| |
|---|---|
| Glenda Farrell | |
| Credits | |
| Role | Hortense Rockeford |
| Biographical Information | |
| Full Name | Glenda Patricia Farrell |
| Birthdate | June 30, 1901 |
| Birthplace | Enid, Oklahoma, United States |
| Death Date | May 1, 1971 (age 69) |
| Death Place | New York, New York, United States |
Glenda Farrell played Hortense Rockeford, the wife of Darrin's snobby client, in the fifth season episode, "The Battle of Burning Oak" (1969).
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Glenda Patricia Farrell was born in Enid, Oklahoma on June 30, 1901. Her parents were Charles Farrell, a horse and dog trader of Irish and Cherokee descent, and Wilhemina Farrell, who was of Alsatian (French/German) descent. Wilhemina must have once had aspirations of acting, because she knew from the beginning that she wanted her daughter to be an actress. When Glenda was still very young, the Farrells moved to Wichita, Kansas, where she made her stage debut as Little Eva in "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" at age seven and received a formal education at the Mount Carmel Catholic Academy. The family later moved to San Diego, California. There, she joined the Virginia Brissac Stock Company.
Career[]
She continued her education while acting with various theater companies and on Broadway before signing a contract with First National Pictures (which had merged with Warner Bros.) in 1930.
One of the hardest-working and best-liked stars at Warner Bros. during the 1930s, Farrell embodied the brassy blonde character of the early talkies. Like her good friend and frequent costar Joan Blondell, Farrell was a hard-boiled, wise-cracking type who usually played chorines, gold-diggers or working girls. Farrell made her mark in the movies opposite Edward G. Robinson in "Little Caesar" (1931), Paul Muni in "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932) and Lionel Atwill in "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (1933). She starred with Blondell and Dick Powell in "Gold Diggers of 1937" (1936), which was nominated for an Oscar for Busby Berkeley's dance direction.
Among her other successes at Warners was a series of films in which she played "girl reporter" Torchy Blane, beginning with "Smart Blonde" (1937). After her Warners contract ended in 1939, Farrell returned to stage work but also continued as a character actress in such films as "The Talk of the Town" (1942).
She won a primetime Emmy in 1963 for "Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress" in the "Ben Casey" episode, "A Cardinal Act of Mercy".
Personal Life[]
She was married twice - to Thomas Richards (married in 1920, divorced in 1929) and to Dr. Henry Ross (married in 1941 until her death). She had one son with Richards, Tommy Farrell (1921-2004), who was also an actor. He officially changed his surname to Farrell in 1932.
She took ill during a stage performance of "Forty Carats" in New York in 1969 and died of lung cancer at her home two years later on May 1, 1971. She was 69. As the wife of a former United States Army colonel, Glenda became the only actress to be interred in the cemetery of West Point Military Academy.
Trivia[]
Farrell was born on June 30, 1901, as confirmed by both the 1910 and 1920 censuses, and later by the Social Security Administration. However, her date of birth is almost always listed as June 30, 1904, because like many actresses of her time, she shaved a few years off of her real age.
Sources[]
- Glenda Farrell on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on April 2, 2020. Updated on September 7, 2020.
- Fristoe, Roger. Glenda Farrell biography on Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved on September 7, 2020.
- Benthow, Hardwicke. "Glenda Farrell: Her Life and Legacy", The Thoughts and Ramblings of Hardwicke Benthow. Retrieved on September 7, 2020.