Loretta Swit Gets a Fitting Sendoff With This Nostalgic Tribute
MeTV is remembering a TV legend this week who passed away at the age of 87.
Loretta Swit, best known to television fans as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the hit CBS series, M*A*S*H, is getting a fitting tribute after passing away on May 30. The network will be airing special episodes of the sitcom beginning on June 2 at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. The special event will conclude on Friday, June 6.
Swift is believed to have passed away from natural causes, per her representative, B. Harlan Boll, to CBS News. She played the iconic television role for 11 seasons with 10 Emmy nominations and two wins for her performances on M*A*S*H in 1980 and 1982.
Per MeTV's schedule, these are the episodes that will be featured this week:
Monday, June 2
Season 8, Episode 9 – “The Nurses” – 7 p.m.
"When Hot Lips confines Nurse Baker to her quarters, little does she know that Baker's husband has arrived in the camp. Hawkeye and B.J. put them together in Hot Lips' tent, telling everyone that a quarantined patient has been placed there. When Hot Lips discovers what has happened, she breaks down and refuses to press charges."
Season 8, Episode 3 – “Margaret’s Engagement” – 7:30 p.m.
"Margaret, calling from Tokyo, holds the camp in suspense until she returns with the news of her engagement to Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott. Frank Burns takes the news hard and arrests a Korean family as spies."
Tuesday, June 3
Season 1, Episode 16 – “Comrades in Arms: Part 1” – 7 p.m.
"Lost behind enemy lines, Hawkeye and Margaret form a personal truce and seek shelter in a roadside hut."
Season 1, Episode 17 – “Comrades in Arms: Part 2” – 7:30 p.m.
"Margaret and Hawkeye seek solace from enemy fire in each other's arms and end up, briefly, as lovers."
Wednesday, June 4
Season 8, Episode 1 – “Bug Out Part 1” – 7 p.m.
"A rumor that there's going to be a practice bug-out causes anxiety. When Potter assembles the unit in an attempt to squelch the rumor, the call comes in to bug out, and the rumor suddenly comes to life! Meanwhile, Hawkeye begins surgery on a patient with a spinal injury. The bug-out proceeds without him, Hot Lips, and Radar, and they quickly learn after the unit departs that they're in the midst of the front."
Season 8, Episode 2 – “But Out Part 2” – 7:30 p.m.
"A rumor that there's going to be a camp relocation causes anxiety. When Potter assembles the unit in an attempt to squelch the rumor, the call comes in that the rumor is indeed fact!"
Thursday, June 5
Season 8, Episode 8 – “The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan” – 7 p.m.
"After hearing that North Korean prisoners have been released in the area, everyone is upset when Margaret disappears. Colonel Flagg is called in to investigate, and bungles things in his usual manner."
Season 10, Episode 12 – “The Birthday Girls” – 7:30 p.m.
"Margaret's birthday plans are spoiled when she and Klinger get stranded on a desolate roadside. Meanwhile, Charles gives a lecture to Margaret, and the surgeons assist in the delivery of a calf."
Friday, June 6
Season 8, Episode 2 – “Are You Now, Margaret” – 7 p.m.
"A Congressional aide, Williamson, visits the 4077th on a supposedly routine fact-finding tour, but it's discovered that his motives are far deeper—to uncover Margaret as a communist sympathizer. His case is full of innuendo, so the gang set out to help Margaret."
Season 4, Episode 19 – “Hot Lips Back in Town” – 7:30 p.m.
"Radar, who is smitten with the cute new nurse, Linda Nugent, relies on Hawkeye's expertise on how to cope with the situation. Hot Lips, meanwhile, celebrates her just-granted divorce by taking a step that arouses Colonel Potter's ire."
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