“Hot Lips to Cool Blues!” isn’t just the title of Sally Kellerman’s new cabaret show — it’s a pretty fair summary of her career.
This is, after all, the woman who gained fame and an Oscar nod as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s iconic 1970 film “M*A*S*H.”
And yet, says the still-sexy 73-year-old, while she loves acting, music is where she finds what she calls her “bliss.”
It’s a bliss she discovered early on, as a student at Hollywood High. Signed to Verve Records at 18, she released her first album in the early ’70s and has sung in nightspots ever since, often neglecting her film career in the process.
“I wanted to be the real deal,” says Kellerman, who counts Janis Joplin and Laura Nyro among her inspirations. “Who knew it would take me another 30 years to get to this place where I feel free?”
Her upcoming show at the Metropolitan Room is largely drawn from her recent, critically acclaimed CD “Sally,” and she lends her sultry, husky voice to a mixture of vintage numbers (“Sugar in My Bowl,” “Love Potion No. 9”) and contemporary ballads.
Her acting career dates back to 1957, when she started working on TV; she even appeared in the 1966 pilot episode of “Star Trek.”
“It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” she says of the autograph shows and conventions she’s attended since. “The Trekkies know if people sneezed on a ‘Star Trek.’ ”
Nevertheless, it was “M*A*S*H,” with its notorious nude shower scene — “Nobody ever hit the deck faster, I’ll tell you that” — that put her on the map.
Since then, she’s worked with everyone from Laurence Olivier (“A Little Romance”) to Rodney Dangerfield (“Back to School”), frequently reuniting with Altman along the way.
“It was like summer camp,” she says of working with the late filmmaker, who often advised her to “just giggle and give in.”
All told, she considers her lingering association with “M*A*S*H” a blessing. “There were times in my life when I felt I had to go out and prove that I’m not just Hot Lips,” she concedes.
“But at this point, just call me anything you want!”
Sally Kellerman appears tomorrow at 4 p.m. and Monday at 9:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd St.; 212-206-0440.