Jamie Farr

Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Corporal Klinger, a soldier who tried getting discharged from the army by cross-dressing, on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. After M*A*S*H, Farr reprised the role of Klinger for AfterMASH and appeared both in small roles on popular shows such as The Love Boat and as a host or panelist on game shows including Battle of the Network Stars. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985. Early life Farr was born Jameel Joseph Farah on July 1, 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Samuel and Jamelia 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 Arab American who grew up in Iowa. Prior to immigrating through Ellis Island, Samuel's surname was Abboud and his father's first name was Farah. Farr grew up in Northern Toledo, which had a strong Arab population, in a diverse neighborhood. He was raised Antiochian Orthodox. He has at least one sibling, an older sister, Yvonne. His first acting gig was at age 11, when he won two dollars in a local acting competition. 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. He graduated from Woodward High School in 1952 and left for California later that year, where he attended classes at Pasadena Playhouse. It was there that he was spotted by an MGM talent scout and offered a screen test for the film Blackboard Jungle, where he played the role of Santini. He was credited as Jameel Farah, as he would not take on the name Jamie Farr until 1959 after his stint in the army. Career While playing bit parts and training at Pasadena Playhouse, Farr worked at a chinchilla farm for extra money. Sherwood Schwartz noticed Farr on an unsold TV pilot and cast him on The Red Skelton Show in 1955, where he played Snorkel, whose large nose gave him an inhumanly strong sense of smell. He became a regular on Skelton before being drafted into the Korean War in 1957. He underwent basic training at Fort Ord in California as part of the 6th Infantry Division. He was made a Broadcast Specialist and worked on training videos in various roles at Fort Knox, the Army Pictorial Service, and Fort Huachuca before shipping out to Korea. Abroad, he was part of the Special Services and worked on the Far East Network.