M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell was spotted out in LA on Tuesday in the first public sighting since the death of his wife Shelley Fabares.
The actor, 87, was with a woman who appeared to be his daughter Erin Farrell, whom he shared with his first wife, the actress Judy Farrell, who passed away in 2023.
He wore a white T-shirt tucked into acid wash jeans, which he paired with a comfy set of black trainers.
Fabares, to whom Farrell was married for 42 years, died on August 22 at the age of 82.
An actress, she starred opposite Elvis Presley in multiple films and was also known for her television work on The Donna Reed Show and Coach.
M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell was seen for the first time since the death last month of his beloved wife Shelley Fabares
Fabares, to whom Farrrell was married for 42 years, died on August 22 at 82. She starred with Elvis Presley in multiple films and was known for her work on The Donna Reed Show and Coach
The Daily Mail has reached out to Farrell’s representative for comment but has not yet received a response.
The release of her death certificate indicated that the immediate cause of death was acute respiratory distress she suffered in the final days of her life.
Primary pneumonia, which she was diagnosed with weeks before her demise, is listed on the document as a condition that led to her death, according to People.
No autopsy was performed on Fabares before her cremation last Friday.
Farrell’s defining role was that of BJ Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H, which he joined in 1975 when original main cast member Wayne Rogers, who took over for M*A*S*H film star Elliott Gould as Trapper John, left the series between its third and fourth seasons.
The series, which premiered in 1972 as an adaptation of Robert Altman’s acclaimed 1970 film, became more popular than ever after Farrell joined the cast, and he remained with the series for its final eight seasons.
M*A*S*H’s 1983 finale went on to become the most-watched television program in the US at the time, a feat that wasn’t surpassed until the 2010 Super Bowl.
Farrell, who was born in South St. Paul, Minnesota, moved with his parents and three siblings to Hollywood when he was just two years old.
He had an early connection to the entertainment industry, as his father was a carpenter on film sets.
Farrell was pictured on Tuesday on a stroll in LA with a woman who appeared to be his daughter Erin Farrell from his first marriage
The TV star wore a white T-shirt tucked into acid wash jeans, which he paired with a comfy set of black trainers
Fabares’s death certificate indicated the immediate cause of death was acute respiratory distress she suffered in her final days after battling pneumonia. Above, the couple in 2001
Farrell’s defining role was that of BJ Hunnicutt on TV’s M*A*S*H, which he joined in 1975 when original main cast member Wayne Rogers left the series between its third and fourth seasons
The show’s 1983 finale went on to become the most-watched television program in the US at the time. Farrell (center) is seen with Loretta Swit (L) and David Ogden Stiers (R)
Farrell joined the United States Marine Corps in 1957, and after his 1959 discharge, he began pursuing acting work.
He had early roles on television in the 1960s on episodes of Lassie, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie and The Bill Cosby Show.
Farrell also dabbled in soap operas with a stint from 1968 to 1970 on Days of Our Lives, where he originated the role of Scott Banning, which continued with two more actors over three more years before the character met his demise.
In the early ’70s, Farrell also appeared on episodes of Bonanza, Mannix, The Six Million Dollar Man and Marcus Welby, MD.
During his time on M*A*S*H, Farrell was also joined on screen occasionally by his first wife, Judy Farrell. She appeared on eight episodes of the show as Nurse Able.
The couple, who shared two children, tied the knot in 1963 and divorced in 1983, the year M*A*S*H went off the air.
Although Farrell had a handful of film roles throughout his career – including an uncredited part as a bellhop in The Graduate (1967) – he primarily stuck to television.
One of his first credited roles was in 1968’s Panic in the City, and in the same year he appeared in Peter Bogdanovich’s feature debut Targets, which starred Boris Karloff as an aging horror star who finds himself in the midst of a disturbing mass-shooting event launched by a sniper at a drive-in screening of one of his old films.
Although Farrell had a handful of film roles throughout his career, he primarily stuck to television. Above, with Susain Saint James on M*A*S*H
Beginning in the ’90s, he collaborated with his wife Fabares on her series Coach, as well as on episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, in which they voiced the roles of Clark Kent’s adopted human parents
After his time on M*A*S*H, Farrell starred as John F Kennedy in the TV movie JFK: A One-Man Show (1984), and he appeared on multiple episodes of The $25,000 Pyramid.
He also reunited with his second wife, Shelley Fabares, when he had a guest spot on her series Coach in 1990.
In the same year, he appeared on Murder, She Wrote, followed by two episodes of Matlock in 1991.
Farrell and Fabares worked together again on Superman: The Animated Series in the late ’90s, as well as 2003’s Justice League and the 2006 direct-to-video movie Superman: Brainiac Attacks, in which they voiced the adoptive human parents of Clark Kent.
As he appeared on screen less, Farrell began producing films and TV shows, with his biggest success being 1998’s hit dramedy Patch Adams, which starred Robin Williams as the eponymous physician.
He also focused more on activism, including his efforts to end the death penalty as the president of Death Penalty Focus for more than a decade.
Farrell also served as the co-chair of the California Human Rights Watch for years, and he was honored with PETA’s Humanitarian Award in 2001.
More recently, Farrell hasn’t held back his disdain for Donald Trump. After Trump won the 2016 election despite receiving fewer votes than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Farrell joined a failed effort to urge Republican electors to block the certification of his win by voting for former Ohio Governor John Kasich.
