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After the second season of M*A*S*H, Jamie Farr issued this ultimatum to the show's creators
"My aspiration was to be a television star," said Farr.
It's rare to find a M*A*S*H fan that doesn't adore Jamie Farr. The actor brought a levity to M*A*S*H with his character Corporal Max Klinger. His charm and sense of humor brought laughter into the 4077th. Even with his talent for comedy, Farr was more than able to hold his own during more serious M*A*S*H scenes, tugging on our heartstrings.
It was a level of success for which Farr worked hard. He was determined in his endeavor to become a successful television actor, despite his own misgivings. "My aspiration was to be a television star," said Farr during an interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader. "I didn't think I was suitable for the big screen. I figured television was my media. I always wanted a television series and I would manage to get into one but it would never hit the public."
After enough rejections and failures, Farr was nearly ready to call it quits - until the opportunity of a lifetime rolled along. "I just figured my time was over and I was too old, tired, and kicked around the town so long that nobody wanted to use me before M*A*S*H came along. But I was wrong. It turned out that those twenty years of serving my apprenticeship - meeting the people, being in shows, having a good reputation - got me this part."
While Farr was used frequently throughout the first two seasons of M*A*S*H, it wasn't until the show reached its third season that he felt confident enough to issue an ultimatum to M*A*S*H producers - one that truly proved his worth. "I ended up doing seven shows that first year and twelve in the second season," said Farr. "In the third season, I told them they would have to put me under contract or I wouldn't do the show anymore because it was interfering with my other jobs."
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I also read that originally the producers wanted Jamie to play character in a girlish over-the-top manner when he wore dresses. He convinced them that it would funnier if he played it totally like a man who just happened to be wearing women's apparel without any feminine traits. And he was right.
