Just Farr Fun [Hardcover]

Jamie Farr (Author), Robert Blair Kaiser (Collaborator)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Eubanks/Donizetti Inc; 1st edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964077507
• ISBN-13: 978-0964077508
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAX KLINGER a.k.a JAMIE FARR, November 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Just Farr Fun (Hardcover)

This is one of the best ways of getting the most complete behind the scenes look of the life of one of televisions funniest characters and also of televisions greatest sit-com/drama's, (M*A*S*H).This book is a must for anyone who loves the wacky comedy of Jamie Farr and the splendor of M*A*S*H. Makes a great gift!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jamie Farr Evokes Laughter, Brings Tears, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Just Farr Fun (Hardcover)

Having enjoyed Jamie Farr for years in M*A*S*H ... then just a few years later at The Showboat Dinner Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida I was thrilled when I found "Just Farr Fun." I was not disappointed. Just as Mr. Farr's theatrical performance in "South Pacific" (at The Showboat) was one of the best I had ever witnessed, so was his wacky inside look at sit-com television. I cannot recommend strongly enough this fine book --- a knee-slapping, must-read, fun-filled autobiography that, at times, brings tears to the eyes.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stories Are Mostly About Others, Little About Farr, July 5, 2010

By 

Mediaman "TVviewer" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Farr Fun (Hardcover)

This is a frustrating read if you are looking for in-depth stories about Jamie Farr or insights into his work in Hollywood. Instead it's mostly a bunch of stories about others people he has worked with, from things he had heard to things he has witnessed. At least two-thirds of the book ends up being peripheral anecdotes about these other people that have nothing to do with Farr's life. Then the actor completely skips telling anything significant about many of the projects he worked on!

This guy started in Blackboard Jungle and all he can do is tell us who else was in it!?! He has no stories from working with the great co-stars of that movie? He does the same with The Greatest Story Ever Told and many of the other major productions he was involved in--very few details about his experiences, while telling lengthy asides about other people. He seems to work overtime to make sure he portrays himself as squeaky-clean while willing to reveal a little dirt on others.

He claims to believe in UFOs and says he saw one. He also says he got his role in Greatest Story Ever Told by praying to St. Jude and includes the prayer in the back of the book. There are also a number of Roman Catholic references in the book (maybe because the co-author is a famous reporter on the Catholic Church?) but it appears Farr is Greek Orthodox--he doesn't really clarify much about himself. He skips some major life events (like talking about his family) and has a few minor factual errors.

One of the nice things about the book is that he does let you know who he doesn't like--Johnny Carson, Hugh Hefner, Joey Bishop all get the shaft here with good reason. (It's about time someone told the truth on them!) The bad side of it is that he tells you only wonderful stories about his wife, actor Robert Blake (notorious for being a pain yet portrayed here as a great pal) and Red Skelton. There's way too much about Red Skelton. He goes on and on about the comedian--probably because Red loaned him some money and helped save Jamie's career. That could have been said without endless pages of stories about Skelton that have nothing to do with Farr.

The biggest warning is that he doesn't even get to M*A*S*H until page 163! At 340 pages, he is long-winded with those stories about others and this book needs some serious editing. Once he gets to the TV show he does get into more detail but this will probably leave fans a bit unsatisfied.

He gets a little introspective near the end but the reader would like to hear more about how he made decisions instead of just stating that everything was due to "luck." He also seems to give his career a bit more weight than it has had--he was very much a minor bit player in almost everything he was in and wasn't even a weekly regular on M*A*S*H. It's nice that he's so positive about his life, but one gets the sense that there is a large part of his world that wasn't revealed here.