Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer (born September 19, 1913 in Seattle, Washington and died August 1 1970 in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American film actress.
In 1930, Farmer won an essay contest for a controversial work titled "God Dies". In 1935, she won a trip to the Soviet Union while working for a leftist newspaper. Both of these deeds led to accusations that she was both an atheist and a Communist, but her first interest had always been acting, which she studied at the University of Washington.
She moved to Hollywood in 1936, where her striking good looks and distinctive voice led her to a 7-year contract with Paramount Studios. Starting at the top, she was immediately cast in leading roles, making her debut opposite Bing Crosby the same year in Rhythm On The Range. In 1936 she gave her most acclaimed performance when she was loaned to Samuel Goldwyn to appear in Come and Get It, based on the novel by Edna Ferber. Her portrayals of both the mother and daughter were well received by critics and public alike, and many critics wrote of her potential to become a major star. She married her first husband, actor Leif Erickson the same year.
Farmer was not entirely satisfied with her career progression. Her aspiration was to be a great actress and she felt stifled by Paramount's tendency to cast her in costume dramas that depended on her looks more than her talent, and her naturally outspoken demeanour became unco-operative and contemptuous. In an age when the studios dictated every facet of a star's life, Farmer rebelled against the studio's control and off screen resisted every attempt that was made to glamourise her life.
With the intention of solidifying her reputation as a serious actress, she left Hollywood in 1937 to join the Group Theatre and to appear in the Clifford Odets play Golden Boy. She embarked on an affair with Odets but he was married to the actress Luise Rainer and offered Farmer no commitment. This relationship ended with Farmer feeling betrayed that he had used her drawing power to further the success of his play, and she returned to Hollywood, somewhat chastened and willing to continue her movie career. The quality of her parts dropped dramatically as she was regarded as difficult and she found herself playing only supporting roles.
More insecure than her abrasive and self assured persona indicated, she was also battling alcoholism and a driving offence set in motion a chain of events that led to her downfall, with Farmer seemingly determined to destroy herself. Dragged from her hotel room to face a charge, she threw an inkwell at the judge and swore at him, and found herself sentenced to 180 days probation. Following her arrest for violating probation she went to a mental institution where she received insulin shock treatment. Declared incompetent, she was released into her mother's care, and went to live with her. Two subsequent stays in a state mental institution followed, the longest from May 1945 to March 1950.
Within state and private instituions she was raped, subjected to beatings, doused in freezing baths, insulin shock treatment and ECT. It has been speculated that she also underwent a partial lobotomy. Her parents made a request that the state review her case, declare her competent and parole her. Farmer stated in her autobiography that they had done so in order to have her take care of them in their old age. At this time she believed that she could be institutionalized again on her mother's instruction, as had happened in the past. Later she ascertained and secured competency for herself.
By 1953 she was working as a receptionist in a hotel when a reporter recognised her and wrote an article about her. This led to a renewed interest in her, and an appearance on the TV show This Is Your Life, where Farmer was questioned over her alcohol abuse and mental illness. She appeared in one mediocre film that exploited her famous name, but Hollywood quickly lost interest in her.
Farmer finally found security in Indianapolis where in 1958 she was given her own afternoon show Frances Farmer Presents but by 1964, her alcoholism had made her unreliable and she was fired.
During this time she made friends who treated her as family, something she claimed never to have experienced before, and she lived the remaining few years of her life in contented obscurity before her death from esophageal cancer in 1970.
Frances Farmer is interred in the Oaklawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Fishers, Indiana.
Her autobiography Will There Really Be A Morning was published posthumously and previously unknown details of Farmer's hellish life became public for the first time. Actress Jessica Lange played Farmer in the 1982 feature film "Frances" and was Oscar-nominated for her role. Lange has maintained her compassion and empathy for Frances' plight and in interviews remains an ardent supporter.
Farmer was the subject of a song by the popular grunge band Nirvana entitled "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle". The song is featured on the band's album In Utero.