Tall, with an easy-going air, Mike Farrell was the son of a studio carpenter and grew up on studio lots, but it was not until he returned from service in the Marines that he seriously pursued an acting career. He landed his signature role of B J Hunnicutt on "M*A*S*H" in 1975 and found a secondary career as a producer and director.
Farrell studied with Hollywood's favorite coach, Jeff Corey, and made his professional debut in a 1961 L.A. production "Rain". In the mid-60s, Farrell had some bit parts on TV, beginning with a 1963 episode of "McHale's Navy" and also played small roles in features like "Captain Newman, M.D." (1964) and "The Graduate" (1967). But his first "break" came in 1968, when he began a two-year stint as Scott Banning on the NBC soap opera "Days of Our Lives". He moved to primetime as one of the doctors being trained by Broderick Crawford on "The Interns" (CBS, 1970-71) and was Anthony Quinn's starched assistant on "Man in the City" (ABC, 1971-72). Farrell was languishing, however, until he joined the cast of the CBS series "M*A*S*H" following the departure of Wayne Rogers. He stayed with the series until it went off the air in 1983, during which he began to branch out as a screenwriter and director. (He even earned an Emmy nomination for directing an episode of the series.)
Farrell backed off from TV series after "M*A*S*H", concentrating on TV-movies, many of which he produced with his partner, Marvin Minoff (Bonnie Franklin's husband). The actor had first worked in TV longforms with "The Longest Night" (ABC, 1972). He was a homicidal detective in "She Cried Murder" (CBS, 1973) and the confused son of Donna Mills who was brought back to life through cryogenics in "Live Again, Die Again" (ABC, 1974). In 1978, he was Karen Grassle's abusive husband in "Battered" (CBS) and in 1982, starred in the CBS TV-movie "Prime Suspect", in which Farrell was an innocent man tried in the press. He was executive consultant and starred with his second wife Shelley Fabares in "Memorial Day" (CBS, 1983) and that same year was Ambassador to El Salvador dealing with threats against an activist nun (Melissa Gilbert) in "Choices of the Heart" (NBC). Most of his longform work since 1985 has been behind the cameras. Farrell directed Fabares in "Run Till You Fall" (CBS, 1988), and was executive producer and co-wrote the story for "Incident at Dark River" (TNT, 1989), in which he also starred as a man whose daughter has died from toxic water. In 1991, he produced "Silent Motive" for the Lifetime Channel and played the supporting role of a detective.
For the big screen, Farrell produced "Dominick and Eugene" (1988), starring Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta as twins, one brain damaged and the other a young doctor. The script had originally been developed for TV, but no network would produce the project and it became a critically acclaimed feature. A social activist, Farrell often speaks out on environmental and human rights issues. He was executive producer of the 1982 documentary "Citizen: The Political Life of Allard K. Lowenstein" about the progressive New York congressional representative. Farrell has also narrated documentaries for TV, such as "Body Human: Becoming a Man" (CBS, 1981), and "Saving the Wildlife" and the Academy Award nominated documentary "El Salvador: Another Vietnam" (1981). Additionally, he has served as host for "The Best of the National Geographic" specials. Farrell returned to series TV as a regular on the NBC drama "Providence" (1999- ), playing the father of a female surgeon who returns home.