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Jamie Farr: ''I refuse to succumb to the stereotypical things that Hollywood does to a performer''
Farr worked to set himself apart from his sitcom peers.
Success always comes at a cost, and some are saddled with more risk on their way to achieving a goal. There are difficulties in every industry imaginable, and Hollywood is no exception. For proof, just read literally any memoir or watch any of the hundreds of biopics there are about famous people. It's easy to say, "Oh, boo hoo, wipe your tears with dollar bills, Hollywood elite." The truth, however, is that Hollywood is a town made up of human beings, with problems both relatable and unique.
Being strapped with an identity that's not your own can be a confusing balancing act, made all the more troubling if that new identity is beloved in millions of American households. Such is the burden of the sitcom star. They live a life being known by one name, and then suddenly, to an entire nation, they're "Steve Urkel." Yes, they're paid for this weird tradeoff, but then that ends, and the human being beneath keeps on going.
Jamie Farr spoke about this very phenomenon in a 1995 segment with radio talk show host Peter Anthony Holder on CJAD 800 AM.
"When the show is over we still have to pay our rent, we have to buy food," said Farr. "We have to do all the same things that you do, so it makes it a little more difficult."
The quote came right after Farr was asked about typecasting by a caller. He responded, saying he spent time defending his former castmembers, correcting people when they asked about Radar, rather than Gary Burghoff. It was a problem that continued to affect Farr as well.
"That's exactly why I do Broadway, because I refuse to succumb to the stereotypical things that Hollywood does to a performer by saying, 'we don't dare hire him because they're going to think of him only as Gilligan or only as...'
"Have you ever noticed something? Let me show you a little trick they do in television. Remember Mary Tyler Moore did Mary Tyler Moore Show? But her name in the show was not Mary Tyler Moore, it was Mary Richards. So that's what they do, because they don't want people out there not to know who they are. Even in some of the movies that John Wayne did, you notice his name was always John in a movie?
So that's the trick. If you get a show named after you, and then play another character that's fine. But if you do a show that's an ensemble show like Gilligan's Island or M*A*S*H or something like that, then you're in trouble."
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