I was too young to see the 1970 film “M*A*S*H” in theaters, but was a regular watcher of the television series that debuted in 1972 and ran for 11 seasons. As a Gen X kid, I got to know the character of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, expertly portrayed by Loretta Swit, and see her evolve from the butt of sexual jokes and innuendo to a multi-faceted and complex female lead.
“If you’re portraying a character for 11 seasons, the character has to have an arc,” said Steven Gorelick, former executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. “Otherwise, you don’t have 11 seasons.”
And the “M*A*S*H” regular who evolved most was the character, played by Swit, who was originally called “Hot Lips” Houlihan. By the end of the show, she was “Margaret.”
“She took that role and made it her own,” Gorelick said.
That she did. Much like the…
