Movies - TV
How M*A*S*H Stopped Loretta Swit From Leaving For Another Show
By DANIELLE RYAN
"M*A*S*H" star Loretta Swit felt her character was often underwritten, and she was interested in doing another series. Unfortunately for Swit, 20th Century Fox shut that down.
Although many of her early-season co-stars had already left, Swit was forbidden from leaving "M*A*S*H." Ultimately, she was in all 11 seasons of the TV show.
Swit starred as Christine Cagney in a "Cagney & Lacey" TV movie and was offered the role in the CBS series of the same name but was locked into her "M*A*S*H" contract.
"20th Century Fox said: 'Forget it — you're not going anywhere,'” Swit told Yahoo, “I was like, 'Oh, I can't?' And they said, 'Yeah, we're not gin gonna let you go.'"
"Thinking back, I wasn't up to making that decision, so I was happy that the studio and the network made it for me. That way, I could always blame them!" Swit added.