In 1982 Loretta Swit starred in Games Mother Never Taught You. The movie was based on Betty Lehan Harragan's 1977 book. One year earlier Loretta appeared in Cagney & Lacey.
From September 1972 to February 1983, Loretta could be seen on M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). She played Major Margaret Houlihan.
Of Margaret, Loretta remarked, "Margaret is the least likable woman on television....I have some anxieties about playing the part when M*A*S*H began because she isn't written sympathetically....From the audience response, I think I've managed to make her somewhat sympathetic....The public doesn't hate Margaret. It laughs at her. And thank goodness, viewers are able to separate me from her."
Her performances on M*A*S*H earned Loretta nominations at the Emmys between 1974 and 1983 for Best Supporting. She won the awards in 1980 and 1982.
Of her role on Cagney & Lacey, Loretta observed, "...She's also something of a female chauvinist, you might say. She uses men the way men use women....I like what she says about women in today's world."
Of Games Mother Never Taught You, Loretta made known, "It's the game of company politics. Women go in innocently. They're not aware of the team play that men learned while they were playing with dolls. Now she goes into this alien world where men speak a different language and she has to learn the rules. And there are rules."
Cagney & Lacey was the 4th most popular program on television when the pilot went on air. Ms. magazine with Gloria Steinem at the helm gave Cagney & Lacey front-page coverage. In distinguishing Major Houlihan from Officer Cagney, Loretta pointed out, "Margaret is a bit of a hypocrite about sex. She criticizes other people's behavior while she's running around with Frank. She thinks that nobody knows about it. Chris Cagney makes no secret of the fact that she likes men."
6.05 p.m. (Los Angeles time) Friday, January 14, 1983: The last scene of M*A*S*H - script number 251 - was filmed on stage 9 at the 20th Century-Fox studios.
From 1972 until 1977, Margaret - an unmarried nurse - was shown horsing around with the married doctor Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H.
Loretta recounted, "After going through all this hanky-panky with nothing but promises from Frank and broken cookies in packages from his wife," the writers "decided that Margaret should take the plunge" to a Lieutenant Colonel she had just met.
"I’m convinced it's because the affair was never painted as a picture of serenity, never as the way to go," Loretta conceded. "It was always painted as foolish. In a way, it became a very moral thing. It showed there was nothing to gain with this relationship."
Of Margaret, Loretta acknowledged, "She’s a bit insecure....She hides behind her work and the Iron Major image. If she shouts enough, nobody will try to get close, no one will know she’s vulnerable."
The Korean War broke out in June 1950. But it was over in July 1953. Producer Burt Metcalfe maintained in 1982, "We're very scrupulous in our history. We've had to pass up some wonderful stories....
"In the past, some successful shows dusted off old scripts and revised them. We never wanted to do that, and if we did, we could never get away with it because the show is so accessible to the public in reruns."
Of the cast, Alan Alda added, "Everybody was concerned that the scene be good, that the scene contribute to the show, and that the show be good."
From September 1972 to February 1983, Loretta could be seen on M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). She played Major Margaret Houlihan.
Of Margaret, Loretta remarked, "Margaret is the least likable woman on television....I have some anxieties about playing the part when M*A*S*H began because she isn't written sympathetically....From the audience response, I think I've managed to make her somewhat sympathetic....The public doesn't hate Margaret. It laughs at her. And thank goodness, viewers are able to separate me from her."
Her performances on M*A*S*H earned Loretta nominations at the Emmys between 1974 and 1983 for Best Supporting. She won the awards in 1980 and 1982.
Of her role on Cagney & Lacey, Loretta observed, "...She's also something of a female chauvinist, you might say. She uses men the way men use women....I like what she says about women in today's world."
Of Games Mother Never Taught You, Loretta made known, "It's the game of company politics. Women go in innocently. They're not aware of the team play that men learned while they were playing with dolls. Now she goes into this alien world where men speak a different language and she has to learn the rules. And there are rules."
Cagney & Lacey was the 4th most popular program on television when the pilot went on air. Ms. magazine with Gloria Steinem at the helm gave Cagney & Lacey front-page coverage. In distinguishing Major Houlihan from Officer Cagney, Loretta pointed out, "Margaret is a bit of a hypocrite about sex. She criticizes other people's behavior while she's running around with Frank. She thinks that nobody knows about it. Chris Cagney makes no secret of the fact that she likes men."
6.05 p.m. (Los Angeles time) Friday, January 14, 1983: The last scene of M*A*S*H - script number 251 - was filmed on stage 9 at the 20th Century-Fox studios.
From 1972 until 1977, Margaret - an unmarried nurse - was shown horsing around with the married doctor Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H.
Loretta recounted, "After going through all this hanky-panky with nothing but promises from Frank and broken cookies in packages from his wife," the writers "decided that Margaret should take the plunge" to a Lieutenant Colonel she had just met.
"I’m convinced it's because the affair was never painted as a picture of serenity, never as the way to go," Loretta conceded. "It was always painted as foolish. In a way, it became a very moral thing. It showed there was nothing to gain with this relationship."
Of Margaret, Loretta acknowledged, "She’s a bit insecure....She hides behind her work and the Iron Major image. If she shouts enough, nobody will try to get close, no one will know she’s vulnerable."
The Korean War broke out in June 1950. But it was over in July 1953. Producer Burt Metcalfe maintained in 1982, "We're very scrupulous in our history. We've had to pass up some wonderful stories....
"In the past, some successful shows dusted off old scripts and revised them. We never wanted to do that, and if we did, we could never get away with it because the show is so accessible to the public in reruns."
Of the cast, Alan Alda added, "Everybody was concerned that the scene be good, that the scene contribute to the show, and that the show be good."
