I loved starring in M*A*S*H… although I could have been paid twice as much

Award-winning actress Loretta Swit, 86, tells DAN MOORE she was already an established actress when she landed the role of Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in the hit show M*A*S*H in 1972. Unlike several co-stars she stayed the course until the show about American military doctors serving abroad ended in 1983. Swit – who divorced Irish American actor Dennis Holahan in 1995 – is now an author, entrepreneur and animal rights campaigner.

Did you struggle to make a living when you started out?

I joined the Kelly Girls, an employment service that placed secretaries in jobs where they could create their own schedule. This was imperative for me because I’d need to go looking for acting work and take long lunches to audition. I had some extraordinary jobs. I worked at the UN, and at the embassy of Ghana as secretary to the ambassador. I wasn’t paid much, just enough to cover groceries and the $75 a month in rent. I was also earning about $15 a week in an off-Broadway show.

How did M*A*S*H change your career?

From the get-go I thought we had something very special. The stories, the dramas, really hit home. You had people doing noble work in a place they didn’t want to be. It’s dangerous, terrible – stitching bodies together of boys who weren’t old enough to shave – and restrictive, especially for those who had families back home. As for me, it wasn’t about the money, which was okay, it was the consistency, and to work all the time at something that you enjoy with people you love. It was like dying and going to actor heaven.

Your best year financially?

That would be during the mid-1970s. I had to fight hard with the writers to convince them that my character, Margaret, could be funny and still have integrity. I won the right to change her name from ‘Hot Lips’ to Margaret, in honour of every servicewoman who went to Korea, who weren’t there for decoration, but to do a job. When it came to pay, I’m not sure it increased in line with the growth of the character, but it was fine. For a nanosecond I considered leaving M*A*S*H to do Cagney & Lacey, about two New York police detectives. I’d done the pilot film and was torn. In the end, I didn’t leave. In any case, Fox and CBS, who owned both shows, said they wouldn’t let me out of my contract.

This would have been the perfect opportunity for my agent to go in and say, ‘You’re going to have to pay her double what she’s getting’. But they didn’t and I just carried on. I found the work rewarding… and I was making enough money to feel satisfied. Not hundreds of thousands, but enough to feel wanted and be financially secure.

What is your financial priority?

My charity, the SwitHeart Animal Alliance [switheart.org]. It’s a global venture that helps animals get the treatment they need. We can cover surgeries through our alliances with other like-minded organisations, donations and other support. I put all the proceeds of my book of animal paintings – SwitHeart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism Of Loretta Swit – to the cause. It’s the same with my line of jewellery and perfume.

Just recently we had a little cat that needed an amputation, which is really pricy, and we could pay for that operation. It’s a wonderful thing. Everyone wins.