Background
He grew up watching his mother, actress Glenda Farrell, appear in films like Little Caesar and I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, opposite Edward G. Robinson and Paul Muni. His father was film editor, Thomas Richards.
He grew up watching his mother, actress Glenda Farrell, appear in films like Little Caesar and I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, opposite Edward G. Robinson and Paul Muni. His father was film editor, Thomas Richards.
Farrell attended Saint John"s Military Academy in Los Angeles and was a drama student at the University of Arizona before making his Broadway debut as a young drummer in Strip for Action.
A native of Hollywood, California, Farrell was a popular actor and comedian better known for his sidekick roles in the Hollywood Golden Age. He served in the Army Air Forces during World World War II and made his movie debut in Winged Victory, the film version of the Army Air Forces play of the same title. During the 1940s, he became entrenched as a supporting player in B-westerns and cliffhanger serials.
He also appeared in a number of other films, including Kissin" Cousins with Elvis Presley and A Guide for the Married Manitoba with Walter Matthau.
Then, after the westerns and serials faded he migrated to television work. On television Farrell played Corporal
Thad Carson on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and Chet Holliday, father of Alice Holliday in the 1958-1959 syndicated sitcom This is Alice. He was also was a recurring guest star in two other sitcoms, Room for One More and Here"s Lucy.
He made six appearances on Perry Mason in minor roles like a salesman or reporter.
He finally retired in 1979 after filming an episode of the Robert Urich series, Vega$. In 2003, he was honored during the 21st Annual Golden Boot Awards ceremony for his work in the Western genre, along with Sue Ane Langdon, Michael Dante, Graham Greene, Kris Kristofferson, and Tommy Lee Jones, among others Farrell died of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund hospital in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 82.
At the time of his death, he was the last living B-western sidekick from the golden era of westerns.
