Loretta Swit Fell in Love With Her ‘M*A*S*H’ Guest Star — Then Married Him
Loretta Swit‘s Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan had several romances during the 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, but one of her final love interests was played by Dennis Holahan, the actor who later became Swit’s real-life husband.
Holahan appeared in the Season 11 episode “U.N., the Night and the Music,” which originally aired on Jan. 3, 1983. In the episode, three United Nations representatives visit the 4077th to observe the medical unit for 24 hours. Holahan played Per Johannsen, the U.N. delegate from Sweden. Margaret is immediately attracted to the handsome visitor and makes her interest in him very clear. Per likes Margaret, too, but he repeatedly tries to keep his distance from her.
Per eventually explains that he suffered nerve damage after the Jeep he was riding in drove over a land mine. The injury left him impotent and afraid to get close to a woman again. Margaret responds with compassion and offers to stay and talk with him. She later suggests that they continue their conversation in her tent, where they will not be interrupted by his roommate.
Swit and Holahan married later that year
Walt Disney Television Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images
Swit and Holahan reportedly met while filming his guest appearance on M*A*S*H. The episode aired in January 1983, just weeks before the beloved series ended its 11-season run with “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”
On Dec. 21, 1983, Swit and Holahan married in a small church ceremony in California’s San Fernando Valley. According to a UPI report at the time, the newlyweds traveled to Egypt for their honeymoon. Their marriage lasted until 1995, when the couple divorced. Swit never remarried and had no children. She ultimately died of natural causes at her New York City home on May 30, 2025, at the age of 87.
What else was Dennis Holahan in?
Holahan appeared in several recognizable films and television shows during his acting career. He played Laurie Strode’s adoptive father, Morgan Strode, in Halloween II and a banker who worked with Tony Montana in Scarface. His television credits included The Rockford Files, The Incredible Hulk, Hill Street Blues, Dallas and The Love Boat. Holahan was also an attorney and eventually returned to practicing law, specializing in entertainment, media and intellectual property cases. He is now 83 years old.
M*A*S*H fans will always be able to watch the episode that brought Swit together with the man she would marry later that year.
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