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‘M*A*S*H’ Actor Sally Kellerman Dies At 84

February 24th, 2022 - 9:50 PM

‘M*A*S*H’ Actor Sally Kellerman Dies At 84

Sally Kellerman died Thursday morning at an assisted care facility in Woodland Hills after a long battle with dementia, via The Hollywood Reporter. Kellerman was 84 years old. The Academy-nominated actor was best known for her role as Margaret J “Hot Lips” Houlihan from the 1970 movie M*A*S*H. 

Kellerman is survived by her son, Jack Krane. Both her husband Jonathan Krane and her daughter Hannah Krane died in 2016. Kellerman battled with dementia and its complications for a long time. Reportedly, she was diagnosed with dementia back in 2017. Her son Jack also stated that he had an intuition that it would be the last time to see his mother when he visited Kellerman on Wednesday. 

The husky-voice actor received many accolades. Her performance from M*A*S*H earned her the nomination of Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, and the National Society of Film Critics. She won the Golden Laurel Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle for that role. In 2015, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.

Throughout her career, Kellerman was active in multiple fields. Other than films, she also acted in many television series and recorded a few albums. She released two records, Roll with the Feelin’ and Sally, in 1972 and 2009 respectively. She also contributed songs to movie soundtracks such as Lost Horizon and Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins. In an interview, she said that “I love acting … but my fantasy is to have a couple of babies and make an album a year, and maybe a picture a year, too. I don’t want to not do either one.” In 2013, she published a bibliography named Read My Lips: Stories of a Hollywood Life. 

On television, she made appearances in many classic series. In 1963, she played Office Worker in the episode Miniature of the iconic series The Twilight Zone. She also appeared in The Star Trek and Bonanza in 1966. Her last TV performance was from the 2017 dark comedy Difficult People. 

Her unique deep voice also helped her land notable commercials and animations — most famously for Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing — and such animated films as The Mouse and His Child (1977), Happily Ever After (1990), and Delgo (2008). 

Kellerman was an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and Planned Parenthood. Throughout her life, she attended many related activism events such as the Los Angeles LGBT Center 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards. Her sister also came out as a lesbian back in the 1960s. On June 10, 1999, Kellerman joined actor Kathleen Turner (The War of the Roses) and model Beverly Peele in a Planned Parenthood press conference supporting a proposed law introduced to the U.S. Congress. 

Many expressed their condolences. Rosanna Arquette (Desperately Seeking Susan) tweeted “Sally KELLERMAN I love you I’m so sad rest in power and peace.” Nancy Sinatra, Rex Champion, and many more also offered their condolences online. 

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