Sally Kellerman, Oscar-Nominated as ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in ‘MASH,’ Dies at 84

Sally Kellerman, who was Oscar nominated for her supporting role as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s “MASH” feature film, died Thursday in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 84. Her publicist Alan Eichler confirmed her death. Among her other roles were a cameo in Altman’s “The Player,” a professor in Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School” and a Starfleet officer in the “Star Trek” episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The willowy blonde actress with the characteristically throaty voice appeared in two Altman films in 1970; the other was the more experimental “Brewster McCloud,” in which she starred with Bud Cort and Michael Murphy. In this film, which did not have a conventional narrative, Kellerman played Louise, the mother of Cort’s bewinged character, Brewster. She next starred opposite Alan Arkin in the Gene Saks-directed Neil Simon effort “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” The Cleveland Press wrote, “Sally Kellerman as the first woman makes out the best, managing to be both alluring and hostile. She’s great with a put-down and her retorts have bite.” She starred with James Caan in the goofy 1973 road movie “Slither” (in which the actress played a witch, no less) and was among the starry cast of the musical version of “Lost Horizon.” Kellerman reteamed with Arkin along with a young Mackenzie Phillips for another wacky road movie, 1975’s “Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins,” then was part of the starry cast assembled for the spoof disaster movie “The Big Bus.”


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