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Tributes pour in for M*A*S*H icon Loretta Swit

<p>The television world is mourning the loss of Loretta Swit, the acclaimed actress best known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the groundbreaking series <em>M*A*S*H</em>, who passed away on May 30 at the age of 87.</p> <p>Swit was found in her New York City apartment at approximately 10am Friday by her housekeeper, her publicist Harlan Boll confirmed. While her official cause of death has not yet been released, authorities believe she died of natural causes.</p> <p>Known for her wit, warmth, and deep humanity both on- and off-screen, Swit was one of the few original cast members to remain with <em>M*A*S*H</em> for its entire 11-season run. Her portrayal of the initially one-dimensional “Hot Lips” Houlihan evolved into one of the most complex, heartfelt characters on television, earning her ten consecutive Emmy nominations and two wins, in 1980 and 1982.</p> <p>“More than acting her part, she created it,” wrote her longtime co-star Alan Alda, 89, on X. “She worked hard in showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one-joke sexist stereotype into a real person – with real feelings and ambitions.”</p> <p>Alda, who played the beloved Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce alongside Swit, added, “We celebrated the day the script came out listing her character, not as Hot Lips, but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here.”</p> <p>Jamie Farr, 90, who portrayed Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger, paid tribute to his “adopted sister”, remembering a bond that began the day they met. “From the first time I met her, on what was supposed to be a one-day appearance on <em>M*A*S*H</em>, we embraced each other. That became a lifetime friendship. I can't begin to express how much she will be missed.”</p> <p>Mike Farrell, 86, who joined the series in its fourth season as B.J. Hunnicutt, simply posted a black-and-white photo of Swit to Instagram with the caption: “Loretta … 1937–2025 🖤.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DKSijk2MeIj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DKSijk2MeIj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Mike Farrell (@mike_farrell_official)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Swit’s presence within the <em>MASH*</em> family remained strong long after the show ended in 1983. In a 2017 interview with Fox News, she reflected, “We see each other quite frequently. Every time we lose a comrade, it’s a body blow. These aren't casual acquaintances from years ago. This is my family.”</p> <p>Off-screen, Swit was a passionate animal rights advocate and longtime vegan, having adopted the lifestyle in 1981. Lisa Lange of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals praised her activism, calling her “a major champion for all animals”. Lange added, “The world has lost a kind soul and animals a true friend.”</p> <p>Swit’s contributions to entertainment were recognised in 1989 when she received a gold star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But to millions of fans, she will always be remembered for her fierce talent, her drive to elevate female characters on screen, and her unwavering kindness.</p> <p>As tributes pour in from co-stars, fans and admirers, it is clear that Loretta Swit leaves behind a legacy of compassion, authenticity, and brilliance – both as an artist and a human being. She is survived by the countless lives she touched through her work, her advocacy and her friendship.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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Loretta Lynn was more than a great songwriter – she was a spokeswoman for white rural working-class women

<p>Loretta Lynn’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/arts/music/loretta-lynn-dead.html">death at the age of 90</a> marks the end of a remarkable life of achievement in country music.</p> <p>Her dramatic life story – retold in the 1980 award-winning film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080549/">Coal Miner’s Daughter</a>,” based on <a href="https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/loretta-lynn/coal-miners-daughter/9781538701690/">Lynn’s 1976 biography</a> – made Lynn a household name. She grew up in poverty in a small Kentucky mining town, marrying and starting a family as a teenager before reaching unprecedented heights of commercial success as a recording artist of modern country music.</p> <p>But as a <a href="https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/music/faculty/faculty-directory.host.html/content/shared/arts-sciences/music/new-faculty-profiles/vander-wel-stephanie.html">scholar of gender and country music</a> and author of “<a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p084959">Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and Cowgirls: Women’s Country Music, 1930-1960</a>,” I know that Lynn represented more than just star power and fame in country music – she spoke to the concerns of women, especially white working-class women in rural and suburban America.</p> <h2>Speaking up, singing out</h2> <p>Lynn’s rise in the 1960s took place when country music appeared tied to conservative politics. It was a time when Merle Haggard’s “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/california-scholarship-online/book/28551/chapter-abstract/238414028?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Okie from Muskogee</a>,” with its attacks on counterculture, marijuana and draft-card burning, became a populist anthem for the country’s cultural conservatives.</p> <p>In contrast, Lynn’s songwriting continued the legacy of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-kitty-wells-20120717-story.html">Kitty Wells</a>, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/09/25/country-music-hall-famer-jean-shepard-dead-82/76568704/">Jean Shepard</a> and other women in country music who were willing to speak up about the concerns of American women.</p> <p>Lynn’s songs defied societal expectations by connecting her musical representations of working-class and rural women to broader social issues affecting women across the U.S.</p> <p>She aimed for her music to articulate the fears, dreams and anger of women living in a patriarchal society. It railed against those who idealized women’s domestic roles and demonized outspoken feminists.</p> <h2>‘There’s gonna be some changes’</h2> <p>Specifically, for a generation of predominantly white women in the 1960s and 1970s who did not identify as urban or college-educated feminists, Lynn’s music offered candid conversations about their private lives as wives and mothers.</p> <p>As Lynn <a href="https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/loretta-lynn/coal-miners-daughter/9781538701690/">stated in her autobiography</a>, her audience recognized her as a “mother and a wife and a daughter, who had feelings just like other women.”</p> <p>She did this through clever and witty songwriting and lyrical techniques that combined the vernacular of her audience with her resonant voice.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the song arrangements of Owen Bradley of Decca Records directed Lynn’s musical talents to a broad audience. He combined the edgier sound of honky-tonk instrumentation – electric guitars, pedal steels and fiddles – with the polish of the Nashville sound by including the smooth sounding vocal harmonies of the vocal quartet the <a href="http://www.jordanaires.net/">Jordanaires</a>, as heard in numerous country, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll recordings.</p> <p>This provided a sound of strength and conviction to accompany Lynn’s bold and forthright songs as she laid bare the double standards of gender roles. </p> <p>With her assertive and resonant voice, Lynn, in her 1966 track “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/loretta-lynn-best-lyrics-songwriting-175002/">Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)</a>,” warns men not to expect women to be waiting at home, sexually available for them after they’d spent the night drinking: </p> <blockquote> <p>Well, you thought I’d be waitin’ up when you came home last night</p> <p>You’d been out with all the boys and you ended up half tight</p> <p>Liquor and love, they just don’t mix</p> <p>Leave that bottle or me behind</p> <p>And don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind</p> </blockquote> <p>In a similar vein, Lynn, who <a href="https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/loretta-lynn/coal-miners-daughter/9781538701690/">claimed that her songs about wayward husbands</a> were inspired by her fraught marriage to Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, confronted the “other woman” in songs such as 1966’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and 1968’s “Fist City.” </p> <h2>A lasting legacy</h2> <p>Fully aware that her personalized accounts became political messages for her fan base of women, Lynn co-wrote and recorded “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/10/04/loretta-lynn-the-pill/">The Pill</a>” in 1975. It was a rare foray into the topic of women’s reproductive rights for country music. In typical fashion, though, Lynn approached the issue from the perspective of a rural working-class woman: </p> <blockquote> <p>I’m tired of all your crowin’</p> <p>How you and your hens play</p> <p>While holdin’ a couple in my arms</p> <p>Another’s on the way</p> <p>This chicken’s done tore up her nest</p> <p>And I’m ready to make a deal</p> <p>And ya can’t afford to turn it down</p> <p>‘Cause you know I’ve got the pill</p> </blockquote> <p>The song’s sexual innuendos about cavorting roosters and hens incorporated the double entendres and humor of early blues and country, while providing a frank discussion about female sexual pleasure. It also addressed the right for women to take control over their bodies and reproduction.</p> <p>The song came out just two years after <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/113/">the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade</a>, granting women the ability to govern their own reproductive health through abortion.</p> <p>Indeed, Lynn commented on the Supreme Court’s ruling in her autobiography “Personally, I think you should prevent unwanted pregnancy rather than get an abortion. It would be wrong for me. But I’m thinking of all the poor girls who get pregnant when they don’t want to be, and how they should have a choice instead of leaving it up to some politician or doctor who don’t have to raise the baby.”</p> <p>Her recording “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/10/04/loretta-lynn-the-pill/">The Pill</a>” spoke to married women who wanted to be able to space out their children and prevent unwanted pregnancies so that they could pursue educational and professional opportunities. </p> <p>In interviews, Lynn discussed at length how female listeners flocked to her after concerts, relieved to find a public figure with whom they felt comfortable to discuss birth control. </p> <p>Not everyone was thrilled, though. Male country <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-country-stations-banned-loretta-lynns-the-pill-it-became-her-biggest-pop-hit">disc jockeys banned</a> “The Pill” from the airwaves. Nonetheless, the recording became her biggest seller in 1975 and furthered Lynn’s reputation as a spokeswoman for white rural working-class women. </p> <p>Her music also inspired the women in country music who followed her to further explore issues of gender roles. Lynn’s legacy lives on in the music of female country artists – such as <a href="https://www.reba.com/">Reba McEntire</a> and <a href="https://www.mirandalambert.com/">Miranda Lambert</a> – who learned from Lynn how to create music that confronts and triumphs over the societal obstacles that women face.</p> <p>While all of country music will mourn the death of Lynn, it is perhaps her female fans who will feel the loss more acutely. Lynn gave them a social and political voice, and helped make country music a genre relevant to the complexities of women’s lives.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/loretta-lynn-was-more-than-a-great-songwriter-she-was-a-spokeswoman-for-white-rural-working-class-women-191932" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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“Rest easy ma’am”: Tributes flow for singer Loretta Lynn

<p>Loretta Lynn, the country singer behind <em>Coal Miner’s Daughter</em> and <em>You Ain’t Woman Enough</em> and a leading feminist in the country music scene, has passed away aged 90.</p> <p>Her family broke the news in a statement on Twitter on Tuesday.</p> <p>“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the statement read.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Loretta Lynn ♥️ A pioneering daughter that changed music and the world forever for all the daughters that followed. We’ll miss you but your spirit lives on! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thepill?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thepill</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/forher?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#forher</a> <a href="https://t.co/9XTPwLkVru">pic.twitter.com/9XTPwLkVru</a></p> <p>— The Chicks (@thechicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thechicks/status/1577421929673543681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>With a career spanning six decades, Lynn built her reputation as a feminist voice in the male-dominated world of country music, tackling issues including the freedom provided by birth control and the inequities of heterosexual relationships.</p> <p>Her choice of subject matter was controversial for country music in the 1960s and ‘70s, with Lynn telling one interviewer that 14 of her songs had been banned by radio stations.</p> <p>“I wasn’t the first woman in country music,” she said in a 2007 interview with <em>Esquire </em>magazine.</p> <p>“I was just the first one to stand up there and say what I thought, what life was about. The rest were afraid to.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Loretta Lynn and Sissy Spacek after the 53rd Academy Awards (March 31, 1981).</p> <p>Spacek, who was personally selected by Lynn to portray her in the biographical musical film 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' earned the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as the country music icon. <a href="https://t.co/mbFnBhY1Ic">pic.twitter.com/mbFnBhY1Ic</a></p> <p>— The Academy (@TheAcademy) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/1577424584709705728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Even so, Lynn became an icon of the genre with more than 50 top 10 hits according to her website.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lynn went on to become the first woman to win the Country Music Association’s ‘Entertainer of the Year’ award in 1972, as well as seven other CMA awards, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, and three Grammy Awards as an artist.</p> <p dir="ltr">She won an additional two Grammys in 2004 for her work on the album <em>Van Lear Rose</em> in collaboration with White Stripes frontman Jack White, where she either wrote or co-wrote every song.</p> <p dir="ltr">The singer also received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2010.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 1988, she was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 2013 she was presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-president Barack Obama, who <a href="https://twitter.com/ObamaFoundation/status/1577428821590282242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that she “opened doors for women not only by winning tremendous achievements, but also by raising issues few dared to discuss”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d90b7fc5-7fff-0de4-1cad-b78e3987bb9e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Since the news of her passing broke, tributes have begun to flow for Lynn from fans, fellow singers and friends.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">My heart is broken with the news of my sweet friend Loretta Lynn passing. I will remember all the sweet visits and laughs we shared. RIP sweet Angel. <a href="https://t.co/X5IqiD63an">pic.twitter.com/X5IqiD63an</a></p> <p>— Stella Parton (@StellaParton) <a href="https://twitter.com/StellaParton/status/1577314224078217217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Stella Parton penned an emotional tribute to her “sweet friend” and “angel”, accompanied by a photo of the pair together.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My heart is broken with the news of my sweet friend Loretta Lynn passing. I will remember all the sweet visits and laughs we shared. RIP sweet Angel,” Parton wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6759ed07-7fff-3668-31d6-09c08f584b8e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“She was an inspiration. R.I.P. Loretta Lynn ❤️‍,” Carole King tweeted.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">She was an inspiration. <br />R.I.P. Loretta Lynn ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/VqwmkcOAqy">pic.twitter.com/VqwmkcOAqy</a></p> <p>— Carole King (@Carole_King) <a href="https://twitter.com/Carole_King/status/1577318037912330240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Joyous. Fierce. One of a kind. I loved meeting and working with Loretta Lynn ❤️‍🕊️🙏,” singer k.d. Lang <a href="https://twitter.com/kdlang/status/1577381590736388096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-fadb031b-7fff-50fc-027c-01011cd9263e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Loretta Lynn gave me this ring of hers many moons ago and I’ve cherished it ever since. Rest in peace. We will all miss you so dearly ❤️‍,” actress Brooke Shields said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Loretta Lynn gave me this ring of hers many moons ago and I’ve cherished it ever since. Rest in peace. We will all miss you so dearly ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/KdgmIiXhXP">pic.twitter.com/KdgmIiXhXP</a></p> <p>— Brooke Shields (@BrookeShields) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrookeShields/status/1577371993611059232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">American band The Oak Ridge Boys tweeted: “Loretta Lynn has gone home… Great Britain lost their Queen … now we have lost ours … Rest easy ma’am. You were loved by all … 😢”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ken Burns, the documentarian behind Country Music, the 2019 miniseries that Lynn took part in, <a href="https://twitter.com/KenBurns/status/1577397952569643009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>: “Loretta Lynn turned life into song, providing a voice to the experiences of American women. </p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ef6ceebc-7fff-6fb8-a768-0e86d3fc59d3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“She will always be celebrated as a central part of the history of country music.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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