Actress and writer Judy Farrell, who’s best known for her role as Nurse Able, on the long-running sitcom “M*A*S*H,” died Sunday, nine days after suffering a stroke. She was 84.
Her son, Michael, made the news public on Tuesday. He told TMZ Farrell was conscious and able to hold her loved ones’ hands but couldn’t speak due to the stroke.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, “M*A*S*H” co-star Loretta Switt said “Judy was a most beautiful woman — inside and out. We grew up together. She was family. This has been a painful loss, but we will always have the beauty of her memory. Rest in peace, Nurse Able.”
Farrell made her first appearance as Nurse Able in 1976 during the hit CBS show’s 5th season. The show, part dramedy and part antiwar satire, centered on a team of medical staff and doctors at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. It ran from 1972 to 1983.
Farrell’s acting career also included roles on “Fame” and “Quincy M.E.” She also appeared in the films “J.W. Coop,” “Chapter Two,” and “Long-Term Relationship.”
Born in 1938 in Quapaw Oklahoma, Farrell majored in theater at Oklahoma State University before moving to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. She taught high school English and drama and performed in local theater before becoming more active as an actress on television.
She was married twice; to ‘M*A*S*H’ star Mike Farrell from 1963 to 1983, and to Joe Bratcher from 1985 to her death. Along with Bratcher, she’s survived by her two children with Farrell, Michael and Erin.
