Loretta Swit, "Hot Lips" Houlihan

 By Bruce Shawkey

I had an encountered with Loretta Swit at an International Gem and Jewelry Show outside Chicago in the 1990s. For several years, I took my wife Gwen there to pick out something for her Christmas present. Loretta, now retired from MASH, was selling her costume jewelry at the show, and she was one of the "star" vendors of the show.

Anyway, we were packing up from the show, and I ran our luggage out to the car, which was parked in a ramp. Who should I encounter but Loretta Swit in the parking garage? She and a helper were waiting for the elevator. It was taking too long, and I finally offered to take her suitcase up to her car, a couple of levels up. I told her it would be my honor, because then I would have a good story to tell my friends.

I carried her suitcase up to the floor her car was on, and then she took it from there. The encounter probably lasted all of 10 minutes, but it is a memory that has stuck with me through the years. She does not take part in the jewelry business any more, but has a website where she sells perfume and promotes animal welfare.  She was born November 4, 1937. Her given name was Loretta Jane Szwed (of Polish descent), but she took the stage name Loretta Swit. One of her last TV appearances was on the gameshow Hollywood Squares in 2004.

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