Loretta Swit: M.A.S.H star who played Houlihan dies

M.A.S.H. star Loretta Swit, best known for playing Major Margaret Houlihan on the acclaimed TV series, has died aged 87.

- MARK KENNEDY

Swit died on Friday at her Manhattan home, most probably from natural causes her publicist Harlan Boll said.

Her role as head army nurse Houlihan saw her nominated 10 years in a row for the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, which she won twice in 1980 and 1982.

The CBS show aired for 11 years from 1972 to 1983, revolving around life at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which gave the show its name.

Swit and Alan Alda were the longest-serving cast members on M.A.S.H., which was based on Robert Altman's 1970 film, which was itself based on a novel by Richard Hooker, the pseudonym of H Richard Hornberger.