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Loretta Swit, two-time Emmy Award-winning actor, and Mega Genius^®

Loretta Swit is a two-time Emmy Award-winning American television and stage actor, with one of the most recognized faces in television history.  She is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, on the American television series M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983), now in worldwide syndication, widely considered one of the greatest shows in television history.

Loretta was trained as a singer at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Her theatrical work has included Any Wednesday, The Odd Couple, and the Las Vegas version of Mame.

Loretta’s television career includes over 25 movies, and appearances on such television shows as Gunsmoke; Hawaii Five-O; Mannix; Mission: Impossible; Pyramid; Match Game; The Love Boat; Love American Style; Bonanza; Batman; and Hollywood Squares.

In 1972, she began playing the character of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, one of the most popular characters ever to appear on television, on M*A*S*H.  She and Alan Alda were the only two actors who were in both the pilot and the final episode.  Of the 251 episodes of M*A*S*H, Loretta appeared in 240.  The outdoor set, formerly owned by 20th Century Fox Studios, is today a public park, near Malibu, California, known as Malibu Creek State Park.

The finale of M*A*S*H, televised on February 28, 1983, was seen by more than 105 million Americans, 77 percent of the viewership that evening.  It was the most watched episode in United States Television history, a record that still stands.

Said Loretta, “One day you make a right turn and get hit by a car.  Turn left and you meet the love of your life.  I think I made the correct turn.”

In 1981, she played Cagney in the pilot for the television series Cagney & Lacey, but had to relinquish the role due to contractual obligations to the producers of M*A*S*H.  Sharon Gless replaced her in the role.

Despite some jokes to the contrary on M*A*S*H, Loretta Swit is a natural blonde.

She was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards.  She was also nominated for 10 Emmys, and won two.  In 1989, Loretta Swit received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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