Michael Joseph “Mike” Farrell, Jr. was born on 6 February 1939, in St. Paul, Minnesota USA, to parents Agnes Sarah Cosgrove and Michael Joseph Farrell Sr., of Irish descent. He is an actor, writer, director and producer, probably best known for playing Captain B.J. Hunnicutt in the 70s hit television series “M*A*S*H”.
So just how wealthy is Mike Farrell at present? As reported in mid-2016, Farrell has established a net worth over $10 million, his wealth being mostly accumulated during his years in the entertainment industry.
Mike Farrell Net Worth $10 Million
When Farrell was two years old his family moved to Hollywood, where he attended West Hollywood Grammar School and later Hollywood High School. Upon matriculating he entered the Marine Corps for two years, and then enrolled in the University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) while also studying acting at the Jeff Corey Workshop.
Farrell began his acting career by taking minor parts in several television series of the 60s, such as “Combat”, “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Monkees”, as well as with minor roles in the movies “The Graduate” and “The Americanization of Emily”. His television parts eventually led him to become part of the hit NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” in 1968, taking the role of Scott Banning for two years; his net worth was starting to rise. The ’70s saw him taking leading roles in TV series “The Interns” and “The Man and the City”. Signing a four-year contract with the Universal Studios, Farrell took a lead role in the television movie “The Questor Tapes”, and went on to guest star in numerous shows, such as “Bonanza”, “Banacek”, “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and “The New Land”.
In 1975 Farrell was cast in the series “M*A*S*H” for the newly created role of Captain B.J. Hunnicutt, remaining eight years in the show, until its cancellation in 1983. He also got the opportunity to write and direct a number of episodes which brought him additional praise. The series was popular in many English-speaking countries around the world, including repeat showings, and enabled Mike to enter Hollywood stardom, as well as greatly increasing his net worth.
After “M*A*S*H”, Farrell took roles in a number of movies including “Sex and a Single Parent”, “Prime Suspect”, “Choices of the Heart”, “Private Sessions” and “Memorial Day” which he also co-produced. Farrell also hosted “Saving the Wildlife” for PBS and “The Best of the National Geographic Specials”.
In 1985, in partnership with the late producer Marvin Minoff, he created a production company which released a number of TV and feature films, such as the 1988 “Dominick and Eugene” and the 1998 Robin Williams film “Patch Adams”. Farrell went on to appear in the movies “A Deadly Silence”, “The Price of the Bride”, “Incident at Dark River” and “The Whereabouts of Jenny” among other, and provided the voice for Jonathan Kent in the animated series “Superman” in 1996. In 1999 he became part of the NBC melodrama series “Providence”, taking the role of veterinarian Jim Hansen; he remained in the series for five seasons, which also significantly added to his wealth. The 2000s saw Farrell in the hit series “Desperate Housewives”.
Farrell has published two books, an autobiography “Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist” in 2007 and “Of Mule and Man” in 2009, adding to his net worth.
When it comes to his personal life, Farrell married teacher Judy Hayden in 1963 and has two children with her – Hayden also had a recurring role in “M*A*S*H” as a nurse. They divorced in 1983. He has been married to actress Shelley Fabares since 1984, with whom he appeared in “Superman” too.
Farrell has been an activist for a number of political and social causes, devoting himself the most to promoting human rights and peace delegations to a number of countries around the world, and opposing the death penalty, which earned him various honors and awards. He is also an animal right activist. He co-founded Artists United to Win Without War, an organization protesting the war in Iraq, and has been active in the Screen Actors Guide, being named first vice-president of the Guild in LA in 2002.
Emmy Award for Best Guest Role in a Primetime Comedy Series
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series, Daytime Emmy Awa...
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", " Desperate Housewives"(2007–08), "Supernatural", "Whose War?" (2006), "JFK", "One Man Show"
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Quote
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[Of Harry Morgan]: He was a treasure as a person, an imp at times, and always a true professional. He had worked with the greats and never saw himself as one of them. But he was. He was the rock everyone depended on and yet he could cut up like a kid when the situation warranted it. He was the apotheosis, the finest example of what people call a 'character actor.' What he brought to the work made everyone better. He made those who are thought of as 'stars' shine even more brightly. The love and admiration we all felt for him were returned tenfold in many, many ways. And the greatest and, most selfless tribute to the experience we enjoyed was paid by Harry at the press conference when our show ended. He remarked that someone had asked him if working on M*A*S*H had made him a better actor. He responded by saying, 'I don't know about that, but it made me a better human being. It's hard to imagine a better one.'
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(On the death of Harry Morgan): He was an imp. As Alan once said, 'There's not an un-adorable bone in the man's body.' He was full of fun, and he was smart as a whip.
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(On his on- and off-screen chemistry with Harry Morgan, who played Col. Sherman Potter): It's harder for me to separate Harry and Col. Potter because I adore them both so much. Col. Potter was the father figure we all loved and admired. A straight-arrow, regular army, by the book type who, just beneath the surface, was a marshmallow. Harry Morgan is a wonderful guy and a good friend. He's full of stories, jokes, wry humor and is a delight to be around. He is and ought to be a motion picture and television legend.
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(On David Ogden Stiers, who was being reduced by one Harry Morgan, for ridiculous reasons): David was like a rock, when he was concentrating, when he was being Charles Emerson Winchester III, you just couldn't get him, except for Harry Morgan. Harry could look at David and reduced him to a puddle of tears, without turning an eye. David said, 'When he [Harry] looks at me and flare those nostrils; and he would be gone.' It would be such a wonderful thing to see this great big guy just reduced to a giggling idiot by Harry, but unfortunately, all I could tell you, we had great fun doing the show; and much of it was laughing at some silly gag that one of us had pulled on the others.
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(On the effect of the programs today): I think there's a terrible dumbing- down of the American consciousness, the drumbeat of ugliness and stupidity and sensationalism, and thoughtlessness and propaganda that is in these stations. I think it's across the border. It's not just in the right wing media. Takings across the board, the dumbing- down that's going on. I worry about it greatly, because I think we have listened to - loosened connections that people feel toward this country and the values of this country. It's as though as took freedom and liberty and the kinds of concepts that built America and put them on a shelf somewhere and said we won them now. As long as they're back there, we can do anything that we want. Forgetting that those have to be living - living values that we practice on a daily basis rather than just having them on a shelf that we polish periodically.
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(On besides playing somebody else other than "BJ Hunnicut," he was offered another role): The script. I liked the fact that it was serious and a bit wacky and I liked the idea of dealing with family issues. After reading it I told my agent it would be worth a meeting with them and I liked it even better after meeting the people involved. Meeting Melina was the icing on the cake.
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(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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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.
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(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.
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(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).
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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.
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Fact
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As Mr. Farrell was sowing seeds in the early years of what would be his long acting career, he starred in 1967 as Federal Agent Modell on juvenile sitcom, The Monkees; in the episode of Monkees Chow Mein.
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Release of his book, "Of Mule and Man". [2009]
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Release of his book, "Just Call Me Mike: My Journey from Actor to Activist". [2007]
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Attended the funeral of Marvin Minoff when the producer died in 2009.
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His father, Michael Joseph Farrell, Sr., died when Michael Jr. was only age 17.
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His father was an alcoholic.
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Of Irish descent.
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His family moved to Hollywood, California, in 1941, where Farrell's father worked as a movie studio carpenter.
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.
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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.
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Provided voice of Jonathan Kent on the animated Superman (1996) series with real life wife Shelley Fabares providing the voice of Martha Kent.
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Presides over Family Motion Pictures, an organisation which strives to promote films suitable for family viewing.
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Elected first Vice-President of the Screen Actor's Guild in 2002 and served for three years.
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Spokesperson for CONCERN/America; co-chair of Human Rights Watch in California; board president of Death Penalty Focus; member of the California State Commission on Judicial Performance
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Served in the U. S. Marines
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Attended West Hollywood Grammar School with Natalie Wood and Ricky Nelson. Graduated from Hollywood High School.
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Named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
I saw this person tonight in a segment on the Tucker Carlso Tonight program on Fox News. He was speaking in opposition to the presidential election of Donald Trump. At one point, Carlson commented that “…this probably doesn’t apply to rich people such as you”, to which Farrell immediately replied “that doesn’t include me” which was a denial of being rich; an obvious implication that he was just a commoner like everybody else. That was a flagrant canard as according to this article he’s a multimillionaire. And Hollywood wonders why the public is seeing through their phony hypocrisy.
I saw this person tonight in a segment on the Tucker Carlso Tonight program on Fox News. He was speaking in opposition to the presidential election of Donald Trump. At one point, Carlson commented that “…this probably doesn’t apply to rich people such as you”, to which Farrell immediately replied “that doesn’t include me” which was a denial of being rich; an obvious implication that he was just a commoner like everybody else. That was a flagrant canard as according to this article he’s a multimillionaire. And Hollywood wonders why the public is seeing through their phony hypocrisy.