“M*A*S*H” Star Sally Kellerman Dies At 84

Actress Sally Kellerman, who originated the role of Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman theatrical M*A*S*H in 1970, died Thursday morning at an assisted care facility in Woodland Hills, California after a battle with dementia. She was 84.

Born June 2, 1937 in Long Beach, California, Kellerman made her acting debut in a local stage production of Look Back in Anger opposite Jack Nicholson, Shirley Knight, Dean Stockwell and Robert Blake in 1956. Towards the end of the 1950s, Kellerman joined the Actor Studio West and debuted on camera in the 1957 film Reform School Girl. Next were guest appearances on television series like Playhouse 90, Bachelor Father, Lock Up, Surfside 6, Cheyenne, The Twilight Zone, My Three Sons, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Dozens of other guest appearances on television followed including, in particular, the third Star Trek episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, a human Starfleet officer aboard the USS Enterprise.

Then, in 1970, came M*A*S*H, which resulted in an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Support Role. She reunited with director Robert Altman in his films Brewster McCloud (1970), Welcome to L.A. (1976), The Player (1992), and Prêt-à-Porter (1994), and the short-lived anthology series Gun in 1997.