RIP SALLY KELLERMAN

1937-2022

Sally Kellerman was an actress and singer born in Long Beach, California.  Kellerman’s acting career spanned over 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s film M*A*S*H (1970) earned her an Oscar nomination. 

“I always wanted to be an actress. My mother told me to get a job as an elevator operator because Dorothy Lamour was discovered that way.”

She made her film debut in 1957′s Reform School Girl. Two years later she made her small screen debut on “Playhouse 90.”  

She was on the Desilu backlot to film an episode of “My Three Sons” in December 1963. In “Steve and the Viking” she played a 17 year-old Danish Girl and acted opposite Fred MacMurray and a former-Fred, William Frawley. 

A year later, she was back at Desilu in “The Greatest Show on Earth”, a circus-themed series on which executive producer Lucille Ball herself had guest-starred four months earlier. The episode was titled “This Train Don’t Stop Till It Gets There”. 

In September 1966, Kellerman played Dr. Elizabeth Dehner on Desilu’s “Star-Trek”. The episode, titled “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, was actually the show’s second pilot, but marked Kellerman’s only appearance on the space series. 

In 1969, as Desilu was sold to Paramount, Kellerman appeared on a show that was salvaged from the canceled pile and made into a hit by Lucille Ball: “Mannix”. Kellerman played Diana Walker, the daughter of a newspaper tycoon and Mannix’ old flame in “The Solid Gold Web.” 

In October 1970, Kellerman finally shared camera time with her former boss, Lucille Ball, on an episode of “The Merv Griffin Show.”  Kellerman and Ball were joined on the couch by Gary Morton, Ross Martin, and Guy Lombardo.

Kellerman and Ball were just two of the glamourous screen stars that were featured on “Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood” in 1987. 

Kellerman died from heart failure at the age of 84. At the time of her death, she had dementia. Kellerman was twice married and had three children.