Customer Reviews

Just Farr Fun

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3 star:		(1)
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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!

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.

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.

Jamie Farr does a great job of bringing the reader into all aspects of his life, not just the MASH years but throughout. It makes the reader really feel a part of the highs and lows of a man trying to obtain his dream of acting. Great insights and accounts of his years as MAX KLINGER on M*A*S*H 4077. A MUST HAVE - MUST READ for any MASH FAN!

Jamie Farr makes a statement in this book that with really great actors a part of them always shines through no matter what part they are playing. As you read this book, you'll find it's true, a part of Jamie shines through each part he plays, from Blackboard Jungle to M*A*S*H to Guys and Dolls.

The biggest problem with the book is that he appears so excited to tell you as much as he can, he forgets things, such as the birth of his daughter, though he tells us about the birth of Jonas. His enthusiasm is evident from the first page. He takes you from his initial desire to become an actor, though moving to California and the tough, "hungry" times, meeting his wife and the adventure of their honeymoon (I laughed so hard I cried when he mentioned the "deafening sound of my pajamas") to 1994, when the book was published.

If you're looking for a tell-all, you won't find it. While he does tell stories about the people he's worked with, he is not writing a gossip rag. By the end of the book, through the laughter and tears (his encounters with Joey Bishop of Rat Pack fame were not plesant ones), you come to understand that Jamie values the friendships he's made over the years--especially with the cast of M*A*S*H--and treasures his family above all. He starts out the book with wife, Joy, telling him he's Lucky...I'd say he's not Lucky, but blessed.

I hate it when publishers allow celebrities to write their own memoirs. (Robert B. Kaiser appears to have been no help whatsoever in penning this disaster.) The celebs never seem to realize that what we find interesting about them is what they're best-known for. In this case, Farr is best-known for M*A*S*H, yet he barely even touches on the show until two-thirds of the way through the book, then he charges ahead without giving us much insight into the show, the actors, or the creators, then rambles on about his life after M*A*S*H (without touching upon the sequel to his hit show, AfterM*A*S*H).

Jamie Farr cannot write, which is not his fault, he's a comedian, not a book writer. The publisher should have stepped in and at least had the thing PROOFREAD! Missing periods and commas throughout, typos rampant. The writing is atrocious. No pacing whatsoever. No transitions between paragraphs. And not enough M*A*S*H. The only celeb memoir worse than this one is Carroll O'Connor's I THINK I'M OUTTA HERE. It makes me cry to think that even one tree was killed to print that insult to writing.

I would have given the book one star, yet I like Farr and loved the show, so I added a star to spare his rating.