Sally Kellerman, ‘M*A*S*H’ Film Star And Oscar Nominee, Has Died At 84

Hollywood is in mourning today after the death of Sally Kellerman, who was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for playing the original Army Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan  in Robert Altman’s 1970 movie M*A*S*H. She was 84 years old.

Kellerman Passes Away

Kellerman’s death was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by her son Jack, who said that she died after at an assisted living facility in Woodland, California following a long battle with dementia. This came after a decades-long career in Hollywood that saw her have over 150 movie and television credits to her name at the time of her death. 

Born in Long Beach, California in 1937, Kellerman made her film debut in 1957 in Reform School Girl. She then spent the 1960s appearing in various TV shows like “The Twilight Zone,” “My Three Sons,” and “Tarzan” before she finally got her big break in the 1970 movie M*A*S*H.

Here’s are a few classic clips from M*A*S*H.

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Kellerman’s Famous M*A*S*H Scene

Daily Mail reported that in one of the most famous scenes from this film, Kellerman’s character is targeted in a shower prank, with the shower’s tent being lifted revealing her naked. Kellerman recalled in 2016 that she was nervous at the time because she had never been naked on camera before, so Altman came up with an unusual distraction for her.

“When I looked up, there was  Gary Burghoff stark naked standing in front of me,” she remembered. “The next take, [Altman] had Tamara Horrocks — she was the more amply endowed nurse — without her shirt on. … So I attribute my Academy Award nomination to the people who made my mouth hang open.”

As she recalled how embarrassing this was for her character, Kellerman said, “I loved Bob, but he was a real male chauvinist, probably the worst. I’m kidding. Sort of kidding. But I think that [torment] really saved Hot Lips. She grew up after that. She’d been so uptight, so rigid, no sense of humor — and after all that went down, she started having a really good time, a real life.”

Watch Kellerman in action in this movie in the video below. 

When M*A*S*H moved to TV, Kellerman didn’t reprise the role of “Hot Lips.” Loretta Swit took over the part in the series that ran from 1972 to 1983.

M*A*S*H made Kellerman a household name, and she launched a successful movie career from there. She often said that when fans would recognize her in public, they would either say “Hey Hot Lips” or recite one of her iconic lines from the 1986 film Back To School: “Call me sometime when you got no class.”

Star Trek Fans Remember Her, Too

Star Trek fans fondly remember her for the role of Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in the original TV series’ second pilot.

Kellerman’s Personal Life

Kellerman was married to Starsky & Hutch producer Rick Edelstein from 1970 until they divorced two years later. She then married talent manager Jonathan D. Krane in 1980, remaining with him until his death in 2016. She is survived by her adopted daughter Claire and adopted son Jack, whose twin sister Hannah sadly died from a heroin overdose in 2016 at the age of 27. 

“I love acting … but my fantasy is to have a couple of babies and make an album a year, and maybe a picture a year, too,” Kellerman said in 1973. “I don’t want to not do either one.”

Rest in peace, Sally Kellerman. 

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