Farr was born Jameel Joseph Farah (Arabic: جميل يوسف فرح) on July 1, 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Jamelia and Samuel Farah. His father, who owned a grocery store, was an immigrant from the Beqaa Valley area of Lebanon and his mother, a seamstress, was a first-generation Lebanese American who grew up in Iowa.[9][2][10][3] Prior to immigrating through Ellis Island, Samuel's surname was Abboud and his father's first name was Farah.[9] Farr grew up in Northern Toledo, which had a strong Arab population, in a diverse neighborhood. He was raised Antiochian Orthodox.[2] He has at least one sibling, an older sister, Yvonne.[9]
His first acting gig was at age 11, when he won two dollars in a local acting competition.[3] While in high school, he worked at his father's shop and delivered The Toledo Times newspaper in the morning and The Blade in the afternoon.[11][12] He graduated from Woodward High School in 1952[13][3] and left for California later that year, where he attended classes at Pasadena Playhouse.[14][3][15][2] It was there that he was spotted by an MGM talent scout and offered a screen test for the film Blackboard Jungle,[16] where he played the role of Santini.[17][3][1][14] He was credited as Jameel Farah, as he would not take on the name Jamie Farr until 1959 after his stint in the army.[6][2]
After two years of active duty,[1] Farr returned to the United States, where he spent an additional two years on reserve. Shortly after his return, his father died and he decided to give up acting to help provide steady financial support for his mother. When Farr went to say goodbye to Skelton, Skelton handed him a stack of one hundred dollar bills to send home and told Farr he was hiring him as a writer.[10][9] Farr completed his military career with an additional two years on inactive reserve.[9]
Like Farr, the character of Klinger was a Lebanese-American from Toledo, which gave Farr the freedom to pepper references about the town into his dialogue. He frequently mentioned hot dogs from Tony Packo's Cafe and was a fan of the baseball team, the Toledo Mud Hens.[23][21] Klinger was promoted to the company clerk's position later in the series and gradually stopped wearing women's clothes. This was done for two reasons: first, to show Klinger's respect for his new role and his increased maturity; and second, because Farr didn't want his two young children to be teased about their father wearing dresses on TV.[24][10][21][25] By the end of the show, only Alan Alda, who played Hawkeye Pierce, and Loretta Swit, who played Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, had appeared in more M*A*S*H episodes than Farr.[15] Farr was also one of three cast members who had actually served in Korea, the others being Alda and Mike Farrell, and the dog tags he wore as Klinger were his own from his time in the service.[20][10]
Between 2007 and 2008,[39] Farr, Chuck Woolery, and Bob Eubanks were rotating hosts of the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular[40] at the Las Vegas Hilton.[1] He also hosted a daily radio travel feature called Travelin' Farr.[41][27] On Memorial Day 2007, Farr hosted a multiple-episode run of M*A*S*H on the Hallmark Channel where he provided commentary during commercial breaks. Between 2016 and 2018, he promoted M*A*S*H and other classic television series on MeTV[citation needed] and in 2022 was attending large-scale events like Comic Con to meet fans of the show.[10] The same year, he hosted M*A*S*H: The Best By Farr, where he provided commentary on his favorite episodes of the show to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary.[42] Farr published his autobiography Just Farr Fun (ISBN978-0964077508) in 1994 and cowrote Hababy's Christmas Eve (ISBN978-1934341100) a book based on a story told by Klinger about a family of camels who brought the Wise Men to baby Jesus in his manger, with his wife in 2003.[6]
Farr collapsed during a dinner show in Edmonton in 2014 and was transported to the hospital. He finished out the week of shows until an understudy was found, then flew home to California, where he had a stent put into his heart to treat atherosclerosis.[43][14] In 2018, after collapsing during rehearsals for Jack of Diamonds, he decided to retire from stage acting.[14][44]
Personal life
Farr met his wife Joy Ann Richards, a model, shortly after returning from military service.[18][24][14] They married in 1963 and have two children,[12][1][14] Jonas (c. 1969) and Yvonne (c. 1972),[24][21] and a grandson named Dorian.[citation needed] In 2021, Farr told We Are the Mighty that James Jabara was his cousin.[9] Farr has battled severe rheumatoid arthritis since the early 1990s.[citation needed]
Farr was very close to Red Skelton, describing him as his "hero" and "mentor",[15] and like "a second father" to him.[9] He shared that Skelton was one of his favorite comedians growing up.[15] Before Farr left for his military service, Skelton gave him a Saint Christopher medal, which he has worn since.[9][10] When Skelton died in 1997, his widow asked Farr to be a pallbearer at his funeral.[10]
Farr has remained deeply loyal to his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, and the city has returned the sentiment. In 1977, he was awarded Toledo's version of the Keys to the City, a ceremonial glass. Scott High School named their new performing arts wing after him the same year.[16] The University of Toledo awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1983[13] and, in 1998, a park where Farr spent a lot of his childhood was renamed the Jamie Farr Park, something he has referred to as "a highlight of my life and career."[48][49]Tony Packo's Cafe, a restaurant referenced several times by Klinger on M*A*S*H, displays a hot dog bun signed by Farr at their establishment.[50] In 2017, Farr and Klinger were the first two inductees to the Toledo Mud Hens' Celebrity Hall of Fame.[51][12] In 2023, an artist erected Jumpin' Jamie, a fiberglass frog statue part of a larger public art piece. The frog is named after Farr and is dressed in a babushka and red lipstick in homage to Klinger. Originally at the Highland Meadows Golf Club, where the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic was held, it is now kept at Bittersweet Farms.[52] There is also an academic scholarship bearing his name through the Greater Toledo Community Foundation.[53][2]
^ abDangaard, Colin (1981-04-19). "The trouble with Klinger". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. p. 142. Retrieved 2023-10-19 – via newspapers.com.
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