Jamie Farr

Jamie Farr
Farr in September 2012
Born	Jameel Joseph Farah (1934-07-01) July 1, 1934 (age 82) Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–present
Spouse(s)	Joy Ann Richards (1963–present) 2 children

Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah, July 1, 1934) is an American television, film, and theatre actor. He is of Lebanese descent. He is known for playing a cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) from Toledo, Ohio, bucking for a Section 8 discharge, 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 into the United States Army, undergoing his basic training with the 6th Infantry Division Fort Ord California, he served for two years, with service in Japan and Korea.