Frances Farmer was born on September 19, 1913 to a retiring father and an opinionated, domineering mother. She was the youngest of three children.
Frances established herself as a free thinker early on, announcing the death of God in an award winning essay when she was just seventeen. In college, she was praised for her acting talent.
Paramount's Newest Starlet
Frances came to the notice of Hollywood in 1935, when an agent signed her up with a seven year contract with Paramount Studios. In 1936 alone, she released four movies, quickly moving from supporting parts into lead roles. The critics were wild about this new actress. Her star was on the rise.
But Farmer had always been independent and she chafed against the restrictive studio system that sought to control all aspects of its stars' lives. She did not want to dress like a movie star when she was not on camera. She did not want to attend Hollywood parties. And she most certainly would not offer the stock phrases loved by gossip magazines.
In 1937, she left Hollywood to do summer stock in Connecticut. There she caught the eye of playwright Clifford Odets, who cast her in his play Golden Boy. Early reviews were somewhat disappointing, but by the time the show toured, Frances had nailed her part and the reviews were looking up.
Her bubble burst when Odets, with whom she had been enjoying a passionate affair, broke first their personal ties and then their professional ones, casting another actress to play Farmer's role when the show moved to London.
Frances slunk back to Paramount, who punished her rebellion by casting her in a stream of second rate movies. She developed a reputation for being temperamental and for showing up to work drunk or high on amphetamines.
Frances Farmer Under Arrest
In 1942, Frances had her first of what would be many brushes with the law. She was stopped for driving with bright headlights on in a blackout zone during the war years. For that, she received a small fine and a suspended 180-day sentence. But Frances refused to pay the fine, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, Farmer was in more trouble. She had slapped a hairdresser, dislocating the woman's jaw. Hauled into court under these charges, she promptly assaulted the judge and two police officers and was sentenced to jail.
The Mental Institution Years
A psychiatrist persuaded the judge to transfer Frances to the psychiatric ward of L.A. General Hospital where she was diagnosed as manic-depressive and psychotic. From there, she was sent to Kimball Sanatorium where her diagnosis was changed to paranoid schizophrenia.
Frances was in and out of hospitals for the next several years. She would undergo treatments and appear to be better. Then on her release she would commit another assault, or disappear, or behave erratically. In 1945, she ran away from her family and was arrested for vagrancy. She was hospitalized at Western State Hospital for five years, after which she returned to the care of her mother who had been named her legal guardian.
Did Frances Farmer Have a Lobotomy?
In the 1982 biopic Frances, starring Jessica Lange, audiences watched in horror as Frances was given a transorbital lobotomy. But did the Frances Farmer lobotomy ever really happen? The evidence is against it. Not only have the psychiatrist and the nurses who cared for her denied it, but Western State Hospital where she was institutionalized has no record of such a procedure ever happening.
Even Frances herself, who was very vocal about claiming she'd been raped, subjected to shock therapy, and forced to endure ice baths, never once said she'd been lobotomized. The lobotomy claims can be traced back to the biography Shadowland written by William Arnold, but they remain unsubstantiated and almost certainly false.
(For more on celebrities who did have lobotomies, click here.)
Frances Farmer's Comeback
For several years after she was released from the asylum, Farmer lived quietly away from the lights of Hollywood. She did odd jobs like sorting laundry and bookkeeping. In 1953, she finally persuaded a court to end her mother's guardianship over her and declare her competent.
In 1957, she met up with promoter Leland Mikesell who persuaded her to be interviewed by Modern Screen magazine. This led to a renewed interest in Frances, and for awhile she made the rounds of various talk shows. Through it all, Frances retained her independent spirit. "I didn't think then, and I still don't, that I was actually sick," she said when asked about her mental illness.
Frances's comeback on film was short-lived. She made her final movie, The Party Crashers, in 1958. But the world of television had opened up to her, and from 1961 through 1964 she hosted the popular TV show, Frances Farmer Presents.
In 1964, her old demons started to re-emerge. She began to show up on the set drunk and her behavior became hostile and unpredictable. Eventually, she was fired from her show.
Frances lived out the rest of her life quietly in Indiana, give or take a coule of drunk driving convictions. She made half-hearted efforts to start a couple of businesses, but these quickly failed. She died of esophageal cancer in 1970, at the age of 56.
The Legacy of Frances Farmer
Was Frances Farmer mentally ill? She certainly exhibited substance abuse problems and violent mood swings, though her behavior pales when compared to some of the stunts celebrities pull today. Most likely, Frances was simply an actress with inborn talent but poor self control who lived in the wrong place (the conservative studio system) at the wrong time (the dark age of psychiatry).
Sadly, she will always be remembered more for her problems than for her abilities as an actress.
Sources
HistoryLink.org. Farmer, Frances (1913-1970) Parts I & II, Essays 5058 & 5059 (Accessed 6/21/10).
Kauffman, Jeffrey. Frances Farmer: Shedding Light on Shadowland, the Truth about Frances Farmer. Copyright 1999, 2004. (Accessed 6/21/10).
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