Sally Kellerman, the Oscar and Emmy nominated actor who played Margaret \u201cHot Lips\u201d Houlihan in director Robert Altman\u2019s 1970 film \u201cMASH,\u201d died Thursday. According to her manager and publicist, Alan Eichler, Kellerman died of heart failure at her home in Los Angeles. She was 84 years old.<\/p>\n
Sally Clare Kellerman was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive, moving to Los Angeles as a child and attending Hollywood High School.<\/p>\n
Her initial interest was in jazz singing. She was signed to a contract with Verve records at 18 years old. She chose to pursue acting and didn\u2019t put out any music until 1972 when she released the album \u201cRoll With the Feeling.\u201d She would sing on the side, and sometimes in roles, throughout her career, releasing her last album, \u201cSally,\u201d in 2007.<\/p>\n
She took an acting class at Los Angeles City College and appeared in the \u201cLook Back in Anger\u201d stage production with classmate Jack Nicholson and several other future stars. She mainly worked in television early in her career, with a lead role in 1962\u2032s \u201cCheyenne\u201d and guest appearances on \u201cThe Twilight Zone, \u201cThe Outer Limits,\u201d \u201cThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour,\u201d and \u201cBonanza.\u201d Her appearance in the original \u201cStar Trek\u201d pilot as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner won her cult status among fans.<\/p>\n
Kellerman had a career that spanned more than 60 years in television and film. In 1986\u2019s \u201cBack to School,\u201d she played a college professor who was returning student Rodney Dangerfield\u2019s love interest. She was also a regular in Altman\u2019s films, appearing in 1970\u2032s \u201cBrewster McCloud,\u201d 1992\u2032s \u201cThe Player,\u201d and 1994\u2032s \u201cReady to Wear.\u201d<\/p>\n