- Born
- Birth nameMichael Joseph Farrell Jr.
- Height6′ 3½″ (1.92 m)
- Mike is one of four children. His father, Joe, who died in 1956, was a carpenter at Hollywood studios. Mike attended grammar school with Natalie Wood and Ricky Nelson. He entered the Marines in the 1950s for two years. Later, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles and studied acting at the Jeff Corey Workshop. He started getting big parts in movies, which led to a regular role on Days of Our Lives (1965) and, ultimately, to M*A*S*H (1972). When M*A*S*H (1972) went off the air, he resisted series TV for many years until he was offered Providence (1999). In the meantime, he formed his own production company, which made the Robin Williams vehicle, Patch Adams (1998), based on Mike's own acquaintance with the doctor. Mike is very politically involved. He lobbied against the firing of gay teachers. He was outspoken about the US involvement in El Salvador in the 80s. He served as a member of California's Commission on Judicial Performance from February 2, 1998 to February 28, 2001.- IMDb Mini Biography By: John Sacksteder <jsack@ka.net>
- SpousesShelley Fabares(December 31, 1984 - present)Judy Farrell(August 18, 1963 - July 10, 1984) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsMichael Joseph Farrell Sr.Agnes Sarah Farrell
- RelativesSmokey Fabares(Sibling)Nanette Fabray(Aunt or Uncle)
- Deep authoritative voice
- Tried to talk Gary Burghoff out of leaving M*A*S*H (1972), citing the lackluster careers of McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville after their departures, but to no avail.
- It was Alan Alda's idea for him to grow a mustache in the seventh season, which he kept for the rest of the show's run.
- Best friend of Alan Alda.
- While he was a cast member on M*A*S*H (1972) as Captain BJ Hunnicut, his first wife, Judy Farrell, also appeared on M*A*S*H (1972) playing various nurse characters.
- Served in the U. S. Marines 1957 - 1959.
- I think alternative sentencing, if I understand your use of the term, is a good idea for some offenders, who can then continue to be useful members of society at the same time as they are having their activities restricted by law, but is not appropriate for those who have demonstrated, for example, a propensity for violence against others.
- (On joining the cast of M*A*S*H (1972)): "I began to sweat at the [thought] that if this show fails in the fourth season, I'm going to wear it around my neck for the rest of my life: the guy who sank M*A*S*H (1972).
- (On the final episode of M*A*S*H (1972)): 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.
- I was a bouncer in a bar. That was a terrible, terrible, terrible job. And I used to be a private investigator. I'd have to find people that didn't want to be found. I was shot at, and chased with knives. Most of the cases were really sad more then anything else.
- (Who presided over the largest C.I.A. station in the world, which was Honduras): I mean it's just a pathetic thing. I laugh about it now, but Honduras was the base for the Contras against Nicaragua. Honduras was also the repository of a great number of refugees from the horror in Guatemala and the terrible brutality in El Salvador. We were there trying to deal with the needs of the people who were refugees and who were being treated abominably by their own governments and by the United States if every way they could be. I remember coming back from Honduras and talking to the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs. I told him about the brutality that was being visited on these people.
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