Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American
television and film comedian and theatre actor. He is known for
playing a cross-dressing corporal in the role of Maxwell Q. Klinger in
the CBS television sitcom M*A*S*H.Farr was born in Toledo, Ohio, to
Lebanese-American parents Jamelia M. (née Abodeely), a seamstress,
and Samuel N. Farah, a grocer. He and his family attended Saint George
Antiochian Orthodox Church in Toledo.Farr's first acting success
occurred at age 11, when he won two dollars in a local acting contest.
After Woodward High School, where he was one of the standouts among
his class, Farr attended the Pasadena Playhouse, where a
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout discovered him, offering him a screen
test for Blackboard Jungle. He won the role of the mentally challenged
student, Santini. With the encouragement of his Toledo mentor, Danny
Thomas, he decided to become an actor.Farr’s first film roles were
in 1955 in Blackboard Jungle (credited as Jameel Farah) and as a fruit
vendor in Kismet (uncredited). After this, he was drafted by the
United States Selective Service into the United States Army,
undergoing his basic training with the 6th Infantry Division, Fort
Ord, California. He served for two years, in Japan and Korea, making
him one of three cast members of the M*A*S*H cast to have served in
the US military in Korea (the others being Alan Alda and Mike
Farrell).
television and film comedian and theatre actor. He is known for
playing a cross-dressing corporal in the role of Maxwell Q. Klinger in
the CBS television sitcom M*A*S*H.Farr was born in Toledo, Ohio, to
Lebanese-American parents Jamelia M. (née Abodeely), a seamstress,
and Samuel N. Farah, a grocer. He and his family attended Saint George
Antiochian Orthodox Church in Toledo.Farr's first acting success
occurred at age 11, when he won two dollars in a local acting contest.
After Woodward High School, where he was one of the standouts among
his class, Farr attended the Pasadena Playhouse, where a
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout discovered him, offering him a screen
test for Blackboard Jungle. He won the role of the mentally challenged
student, Santini. With the encouragement of his Toledo mentor, Danny
Thomas, he decided to become an actor.Farr’s first film roles were
in 1955 in Blackboard Jungle (credited as Jameel Farah) and as a fruit
vendor in Kismet (uncredited). After this, he was drafted by the
United States Selective Service into the United States Army,
undergoing his basic training with the 6th Infantry Division, Fort
Ord, California. He served for two years, in Japan and Korea, making
him one of three cast members of the M*A*S*H cast to have served in
the US military in Korea (the others being Alan Alda and Mike
Farrell).
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