Charles Farrell Biography

Charles Farrell (August 9, 1901 " May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor in more than a dozen films, including Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Lucky Star.

Biography

Career

Born in Walpole, Massachusetts, He began his career in Hollywood as a bit player for Paramount Pictures. Farrell did extra work for films ranging from The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Lon Chaney, Sr., Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, and The Cheat with Pola Negri.

Farrell continued to work throughout the next few years in relatively minor roles without much success until he was signed by Fox Studios and was paired with fellow newcomer Janet Gaynor in the romantic drama Seventh Heaven. The film was a public and critical success and Farrell and Gaynor would go on to star opposite one another in more than a dozen films throughout the late 1920s and into the talkie era of the early 1930s. Unlike many of his silent screen peers, Farrell had little difficulty with "voice troubles" and remained a publicly popular actor throughout the sound era.

Early 1950s

During the early 1950s, a decade after his career in motion pictures had ended, Farrell began appearing on the television series My Little Margie, which aired on CBS and NBC between 1952 and 1955. He played the role of the widower Vern Albright, the father of a young woman, Margie Albright with a knack for getting into trouble, portrayed by Gale Storm. In 1956, Farrell starred in his own television program, The Charles Farrell Show.

In the 1960s he also appeared on various British TV series such as Danger Man.

Personal life and retirement

Farrell married former actress Virginia Valli on February 14, 1931, and the couple was married until Valli's death from a stroke on September 24, 1968.

After retiring from his acting career, Farrell became a resident of the desert city of Palm Springs, California. He opened the popular Palm Springs Racquet Club in the city with fellow actor Ralph Bellamy.

A major factor in the prosperity of Palm Springs in the 1950s, Farrell was elected mayor of the community in 1953, a position that he held for seven years. Farrell died from a heart attack in 1990. He was interred at the Welwood Murray Cemetery there.

Awards

For his contribution to both motion pictures and television, Charles Farrell was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood at the following locations: 7021 Hollywood Blvd. (motion pictures), and 1617 Vine Street (television).

In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.

Filmography

Features:

Short Subjects:

• The Gosh-Darn Mortgage (1926)
• Hollywood Hobbies (1935)
• Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 7 (1936)

See also

• List of Mayors of Palm Springs, California