Sally Kellerman for her portrayal of U.S. Army Major Margaret “Hot Mouth” Hollyhan in Robert Altman’s film MAS*H Oscar-nominated and famous, the hoarse-voiced actress has died. She is 84 years old.
Kellerman was in Woodland Hills on Thursday morning after battling dementia, Kellerman’s son, Jack Krane, told The Hollywood Reporter. Hills, who also sang the tune of Grand Funk Railroad to her.
The California native had a memorable role on Star Trek Episode III, Nobody’s Been There Before, in which she played the Doctor. Play as Elizabeth Dehner, a human Starfleet officer aboard the USS Enterprise. When Dehner sacrifices her own life, her last words to Captain Kirk (William Shatner) are: “I’m sorry…you can’t know what it’s like to be…almost a god.”
In the comedy Back to School (1986), Kellerman played free-spirited college literature professor Diane Turner as Rodney Dangerfield’s obnoxious self-made businessman Thornton Mellon lover.
“It’s the only boast I’ve had in my life: The director [Alan Metter] said he felt like I helped Rodney be human and believable in a relationship. Because I just had to love him and be genuine,” Kellerman said in 2016 Marc Malone on his WTF podcast. (She played the eccentric mother in Malone’s IFC comedy.)
Kellerman also noted that when fans encountered her in public, they either yelled “Hey, sexy lips!” or recited the classic Dangerfield line from “Back to School”: “If you don’t have a class, find a Time to call me.”
Kellerman made guest appearances on numerous television shows in the 1960s, including “Extreme,” “12 O’Clock,” Ben Casey, That Girl, and Mannix, when She played the literal Houlihan role in MAS*H, based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel about Army surgeons saving lives during the Korean War.
