Signing a contract with Paramount Pictures on her 22nd birthday in 1935, Frances Farmer moved from amateur stage work in Seattle to a professional Hollywood career. Her trajectory spanned feature films, Broadway productions, and a later shift into regional television hosting, marked by severe personal interruptions that later generated significant cultural and literary inquiry.
Early Development and Education
Born in Seattle in 1913, Farmer attended West Seattle High School, where her academic interests led to a controversial essay titled God Dies. The piece, which analyzed atheism through the lens of Friedrich Nietzsche, earned a prize but drew criticism from local church groups. Following graduation, she pursued studies at the University of Washington while working odd jobs to manage her tuition.
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After moving to Los Angeles, Farmer appeared in early projects like Too Many Parents and Rhythm on the Range. Dissatisfied with studio roles, she pivoted to the stage, performing in Clifford Odets’s Golden Boy and two productions directed by Elia Kazan in 1939. Struggles with depression and substance use disrupted her momentum, leading her to vacate an intended role in an Ernest Hemingway adaptation.
Institutionalization and Later Work
In 1942, public reports of erratic behavior preceded multiple arrests and psychiatric committals. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, she spent years in a state-run institution in Washington until her release in 1950. She later hosted a television program, Frances Farmer Presents, in Indianapolis. Her final screen appearance occurred in the 1958 film The Party Crashers, before she spent her remaining years involved in Purdue University theatrical productions.
Posthumous Narrative
Farmer died of esophageal cancer on August 1, 1970, in Indianapolis, and was buried at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. Interest in her life intensified after her death, fueled by the 1972 autobiography Will There Really Be a Morning? and the 1978 novel Shadowland. These accounts, which detailed allegations of abuse during her institutionalization, established a legacy that remains a subject of ongoing historical debate.
Fast facts
- Born: 1913, Seattle
- Died: 1970, Indianapolis
- Education: University of Washington
- Final film: The Party Crashers (1958)
- Television career: Frances Farmer Presents
- Cause of death: Esophageal cancer
Questions readers ask
What was the nature of Frances Farmer’s psychiatric diagnosis?
She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia during a period of frequent institutionalization beginning in 1942.
Did Frances Farmer leave behind an autobiography?
Yes, her autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, was published in 1972 and ghostwritten with the help of a friend.
Achievements
- Educated at University of Washington
- Worked as film actor, stage actor and television actor
