Wednesday, August 28, 2019

EP138: Meet Corporal Klinger – Jamie Farr


Jamie Farr talks about his long career, his experiences on MASH, and a harrowing story that took place in Korea. Other than a near-death experience, lots of fun tales.  


Listen to the Hollywood & Levine podcast!

18 comments :

slgc said...

I have a quick Friday Question - how come your regular blogposts are posted 9:00 AM Eastern Time/6:00 AM Pacific Time, but your podcasts are posted Midnight/9:00 PM?

Andrew said...

Such a treat. Thank you, Ken.

Mike Barer said...

Jamie was a great guest, I thought he gave a great inside look at what may go down as the greatest TV show of all time.

Frank Beans said...

Nice interview. Farr was probably the Mash-iest MASH cast member since he spent all that time in Korea.

On the subject of age from the post the other day, I can only hope that I'm as lucid and full in memory as him at age 85.

Diane KH said...

Thanks to both of you for this, it was wonderful. One of my favorite Klinger plot lines is the one where he tries to convince everyone he believes he is in Toledo; deft writing and performed beautifully.

Jahn Ghalt said...

Interesting to see that he served in Korea - though after they stopped shooting. Look forward to listening in.

Jeff Boice said...

Thanks- that was fun to listen to.

VincentS said...

Great interview, Ken. Klinger was one of my favorite characters!

McAlvie said...

That was a great interview. Thanks, Ken.
Listening to Farr recount his career has me remembering his appearances in many, many shows and movies! I was a kid in the 60s, so I really do remember most of them, including F Troop! And of course Farr's is a memorable face, so he appeared frequently in family games of "isn't that the guy who was on …?"

A big benefit of growing up in that decade is that I was exposed to not just the new music, tv and movies coming out, but also the best of what had been produced in the previous decades, so that's a lot of tv shows and old movies to be remembering.

BG said...

This was wonderful, thank you. Jamie is beloved (as I'm sure he knows).

Anonymous said...

Great to hear from Jamie Farr! I was hoping to hear the story of how Tony Packo's wound up in the show, told by the man himself! It's a favorite anecdote of mine, because it's a great example of an actor's contribution to, not just the script, but the very canon of the Mash universe. Very cool...

This interview's comments on the dresses reminded me of one of my favorite Mash quotes. From the episode, "Major Ego":

Klinger (swoops in, dressed like Bette Davis): What a dump!

Hawkeye: The decorator's here.


I don't know why, but Alan's delivery on that line always killed me. Ken, if you had anything to do with that line, bravo!!

- Matt in RI

E. Yarber said...

Russell Harlan was the cinematographer of BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. Among his other credits are TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, RED RIVER, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION and even the delirious GUN CRAZY. When Farr and some of his fellow juvenile delinquents recorded a commentary track for BLACKBOARD, however, they rather endearingly showed their youth at the time by gushing, "He was the guy who shot the Hopalong Cassidy films!"

Jeff said...

Jamie Farr is 85 and sounds decades younger. What a blessing to have such great recall. Thanks for taking the time to talk with him. I'll bet he has great stories from a bunch of the other shows and films he did.

Brian said...

Wow, great interview. He is really sharp for any age. Please pass along that we really enjoyed the podcast. Imagine - $250 to be on Mash for one day.

Tom S. said...

LOL...I love how you couldn't get him to shut up at the end. He just kept rambling on, dropping the names of dead people he worked with. So sad.

speedymalone1962@gmail.com said...
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Karan G said...

This was brilliant! Jamie's memory is amazing. He is still a very skillful communicator.

Cowboy Surfer said...

I like knowing Jamie Farr is at home watching METV