About
Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Corporal Maxwell Klinger, a soldier who tried to get discharged from the army by cross-dressing, on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. After M*A*S*H, Farr reprised the role of Klinger for AfterMASH and appeared both in small roles on popular shows such as The Love Boat and as a host or panelist on game shows including Battle of the Network Stars. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.
Farr was born Jameel Joseph Farah (Arabic: جميل جوزيف فرح) on July 1, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Jameila (Arabic: جميله فرح) and Samuel Farah (Arabic: صموئيل ينحت). His father, who owned a grocery store, was an immigrant from the Beqaa Valley area of what is now Lebanon and his mother, a seamstress, was a first-generation Lebanese American who grew up in Iowa. Prior to immigrating through Ellis Island, Samuel’s surname was Abboud and his father’s first name was Farah. Farr grew up in Northern Toledo, which had a sizable Lebanese population, in a diverse neighborhood, with his family belonging to the Antiochian Orthodox church. He had at least one sibling, an…
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