In Memoriam: Sally Kellerman, Major Houlihan in Film Version of ‘MASH,’ dies at 84

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CHICAGO – As a TV and Movie Star, Sally Kellerman may not be a household name, but as an influencer in the “New American Cinema” of the 1970s she was everywhere. In addition, her TV appearances in the 1960s featured a variety of roles in many of the iconic series of the era, including the original “Star Trek.” She’s probably best known for her movie role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in ‘MASH’ (1970), for which she scored an Oscar nomination. Kellerman died on February 24th, 2022, at age 84.

Sally Claire Kellerman was born in Long Beach, California, and attended Hollywood High School, where her singing voice got noticed by Verve Records … but at the time she was too shy to take the offer. She took on acting classes from noted instructor Jeff Corey in Los Angeles, with classmates like Jack Nicholson and Dean Stockwell. Her first film role was in 1957, in the exploitation film “Reform School Girls.”

“SK1"
Sally Kellerman in Chicago, 2017
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The 1960s was given to television, as Kellerman appeared in several legendary series of the decade, including “The Twilight Zone,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” “Bonanza,” “That Girl” and “Mannix.” Her most notable role was in the “Star Trek” episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the second pilot episode of the series, which introduced the famous cast of William Shatner (Kirk), James Doohan (Scotty) and George Takei (Sulu) … Leonard Nimoy (Spock) was a holdover from the first pilot. Sally Kellerman was ship’s psychiatrist Elizabeth Dehner in that episode.

It was the 1970s, in collaboration with director Robert Altman on two films, where Kellerman was most memorable. In Altman’s film version of ‘MASH,’ her Hot Lips was by-the-book, but also had some heat (“kiss my hot lips”) in her affair with Frank Burns (Robert Duvall). She as well did a infamous-but-exploitative nude scene, for which she has told alternate stories for what happened on the set. She teamed up again with Altman in the cult classic “Brewster McCloud” and followed up with roles in notable ‘70s films “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins,” and the disaster film satire “The Big Bus.”

“SK2"
Sally Kellerman with Elliott Gould in Chicago, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Post the 1970s, she did many character roles on TV and film, highlighted by Rodney Dangerfield’s love interest in “Back to School” (1986), the Columbo TV Movie “Ashes to Ashes” (1998) and a recurring collaboration with cult wild men Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington in “Decker” (2014). Her final role was in the HULU series “Difficult People” (2017) as Joan Gentile.

Sally Kellerman passed away in Los Angeles of heart failure. She is survived by two children.

One version of the MASH shower scene story … “When I looked up, there was Gary Burghoff [who famously portrayed Radar O’Reilly in the film and TV series] stark naked standing in front of me,” Sally Kellerman recalled in 2016. “The next take, [Altman] had Tamara Horrocks — she was the more amply endowed nurse — without her shirt on. … So I attribute my Academy Award nomination to the people who made my mouth hang open.”

How about a more #MeToo oriented story regarding the MASH nude scene. CLICK SALLY KELLERMAN for the interview with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com took these Exclusive Portrait of Sally Kellerman at The Hollywood Show in 2009 (with Elliott Gould) and 2017. Source material from this article is from Wikipedia and the Hollywood Reporter. Sally Kellerman, 1937-2022

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2022 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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