Charles Farrell

Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor whose height was in the 1920s and 1930s and the Mayor of Palm Springs from 1947 to 1955.[1][2][3] Farrell was known for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor in more than a dozen films, including 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Lucky Star. Later in life, he starred on TV in the 1950s sitcoms My Little Margie[3][1][4] and played himself in The Charles Farrell Show. He was also among the early developers of Palm Springs.[1][2]

For the Irish actor, see Charles Farrell (Irish actor). For the Australian rules footballer, see Charlie Farrell (footballer).

Charles Farrell
Original studio publicity photo of Charles Farrell
Farrell in the 1930s
Born
Charles David Farrell

(1900-08-09)August 9, 1900
Walpole, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 1990(1990-05-06) (aged 89)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Resting placeWelwood Murray Cemetery, Palm Springs, California
OccupationsActor and Mayor of Palm Springs
Years active1923–1956
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1931; died 1968)​

Early life

Farell was born on August 9, 1900, in South Walpole, Massachusetts, the youngest of two.[3][4][5][6] The family moved to East Walpole when Farrell was 4 and he later attended Walpole High School, where he played football and graduated in 1918.[6][7][5] He attended Boston University's Business Administration program but dropped out. Following this, he traveled to California to pursue a career in acting.[8][9][10][11]

Farrell's father variously owned restaurants, a drug store, and several movie theaters, including one in Onset and at Revere Beach.[5][2][6][9] The family moved to Onset around 1920 and, by 1927, the Farrells owned three theaters.[10][6][11]

Career
The Man Who Came Back (1931)

Farrell began his career as an extra and bit player for Paramount Pictures in films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Ten Commandments, and The Cheat.[4][2][10] After signing on with Fox Studios, he was paired with fellow newcomer Janet Gaynor in the romantic drama 7th Heaven. The film's success meant they went on to star opposite one another in more than a dozen films in the late 1920s and into the talkie era of the early 1930s.[4][1][11] While his initial years in the talkies were not much of an issue, Farrell's "Boston Brahmin"[1] eventually fell out of favor with Fox and he was offered a number of roles he refused, as he felt they were beneath him.[12][11]

In 1934, as his acting career started winding down, he and Ralph Bellamy opened the Palm Springs Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California.[1][13] He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, where he worked as an administrative officer with the Fighting Squadron 17 and later spent time on the USS Hornet.[14][12] A major player in the developing prosperity of Palm Springs in the 1930s through the 1960s, Farrell was elected to the city council in 1946 and served as mayor from 1947 to 1955.[1][2]

He appeared several times on the radio show The Jack Benny Program, including the 1941 episode "Murder at the Racquet Club."[15] He returned to the screen to play Gale Storm's father Vern Albright on My Little Margie between 1952 and 1955.[16][4][1] In 1956, he starred in The Charles Farrell Show, where he played a fictionalized version of himself as the owner of a Racquet Club.[2][1][4]

Farrell sold his real-life Racquet club in 1959 for $1.2 million but returned as club operator in 1965 when it was sold again.[2][1]

Personal life
Seventh Heaven (1927)

In 1927, Farrell named Carmelita Geraghty, Greta Nissen, Virginia Valli, and Janet Gaynor as his "best girl friends" and "pals" and said that any romance between him and Nissen was fabricated by the tabloids.[10] Farrell was romantically involved with Janet Gaynor between 1926 and 1929, when she married San Francisco businessman Lydell Peck.[17][9] He referred to their relationship as akin to the love between a brother and sister;[9] Gaynor similarly said, "I think we loved each other more than we were 'in love.'" She mentioned, however, that she married Peck in part "to get away from Charlie."[17]

Farrell married Virginia Valli, a former silent film star, on February 1, 1931, in Yonkers, New York[3][12][7][18] and the couple settled in Palm Springs.[14] She died from a stroke on September 24, 1968,[19][3] after which, according to historian Stephen O'Brien, he became increasingly reclusive until his death from heart failure on May 6, 1990, in Palm Springs.[11][1] He was buried next to his wife at the Welwood Murray Cemetery.[20]

Honors and legacy

Farrell was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard for motion pictures and 1617 Vine Street for television.[4] In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.[21] Farrell Drive in Palm Springs was named in his honor as one of the developers of the city, and a statue of Farrell was dedicated in front of Palm Springs International Airport in 1999.[14]

Filmography

Features:

Short Subjects:

  • The Gosh-Darn Mortgage (1926) – Joe Hoskins
  • Hollywood Hobbies (1935) – Himself
  • Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 7 (1936) – Himself
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Farrell.

References
  1. "Charles Farrell". LA Times Star Walk. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. Folkart, Burt A. (May 11, 1990). "Charles Farrell, 89; Film and TV Actor, Developer, Former Palm Springs Mayor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  3. "Charles Farrell". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  4. "Charles Carrell". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  5. Adams, Marjory (October 10, 1938). "Movie Question Box". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. p. 9. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Former Walpole by in "Clash of the Wolves"". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. January 8, 1926. p. 4. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. Adams, Marjory (February 12, 1953). "Movie Question Box". The Boston Globe. Boston, Masaschusetts, USA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Farrel, movie star, flying to B.U. party". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. June 3, 1933. p. 19. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  9. Adams, Marjory (September 23, 1929). "Charlie Farrell, movie star, chats with friends in Boston". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. p. 4. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Cape Cod's own movie star comes home at last". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. August 13, 1927. p. 8. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  11. Burns, Brian (January 18, 2003). "Exploring the legacy of Charles Farrell". Walpole Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005.
  12. Pace, Eric (May 12, 1990). "Charles Farrell, Actor, Dies at 88; Made Debut in 'Seventh Heaven'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  13. Niemann, Greg (2006). "Ch. 25: Racquet Club Becomes a Hollywood Haven". Palm Springs Legends: creation of a desert oasis. San Diego, CA: Sunbelt Publications. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-932653-74-1. OCLC 61211290.(here for Table of Contents Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine)
  14. Wenzell, Nicolette (April 4, 2015). "Actor Charlie Farrell left a Palm Springs mark, legacy". Desert Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  15. "Palm Springs Home To Radio Veterans: Stars of 'Golden Era'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. December 18, 1974. Retrieved September 30, 2012. ...Benny played a sheriff who couldn't get into the exclusive Racquet Club to solve a murder. He wasn't a member. Benny's solution: 'Then throw the body over the fence.'
  16. "My Little Margie". Festivl Films. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  17. Baker, Sarah (2009). Lucky Stars: Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. p. 111.
  18. "Virginia Valli weds Charles Farrell". The New York Times. New York City, New York, USA. February 17, 1931. p. 33. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  19. "Virginia Valli". Los Angeles Times Hollywood Star Walk. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  20. "Internment Information" (PDF). Palm Springs Cemetery District. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  21. "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
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