- Born
- Birth nameJameel Joseph Farah
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- One of the most prolific character actors of his time starting with his role of Santini in the Blackboard Jungle (1955). Since then has appeared in iconic shows as the Twilight Zone, the Red Skelton Hour, the Dick Van Dyke Show, the Danny Kaye Show, Hazel, My Three Sons, Ben Casey, The Lucy Show, I Dream of Jeannie, The Andy Griffith Show, My Favorite Martian, F Troop, Get Smart. Gomer Pyle, The Flying Nun, The Blue Knight, Barnaby Jones, The Love Boat, Diagnosis Murder and of course M*A*S*H.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brian Turner
- SpouseJoy Ann Richards(February 16, 1963 - present) (2 children)
- ChildrenJonas FarahYvonne Farah
- ParentsJamelia M. FarahSamuel N. Farah
- His nose. (Frequently the subject of many jokes on M*A*S*H (1972). In one episode Klinger says his nose even has its own serial number).
- Thick, nasally voice.
- In the later years of M*A*S*H (1972), especially after he took on the role of company clerk when "Radar" (Gary Burghoff) left, he stopped his recurring gag of wearing women's clothes because he didn't want his children being teased about it growing up.
- Was one of two cast members of the original M*A*S*H (1972) television cast to have actually served in the armed forces in Korea; Farr's tour of duty came in the years after the war. Alan Alda served a six-month tour as a gunnery officer in Korea. In addition, the dogtags Farr wore on the M*A*S*H (1972) set were actually his issued set from his time in the army.
- His M*A*S*H (1972) character was originally only supposed to be on one episode, but he proved so popular that he returned as a day player, and was finally given a contract in the third season.
- Thought at first the women's wardrobe in his dressing room meant he would be sharing the room with a woman, but was surprised to learn otherwise. Not wanting to play a cross-dresser in the typical girlish way, he suggested to the producers that his character be manly, but crazy, thinking his clothes and other quirks were normal. The unusual spin worked.
- Worked as a deliveryman for a lithograph company, a post office clerk, an army-surplus store clerk, an airline reservations clerk and an employee at a chinchilla ranch.
- The benefits from stardom as Klinger outweigh any setbacks. It's a double-edged sword. What makes you famous is what interferes with getting other roles. But there are things that never would have happened without M*A*S*H (1972). There certainly would be no Jamie Farr Kroger Golf Classic.
- [on playing himself with Rodney Dangerfield in a special] I gave a line reading, and he turned to me and said, "No, you wouldn't say it that way".
- [on doing theater] When you leave the theater, you didn't see Klinger, you saw George Burns or you saw Applegate.
- [on life after M*A*S*H (1972)] It's a difficult thing to overcome, but I've been quite fortunate. I haven't been out of work, literally since "M*A*S*H" went out of production.
- [on the death of his professional on- and off-screen chemistry with Harry Morgan, who played Col. Sherman Potter]: Harry was very special to all of us cast members. Not only was he a wonderful performer that made such a difference ... he was a dear friend to every cast member. He was absolutely a pixie, a gremlin as mischievous as all get out. You couldn't be around Harry for very long without wanting to embrace him and I think our Lord will feel the same way.
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