Yesterday’s news of the passing of Loretta Swit took those that knew her by surprise. When her publicist B. Harlan Boll dropped the news in a Facebook post (yes, he’s a friend) yesterday afternoon he was in the midst of prepping and seeking publicity for a 90th birthday celebration for another of his veteran clients, 60s bombshell and one-time dice roller Ruta Lee, that took place last night. But a lot more news outlets picked up on this because, hey, poor Ruta never did get a role that lasted as long or has continued to endure in reruns as much as Loretta’s career-defining stint. CBS NEWS’ Alex Sundby was among those who put out the basic facts:
Loretta Swit, who played Maj. Margaret Houlihan on the TV series “M*A*S*H,” has died, a representative for her confirmed to CBS News. She was 87. Swit died at her home in New York City. Swit starred on stage and screen, but she was perhaps best known for her long-running role as the head nurse who was a foil to Alan Alda‘s Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce on “M*A*S*H,” which aired for 11 seasons on CBS, from 1972 to 1983.
Swit won two Emmys for her performances on “M*A*S*H” and was nominated eight other times for her work on the show. She was also nominated for four Golden Globes.
As the show developed and incorporated more dramatic plot lines with the comedic ones, Swit wanted to portray Houlihan as more than the “Hot Lips” nickname her character was given while having an affair with Linville’s Burns. “Around the second or third year I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes,” Swit told the author of “The Complete Book of ‘M.A.S.H,'” Suzy Kalter. “To oversimplify it, I took each traumatic change that happened in her life and kept it. I didn’t go into the next episode as if it were a different character in a different play. She was a character in constant flux; she never stopped developing.”
But for me, the loss was a tad more personal. It was exactly one year ago this weekend when she provided me with one of the most entertaining afternoons of my life, and her lips were only involved with the words and stories she regaled me with once we realized we shared a very special connection.
Swit joined her M*A*S*H co-star Jamie Farr at a booth at last year’s QUIZ SHOW EXPO in Burbank, a hybrid -con and industry business conference that sought to cash in on the memorialization of the anniversary of when TV’s acknowledged first quiz/game show, TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, premiered (June 1, 1941, for the trivia-conscious). Both of them, like most of the casts of hit network shows in the 70s, frequently were guest celebrities on the glut of titles that populated the daytime and non-network time periods of those networks; in fact, one of her classic winning bonus rounds on the OG $20,000 PYRAMID was repurposed by Comcast in an ad campaign hocking cable subscriptions in the early oughts. And aside from the obvious reasons why a young male would have been a fan, her connection to that and a show that provided me and especially my colleagues with professional rewards made her an especially appealing target for me to at least try and have a photo op with.
So I ambled over to their booth. Swit was not in the best of moods; she, like so many of the aging talents who no longer have rich residual streams rolling in (if they ever did), had brought a ton of photos and yes, copies of that M*A*S*H book she was hoping to hock with the addition of an autograph. I already own a copy that was gifted to me during my stint as a 20th Century FOX executive that the entire cast had autographed as part of a convention giveaway. I cited that as the reason I would only be able to merely thank her rather than add to her income–not that I could have afforded her price under any circumstances. Intrigued, we began a conversation that dredged up warm memories of long-ago conventions and executives in days where people willingly schlepped over the world to promote and support their content–something we agreed was sadly no longer true. And then she asked “Did you know Bill Saunders?” With that, I was now the one that wouldn’t shut up.
Saunders was already a seasoned veteran who headed up the 20th Century FOX TV international sales team out of London when our paths crossed, a marked contrast to the group of young upstarts such as moi that were given the domestic keys to that kingdom. In that era, the focus was frequently on rights to broadcast theatrical movies and his client base overwhelmingly traditional terrestrial broadcasters, many with direct ties to their governments. Many of his pitch meetings occurred in embassies and castles rather than office buildings. He knew that a government official’s ability to process ratings hype was negligible, so our direct dealings weren’t frequent. But to this day I never saw, let alone worked with, a more impressive or successful sales executive anywhere on this planet than Bill Saunders.
And ironically it was this time of year when Saunders would be most connected to us, leading his global team into battle during the L.A. Screenings which we’ve recently mused about. The highlight would be a party hosted by my boss’ boss, the notorious Jonathan Dolgen. We’ve previously mused about that, too. But while it was the Dolgen home with him as the comic headliner, it was Saunders who was the host and the top draw on the card. He would never miss a beat to make sure one’s drink was filled and would seamlessly shift from speaking English to Spanish to Portuguese to Japanese or whatever language or dialect just happened to be in attendance. And we’d go long into the night with Bill holding court at the Dolgens’ grand piano, getting the entire party to join in an old-fashioned British round or three which he’d provide the translations to sing along with without nary an extra breath.
When I provided this as the answer to Loretta’s question tears welled up in her still-gorgeous face. She would often make the trek to Cannes for international sales conventions–hey, who wouldn’t turn one down on the studio’s dime?. But because the timing of these conventions was often during her hiatus she would stick around for a few days of R and R. It just so happened Saunders had married an equally regaling woman of French descent named Jacqueline and owned a vacation home in a nearby resort town. While Bill would work, Loretta was Jacqueline’s guest, sometimes for more than a week. No media, no work discussion, and, natch, no cost. It gave her the needed renewal of body and spirit to head back into production and fight for the evolution of Hot Lips to Margaret from what she dished was a largely misoygnist writing staff–including a few folks I had personal connections to.
With scant few actual fans with disposable income in attendance at the Expo, we just kept talking and talking. About two hours later as the exhibit hall time was ending I remembered my original intention of getting a photo had yet to be honored. By this time exhausted, Swit took a couple on her phone and asked me to contact Boll to have them forwarded. I was too spent and embarrassed myself–and indeed pretty tuckered out–to bring up the fact that I didn’t have Boll’s phone number–just his social media handles. I did text him, but you know how often busy publicists pay attention to DMs. And obvs now ain’t the time to expect he’s gonna be inclined to track it down for me.
So unlike so many of my many friends and colleagues who happened to have pics of her from that day and took the opportunity to post them yesterday in loving tribute, I don’t. Just those memories and connections, along with the new ones that were created.
At least I was able to find a pic of Saunders, apparently from an old press kit that someone is seeking to profit from via Ebay. Saunders’ pic is currently $24.88–a notch less than Swit’s asking price last year, but still too rich for my blood.
Besides, I should have taken the opportunity at those Screenings parties to have taken one with Bill anyhow. Apparently, I’ve had a habit of missed opportunities going back decades.
So I’ll merely toast Loretta’s memory with this musing. And I sure hope Bill and Jacqueline are opening up their new house to her with similar largesse.
Until next time…