‘MASH’ actor Sally Kellerman passes away at 84

Sally Kellerman received an Academy Award nomination for her role in 'Mash'

Photo: AP

By ANI

Published: Fri 25 Feb 2022, 2:05 PM

Award-nominated film and television star Sally Kellerman is no more. She was 84 when she breathed her last.

Her manager and publicist Alan Eichler confirmed the news of Kellerman’s death to People Magazine, stating she died in her sleep from heart failure at her home in Woodland Hills, California, on Thursday morning.

Kellerman was best known for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s classic 1970 film MASH, opposite Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould. The film netted Kellerman an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

MASH helped Kellerman move from television -- where she spent the majority of her earlier career -- to the big screen in films such as Back to School in 1986 and 1994’s fashion extravaganza Pret-a-Porter, also directed by Altman.

With a career spanning more than 60 years, Kellerman appeared in TV shows including the original pilot for Star Trek in 1966, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Hawaii Five-O, and I Spy.

Her films included A Little Romance with Laurence Olivier, Foxes with Jodie Foster, and several other Altman movies like Brewster McCloud, Welcome to L.A. and The Player.

In 2014, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her appearances on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and Restless.

Kellerman got her start as a singer and in 1972 released the album Roll With the Feeling. Barry Manilow produced her single Triad in 1973, and her last recording, the jazz-oriented Sally, was released in 2007.

The actor also went on to become one of the first women to host Saturday Night Live in 1981.

Kellerman is survived by son Jack, daughter Claire, and mother-in-law Lorraine Krane. Memorial services are pending.