Mike Farrell may always be known as Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt, the beloved character that catapulted him to fame for eight seasons on the award-winning show M*A*S*H.
Besides being an actor, writer, director and producer, however, he is also a passionate champion for the voiceless.
Long before he saw the glare of Hollywood, Farrell was socially conscious and earnestly outspoken about human-rights abuses around the world, voicing his opposition to the death penalty, he said during a recent phone interview in advance of his Aug. 9 appearance at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library to discuss his memoir, “Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist.”
“It all comes back to my own experiences as a kid and my sense of unfairness and why and how that shouldn’t be tolerated and what we as individuals or in some cases a society, culture, nation, have a responsibility to do about it,” he said.
Farrell has dedicated himself to a variety of causes. He was co-chair of California Human Rights Watch from 1994 to 2004 and remains a member of its advisory committee. Since 1979, he has been the spokesperson for CONCERN/America, an international refugee aid and development organization and has visited refugee camps in Asia and Central America.
He is active in Death Penalty Focus, a nonprofit organization committed to the abolition of capital punishment and was elected its president in 1994.
“It’s one of the great mysteries of this country,” Farrell said. “We profess the ideals we do and yet have more people incarcerated in our country than any country in the world. “(We) also do it in a way that is so demeaning, not only to the people who are incarcerated but the people who are doing the maintenance and supposed care.”
The inherent racial bias of the death penalty troubles Farrell. He said American exceptionalism is a disease in this country and that Americans are so used to “an eye for an eye” that it’s difficult to change people’s mindsets.
His celebrity affords him an unusual opportunity, which he considers a responsibility, to work toward the betterment of society. The political climate is volatile but Farrell believes Barack Obama stands for change.
The book addresses his bitter opposition to the war in Iraq, which he calls a criminal adventure that Americans were misled into by those with a secret agenda.
“They used the public’s fear as a result of the assault on 9/11 to manipulate the United States into a situation that is fundamentally counter to everything we claim to believe,” Farrell said. “Doing away with our own Constitutional rights, supporting things like torture, invading a country that did us no harm.”
When it comes to global warming and environmental collapse, Farrell said Americans are heading for disaster. The key starts with government taking a stand, educating, funding and raising awareness about recycling, energy conservation and other programs.
“Americans have been so coddled and so inured to the damage that’s being done (it) spills over into our national unconsciousness about the way in which what you’re doing and the lifestyles we’ve accepted are impacting the world’s climate and the world’s resources,” he said.
Farrell is not content to sit idly by. That was evident both in this reporter’s conversation with him and in his book ” an insightful, revealing look at his life.
He still has genuine affection for his *M*A*S*H character and Farrell said he thinks of B.J. Hunnicutt as someone he would love to have as a friend.
Being associated with that kind of person is magical for the M*A*S*H alum. He said the impact of the character and the show was never more evident to him than on the 8,000-mile, 25-city tour he has engaged in to promote the book, affording him the opportunity to interact with the public.
“It was an extraordinary experience,” Farrell said. “It was a mix, some people who knew me for no other reason than M*A*S*H and then other people who came only because they knew about my work in the area of civil rights or human rights or the death penalty.”
While he loves being an actor, Farrell said he wants to make a difference. He said it is deeply personal and he knows that it is only with effort that change is possible.