When the movie M*A*S*H came out in 1970, our nation was at war in a foreign country.

More than 40 years later, we’re still at war in a foreign country. And the jokes about it are still funny.

This weekend, actress and singer Sally Kellerman, one of the stars of the film, will come to Atlanta for a special screening of the iconic film. She will also give three performances at Jerry Farber’s Side Door, next to the Landmark Diner in Buckhead.

You might remember Kellerman best as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, which she got an Oscar nomination for, or as the woman with the silver eyes in the second episode of the original Star Trek series. She has also starred in more than 90 TV shows and films, such as Pret-a-Porter and Back to School (opposite Rodney Dangerfield). 

But she has been singing even longer than she has acted onscreen, landing her first recording contract at 18.

“I’ve been singing all my life,” Kellerman told Patch by phone from California. “Music is so much fun. It’s taken me all these years to get free and have as much fun as I’m having.”

Pulling from her latest CD, entitled “Sally,” she will perform jazz, blues, rock and contemporary music on Friday and Saturday night. She will also give an “unplugged” performance on Sunday evening.

Then on Sunday morning, there will be a special screening of Robert Altman’s film M*A*S*H at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, with Kellerman attending.

Afterward, there will be a post-screening Q&A with Emory University’s Dr. Eddy von Mueller, followed by a VIP brunch at Apres Diem, which is next door. A portion of proceeds from the screening and brunch will benefit Friends of Film in the Department of Film and Media Studies at Emory University.

When M*A*S*H first came out in theatres, you had to see it five times to catch the dialogue over the audience’s laughter, Kellerman said.

A couple of years ago, when she attended a screening, not much had changed.

“Hearing the audience howl with laughter…it was just wild,” she said. “It was like not a day had gone by.”

M*A*S*H won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, and has been an audience favorite all these years. In 1996, it was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress. And it has made the top 20 of Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies" list.

“It’s startling that 40 years later, we’re still talking about it,” Kellerman said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Sally Kellerman will perform at Jerry Farber’s Side Door at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 27 and at 8 p.m., Saturday, July 28. She’ll do an “unplugged” show at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 29. Tickets are $50 for Friday and Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Only 100 tickets are available per show. You can purchase tickets at www.xorbia.com  or by calling 404-294-1440.

Tickets to the M*A*S*H screening are $25. A ticket + VIP champagne brunch is $75. There are 350 tickets for the screening and 80 for brunch. Tickets are available at www.xorbia.com.