Sally Kellerman, the veteran actress known for portraying U.S. Army Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s 1970 film M*A*S*H, has died at age 84, Deadline reports. She passed away at an assisted living facility in Woodland Hills, California from complications of dementia.
Born in Long Beach, California, Kellerman grew up in Los Angeles and attended Hollywood High School. Soon after, she studied acting at Los Angeles City College, where she performed in a stage production of Look Back in Anger alongside Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell, and Robert Blake.
Kellerman is perhaps best known for her turn as Major Houlihan in M*A*S*H (the film, not the television series), though she also appeared in several other Altman films, Brewster McCloud, Welcome to LA, and The Player. Other notable film roles included Back to School opposite Rodney Dangerfield, Lost Horizon, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers.
Her work in television included roles in Star Trek, Bonanza, The Outer Limits, and Mannix.
In addition to acting, Kellerman recorded two albums — 1972’s Roll with the Feelin’ and 2009’s Sally — and contributed to soundtracks for the the films Brewster McCloud, Lost Horizon, Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins, and Boris and Natasha: The Movie. She also dabbled in voiceover work, appearing in commercials for Hidden Valley Ranch, Mercedes-Benz, and Revlon. In 2013, Kellerman released a memoir, Read My Lips: Stories of a Hollywood Life. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
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