Jamie Farr (born July 1, 1934) is an American television, film,
and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role
of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger
in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.  Farr was born Jameel Joseph
Farah in Toledo, Ohio, to Lebanese-American parents Jamelia M.
(née Abodeely), a seamstress, and Samuel N. Farah, a grocer. He
was raised in the Antiochian Orthodox religion. Farr’s first
acting success occurred at age 11, when he won US$2 in a local
acting contest. After Woodward High School, where he was one of
the standouts among his class, Farr attended the Pasadena
Playhouse where an MGM talent scout discovered him, offering him
a screen-test for Blackboard Jungle. He won the role of the
mentally challenged student, Santini.  Farr’s first film roles
were in 1955, in Blackboard Jungle (billed as Jameel Farah) and
as a fruit vendor in Kismet (uncredited).  This article is
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