M*A*S*H

Background:

Growing up in Hollywood, Mike Farrell began acting in the early 1960s in a Los Angeles theatre production of "Rain." He is widely recognized to TV audiences for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt (1975-1983) on the long running CBS medical comedy TV series "M*A*S*H." He later voiced the title character's father, Jonathan Kent, on the animated TV series "Superman" from 1996 to 1999 and co-starred as Dr. Jim Hansen, the heroine's (played by Melina Kanakaredes) father, on the NBC drama "Providence" from 1999 to 2002. Most recently, he played the recurring role of Milton Lang (2007-2008) in the hit ABC series "Desperate Housewives."

On the big screen, Farrell could be seen in the films "The Graduate" (1967), "Doomsday Machine" (1972), "The Killers Within" (1995), and "Out at the Wedding" (2007).

Farrell, who also works as a producer, director, and author, is a prominent activist for politically left-wing causes. In 1993, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award at the Women in Film Crystal Awards.

“There have been great discussions on sets and I’ve been in debate situations, sometimes with actors. But the more productive ones are a function of curiosity. Somebody wants to know why I’m trying to stop an execution or whatever, so when they ask, you explain and sometimes they agree, sometimes they’re interested in getting more information, and sometimes they want to run and hide. It all depends.” Mike Farrell

More personally, this 6' 3" actor was married to screenwriter Judy Farrell from 1963 to 1983 and has two children with her. He is now married to actress Shelley Fabares.

Politically Mike

Childhood and Family:

"Growing up, my home was not particularly political, though my father was a union man, hard working carpenter, laborer and he was very outspoken about his opinions about things. It was really after I grew up that things jelled for me as a result of real life experiences .They steered me in the direction of being aware of what was going on politically and socially and trying to figure out if there was a way I could involve myself. But nobody knew or cared frankly until I became known as an actor. Then, suddenly, the media paid attention and the two [tracks] have fed off each other ever since." Mike Farrell

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 6, 1939, to Joe (died in 1956) and Agnes Farrell, Michael Joseph Farrell moved to Hollywood at the age of 2 because his father worked as a studio carpenter. One of four kids, he has one brother, Jim Farrell, and two sisters, Kathy and Sally Farrell.

Farrell attended grammar school with Natalie Wood and Ricky Nelson. After graduating from Hollywood High, he joined the United States Marine Corps in the 1950's for two years. Later, he attended the University of California in Los Angeles, California, and studied acting at the Jeff Corey Workshop, also in Los Angeles.

From 1963 to 1983, Farrell was married to screenwriter Judy Farrell (born on March 1, 1938), who appeared on his TV show "M*A*S*H" (1972). They have two children, daughter Erin Farrell (born on March 27, 1973), who works in the Los Angeles office of Jesse Jackson, and son Michael Josh Farrell (born in 1970), a martial arts teacher. On December 31, 1984, Farrell married his present wife, actress Shelley Fabares (born on January 19, 1944).

During his free time, Farrell loves to read and spend time with his wife and kids. He also enjoys cross-country motorcycling. A spokesperson for CONCERN/America and co-chair of the Human Rights Watch in California, Farrell has lobbied against the firing of gay teachers. He was outspoken about the U.S. involvement in Ecuador in the 80s, served as a member of California's Commission on Judicial Performance from February 2, 1998, to February 28, 2001, and works with Greenpeace. He was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and is board president of Death Penalty Focus. He is also vice-president of the Screen Actor's Guild and presides over Family Motion Pictures, an organization which strives to promote films suitable for family viewing.

“What Hollywood is not doing that troubles me is taking responsibility, I think, for the impact of its work. More people need to be aware of the fact that there is a residual impact that the films and particularly, the television shows, have that can be very dangerous and can be very destructive to the audience. On the other hand, I think Hollywood does great things in terms of carrying messages out to the world that are meaningful and important, and/or simply entertaining. People need sometimes to relax and laugh and cry and simply appreciate. But I think the thing that troubles me the most about Hollywood is its lack of acceptance of responsibility.” Mike Farrell

Providence

Career:

Working a number of jobs following his two-year stint in the Marine Corps, Mike Farrell decided to pursue a career as an actor and studied with Jeff Corey. In the early 1960s, he made his professional debut in a Los Angeles theatre production of "Rain."

Two years later, he was seen in a March 1963 episode of ABC’s sitcom "McHale's Navy." He followed it up with guest roles in the TV series "Ensign O'Toole," "Combat," "Lassie," "The Monkees," "Garrison's Gorillas," "I Dream of Jeannie," and "Daniel Boone." He also made his feature film debut with an unaccredited role in Mike Nichols' film adaptation of Charles Webb's romantic novel, "The Graduate" (1967; starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross).

From 1968 to 1970, Farrell played Scott Banning, replacing Robert Caraway, on the NBC long running soap opera "Days of Our Lives." He also appeared in small roles in the films "Countdown" (1968), "Targets" (1968; aka. "Before I Die"), "Dayton's Devils" (1968), "Panic in the City" (1968), and "Worthy to Stand" (1969) and guest-starred in an episode of the TV series "The Name of the Game" and "The Bill Cosby Show." Farrell was also a regular on the CBS medical drama series starring Broderick Crawford, "The Interns" (1970-1971), playing Dr. Sam Marsh. During this time, he was spotted as a guest in an episode of "Mannix," "The Man and the City," and "Sarge." He also appeared in a 1970's television commercial for Schmidt's Big Mouth Beer.

In 1972, Farrell appeared in the true story-based ABC Movie of the Week "The Longest Night," starring David Janssen. That same year, he played a reporter in the film "Doomsday Machine" (1972) and appeared as a guest in an episode of "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors," "The Sixth Sense," "Cannon," "Bonanza," and "Ghost Story." During the following years, he could be seen in the made-for-television movies "She Cried Murder" (1973), "The Questor Tapes" (1974), "Live Again, Die Again" (1974), and "Ladies of the Corridor" (1975). He also played guest roles in the TV series "Wide World Mystery," "Banacek," "Love, American Style," "The Rookies," "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law," "The New Land," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Ironside," "Harry O," and "Marcus Welby, M.D."

Farrell landed his breakthrough in 1975 when he snagged the role of B.J. Hunnicutt on the CBS medical military TV series "M*A*S*H." Farrell, who would also direct and write episodes of the show beginning in 1979, was nominated for a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series (for episode "Death Takes a Holiday"), as well as two Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and another one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series. He would stay on the show until its finale on February 28, 1983, which became the most-watched television episode in U.S. television history with over 105 million viewers. On the final episode of "M*A*S*H" (1972), Farrell revealed, "It was one of the hardest things I've ever done as an actor, because there were times when it wasn't appropriate to be crying."

During his "M*A*S*H" tenure, Farrell also starred in the TV movies "McNaughton's Daughter" (1976), "Battered" (1978), "Sex and the Single Parent" (1979), "Letters from Frank" (1979), "Father Damien: The Leper Priest" (1980), "Prime Suspect" (1982), "Memorial Day" (1983), and "Choices of the Heart" (1983). He also received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for his work in the documentary "The Body Human: Becoming a Man" (1981), and executive-produced the documentary "Citizen: The Political Life of Allard K. Lowenstein" (1982).

Following the demise of "M*A*S*H," Farrell formed a production company with Marvin Minoff in 1985 and directed the CBS dramatic TV movie "Run Till You Fall" (1988). He also produced the feature film "Dominick and Eugene" (1988) and played lead roles in the TV movies "J.F.K.: A One-Man Show" (1984), "Private Sessions" (1985), "Vanishing Act" (1986), "A Deadly Silence" (1989), "Incident at Dark River" (1989), "The Price of the Bride" (1990), "The Whereabouts of Jenny" (1991), "Silent Motive" (1991), which he also produced, and "Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die" (1994). He then guest starred in an episode of "Coach" and "Murder, She Wrote" and appeared in episodes of the series "Matlock.”

After returning to the big screen co-starring with Anna Berger, Robert Carradine, and Kim Chase in Paul Leder's independent drama film "The Killers Within" (1995), Farrell provided the voice of Jonathan Kent on the animated TV series "Superman" from 1996 to 1999. During this time, he also lent his voice to the TV movie "Superman: The Last Son of Krypton" (1996), and acted in the made-for-television movies "Vows of Deception" (1996) and "Sins of the Mind" (1997), the latter of which he also executive-produced. He then served as one of the producers on the box office hit "Patch Adams" (1998; starring Robin Williams), which is based on the true life story of Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book "Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter" by Adams and Maureen Mylander. It earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical.

In early 1999, Farrell returned to series TV as a regular on the NBC drama "Providence," playing the heroine's (played by Melina Kanakaredes) father. He would stay on the show for five seasons until its abrupt end in December 2002.

Farrell subsequently voiced Pa Kent during 2003-2004 episodes of the Cartoon Network's animated television series based on the associated comic book characters published by DC Comics, "Justice League." He also co-starred with Christian Kane and Shannon Elizabeth in the dramatic TV movie based on Brian Cruver's book, "The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron" (2003), and portrayed legendary chief veterinarian Dr. Cyrus Gachet in the medical drama TV movie "The Clinic" (2004) alongside Jonathan Scarfe.

After supporting Lucy Lawless in the thriller TV movie "Locusts" (2005), Farrell recreated the voice of Jonathan Kent in the Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated film "Superman: Brainiac Attacks" (2006). He then guest starred in an April 2007 episode of the short-lived CBS crime drama series starring Ray Liotta, "Smith," and played the father of the bride in Lee Friedlander's romantic comedy movie "Out at the Wedding" (2007). He also played the recurring role of Milton Lang (2007-2008), Victor’s (played by John Slattery) father, on the popular ABC television series "Desperate Housewives."

"I think the first journal I wrote was about a trip I took to the Thai-Cambodian border area for Concerned America in early 79 or 80. Since that time, if I’ve taken a trip with that goal - human rights or refugee aid or whatever - I’ve tried to take notes." Mike Farrell

In 2007, Farrell released his book, "Just Call Me Mike: My Journey from Actor to Activist."

Farrell will next be seen as himself in the upcoming documentary film "The Barrel of a Gun," alongside Danny Glover and Edward Asner

Awards:

• Women in Film Crystal Awards: Humanitarian Award, 1993