Jamie Farr

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Jamie Farr
Farr as Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger on the television show M*A*S*H.
Born July 1, 1934 (age 72)
Toledo, Ohio

Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah on July 1, 1934) is an American television and film actor and popular game show panelist. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Klinger in the 1970s and 1980s U.S. television sitcom, M*A*S*H.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Farr was born in Toledo, Ohio to Lebanese-American parents Jamelia and Samuel N. Farah, a grocer. His family's religion was Antiochian Orthodox Christian. Farr's first acting success occurred at age eleven when he won $2 in a local acting contest. After a stellar high school career at Woodward High School, where he was one of the standouts among his class, Farr attended the Pasadena Playhouse where an MGM talent scout discovered him, offering him a screen-test for Blackboard Jungle. He won the role of the mentally retarded student, Santini.

[edit] Career

Farr's first film roles were in 1955. He appeared as a student in Blackboard Jungle (billed as Jameel Farah) and as a fruit vendor in Kismet (uncredited).

Although Farr was off to a promising start, roles were infrequent for the young actor, and he took jobs as a delivery person, a post office clerk, an army surplus store clerk, an airlines reservations agent and as an employee at a chinchilla ranch. Farr began to carve his niche in television when, in the late 1950s, he became a regular on The Red Skelton Show before graduating to second banana with Harvey Korman on The Danny Kaye Show. Farr also appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show and was a regular on The Chicago Teddy Bears before being asked to play the role of "Corporal Klinger" on M*A*S*H.

He was hired for one day's work as "Corporal Klinger" on the M*A*S*H episode "Chief Surgeon Who?" and he played it so well that this day job became an eleven-year career. His character wore dresses to try and convince the army that he was crazy and he deserved a Section 8 discharge. He was asked back for a dozen episodes in the second season and he became a regular in the third. Eventually, his character gave up wearing women's clothing, a change demanded by Farr because he felt his children would be ashamed of his appearing in women's clothing week after week on national television[citation needed].

After the enormously successful comedy finished its eleven-year run, Farr and co-stars Harry Morgan and William Christopher spent two years starring in AfterMASH, the sequel that explored how civilian life treated their characters. This lasted for only two seasons. While working on M*A*S*H, Farr found time to do some work on the silver screen. He appeared in Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II.

For many years, due to Farr's popularity in game shows, he appeared as a panelist on many shows such as: The $25,000 Pyramid, Super Password, The Gong Show, Body Language, Match Game, Hot Potato, Hollywood Squares, Wordplay, The $1.98 Beauty Show, The Magnificent Marble Machine, Tattletales, among many others.

He also appeared in several made-for-TV movies such as Murder Can Hurt You, 'Return of the Rebels, and For Love or Money as well as in guest-starring in Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Farr endorsed the U.S. Mars bar in commercials during the 1980s and received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

He was also a regular judge with Laugh In's Arte Johnson and Jaye P. Morgan on "The Gong Show".

Farr is still active in regional theater and guest stars occasionally on different TV series. Since 1984, he has hosted an annual women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA tour, the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in northwest Ohio. The tournament has raised over $4.8 million for local children's charities.

[edit] Personal life

Farr is one of only two actors from M*A*S*H who has written an autobiography (the other one is Alan Alda); Jamie's autobiography is titled Just Farr Fun.

After his role in the 1955 film, Blackboard Jungle, he entered the United States Army for two years serving overseas in Japan and Korea. His tour of Korea was after the war had ended. [1].

The park where Jamie Farr used to hang out when he was younger was renamed "Jamie Farr Park" in his honor on July 5, 1998. About the park, he said, "I wanted to be an actor, a famous actor, and I wanted my hometown of Toledo, Ohio to be proud of me", Farr told about 400 admirers and was quoted in The New York Post: "Jamie Farr Park is certainly a highlight of my life and career."

Further exemplifying Farr's love of Toledo was his frequent mention of Tony Packo's hot dogs on M*A*S*H, a Toledo staple; he also was shown on one epsiode as a Toledo Mudhens fan.

[edit] References in pop culture

  • The American version of Whose Line is it Anyway? had an Irish drinking song game played in which the subject was "sleeping with an ugly woman". Performer Wayne Brady ended one of the verses with "she looked like Jamie Farr."
  • In Family Guy: Live In Vegas Stewie tells Brian that in the right light, he looks a bit like Jamie Farr.

[edit] Other roles

[edit] External links

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