Intelligent leading lady of the late 1930s whose promising career was curtailed by her reputation as a rebellious and exacting actress, her left-wing politics and most importantly, a degree of alcoholism brought on by the pressures of sudden fame. After suffering a nervous breakdown in 1944, Farmer spent much of that decade in mental institutions. Her life story was told in the feature films "Frances" (1982), starring Jessica Lange, and "Committed" (1983), starring co-director Sheila McLaughlin, and in a made-for-TV movie starring Susan Blakely based on Farmer's posthumously published autobiography, "Will There Really Be A Morning?" Farmer was married to actor Leif Erickson from 1934 to 1942, revived her career on stage to some extent beginning in the late 50s and died of cancer at the age of 56.
Companion
HUSBAND: Leif Erickson. Actor. Married 1934, divorced June 1942; marriage of convenience.
HUSBAND: Leland Mikesell. Consultant. Third husband.
Milestone
1936: Film acting debut in "Too Many Parents"
1937: First stage role with the Group Theater, playing Lorna Moon in Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy"
Hosted a local Indianapolis TV program in the late 1950s
1958: Life history revisited on an episode of "This Is Your Life"; was the one episode of the long-running series in which the guest was not surprised; Farmer agreed to do the show to help set the record straight regarding many misunderstandings about her problems
1972: Purported autobiography posthumously published, "Will There Really Be a Morning?"
Education
University of Washington - won trip to Soviet Union as first prize for essay competition from radical magazine
Bibliography
"Will There Really Be a Morning?" Frances Farmer 1972
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