrative TV episodes of all time.
Swit – who recently spoke about how she almost left the show – opened up in a wide-ranging chat with First For Women, where she spoke about the camaraderie she had with her cast members.
She also revealed what she believes was the secret to the success of the show, set amid the Korean War, that made it stand out in the TV landscape.
The original Robert Altman film was a dark comedy that starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce, Elliot Gould as Trapper John McIntyre and Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips Houlihan, based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.
For the TV series, Alan Alda stepped into the Hawkeye role, with Wayne Rogers playing Trapper John and Gary Burghoff (Radar O’Reilly) becoming the only cast member from the movie to reprise that role for the TV series.
The half-hour comedy series was known for its ability to blend both comedy and drama, though Swit believes it was the humor that made the show stand out.
‘Initially when we started out, everyone wondered how we were going to be able to pull off a comedy about the war, but we did. The secret behind M*A*S*H’s success,’ she admitted.
Swit adds, ‘Laughter and humor were our defense against standing in blood and working on bodies that were young enough to be in school.’
She admitted there was nothing inherently funny about war, but added, ‘you needed the funniest people in the world to make this believable and this cast exceeded that and more.’
Swit won two Emmys for playing Hot Lips, and has nothing but praise for the lauded series finale.
‘The last program, titled Goodbye, was the jewel of the crown, and M*A*S*H was a very important piece of Americana, so it was an honor to be a part of that magic,’ she said.
She added of the cast, ‘Everyone liked coming to work. The camaraderie was unlike anything I ever experienced because we were all connected deeply.’
‘The chemistry was real and the energy everyone brought to the set was off the charts, which was a part of the reason the show developed a huge/loyal fan base,’ she added.
The actress said she still emails Alan Alda, though they haven’t seen each other in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.
M*A*S*H won 14 Emmy Awards, earned 109 nominations, plus the series took home a Peabody Award in 1975.
