For millions of television viewers, Jamie Farr will always be Corporal Klinger — the unforgettable M*A*S*H character who could bring laughter to even the darkest moments at the 4077th.

But behind the cameras, Farr found something even more lasting than television fame.

He found a family.

And after more than half a century, many members of that family are now gone.

One loss, however, became especially personal: Loretta Swit, the beloved actress who played Major Margaret Houlihan.

Their friendship began almost by accident.

Farr’s first appearance on M*A*S*H was originally supposed to be a one-day job. Instead, Klinger became one of the show’s most recognizable characters — and that first day also introduced Farr to a woman who would remain close to him for the rest of her life.

After Swit’s death at 87 in May 2025, Farr described her not simply as a former co-star, but as his “adopted sister.”

He said they were as close as family could be.

Their first embrace on the M*A*S*H set, Farr remembered, became the beginning of a lifetime friendship.

And their bond went far beyond television.

Swit once revealed that Farr became close to her mother as well. When her mother lived at the Motion Picture home, Farr would sometimes visit her without even telling Loretta.

During the holidays, Swit’s mother wanted to spend time at Jamie’s house.

Years after M*A*S*H ended, Swit still described Farr as an extraordinary person and a very close friend.

But perhaps the most touching detail came much later.

Farr recalled that on the night Swit died, he and his wife Joy spoke with her on the phone for about an hour.

According to Farr, Loretta was happy during that conversation.

They were even making plans to see each other again at a fan gathering in Tennessee that July.

They never got that reunion.

For Farr, memories like those have become increasingly precious.

The M*A*S*H family has lost numerous beloved members over the decades, including Harry Morgan, Wayne Rogers, David Ogden Stiers and William Christopher.

Swit herself once reflected on those losses, saying that they had actually brought the surviving members closer because they understood how fragile life could be.

Today, Farr carries those memories with him.

He has said that memories are among a person’s greatest treasures because they remain with you.

For fans, Klinger and Major Houlihan will always be waiting somewhere in the 4077th whenever an old episode comes on.

For Jamie Farr, however, Loretta Swit was never simply Major Houlihan.

She was family.

And more than 50 years after one unexpected day on the set of M*A*S*H brought them together, that’s the part of the story that mattered most.