US actress
MASH star Sally Kellerman dead at 84
Sally Kellerman starred in various series. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision via AP/dpa
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She stood in front of the camera for series like “Spaceship Enterprise” and “Columbo”, but Sally Kellerman became famous for her role as a military nurse in “MASH” – now she is dead.
US actress Sally Kellerman, best known for Robert Altman’s military satire “M*A*S*H” (1970), has died.
According to her son Jack Krane, she died on Thursday in Woodland Hills, California, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter. Kellerman’s spokesman Alan Eichler confirmed the death of the actress to the film sheet “Variety”. She was 84 years old.
The tall, blonde actress was best known for her role as military nurse Major Margaret Houlihan, nicknamed “Hot Lips”, in the 1970 comedy cult film “MASH”. Director Altman also brought in the award-winning farce about the Korean War Stars like Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Robert Duvall in front of the camera. Kellerman was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but the trophy went to Helen Hayes in the disaster film Airport. Kellerman has worked with Altman on several occasions, including in the films The Player and Pret-a-Porter.
Born in California, she learned her craft at renowned acting schools. She had her first major film role in 1968 alongside Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda in the crime film The Boston Strangler. A year later, she starred in the romantic comedy The April Fools with Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve. With Rodney Dangerfield she made the comedy “Do it again, Dad” (1986).
Kellerman, who has released two albums as a singer, has also appeared in TV series for decades, such as “Spaceship Enterprise” (1966), “Columbo” (1998) and “Shadow of Passion” (2015). After a brief marriage to screenwriter Rick Gem, she married film producer Jonathan D. Krane (1952–2016) in 1980, with whom she adopted two children.