Judy Farrell, M*A*S*H and Fame actress, dies at 84

Judy Farrell, the actress and writer best known for her role as Nurse Able on the long-running TV dramedy M*A*S*H, has died at 84.

Loretta Swit, who starred alongside Farrell on the show, confirmed the news to EW and said in a statement, "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."

Judy's son Michael told TMZ that his mother died April 2 after a stroke that took away her ability to speak nine days earlier. He said Farrell was conscious and able to hold the hands of her loved ones prior to her death.

CBS Judy Farrell on 'M*A*S*H'

Born Judy Hayden in Quapaw, Okla., in 1938, Farrell studied theater at Oklahoma State University before pursuing a master's degree at UCLA. While there she met actor Mike Farrell in 1961, and the two were married two years later. They had two children, son Michael and daughter Erin, and divorced in 1983.

Mike remembers Judy as "a beautiful woman, a talented actress, and a wonderful writer" in a statement to EW. "A jock, a rabid basketball, baseball and football fan, she had a great sense of humor that drew people to her, and laughter was the background music whenever she was nearby," he wrote. "Judy was deeply, dearly loved."

Following their divorce, Mike noted that he, Judy, and their respective partners began practicing family group therapy that resulted in a "warm, close, and deeply loving extended family." (Judy married Joe Bratcher in 1985, while Mike wedded Shelley Fabares in 1984.)

"The six of us, including our children, Michael and Erin, have continued to grow, develop and love each other over the years. All four parents supported the growth of our kids (now both parents themselves), celebrated together their progress through school and into adult life and career choices," he wrote. "Needless to say, none of this would have been possible had it not been for Judy's devotion to our kids and her warmth, intelligence and loving generosity of spirit."

He explained that the family had all been together at their granddaughter's basketball game when Judy suffered her stroke.

Judy first appeared on M*A*S*H in 1976, during the celebrated series' fifth season, sharing the screen with her then-husband (who played Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), Swit, Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, Gary Burghoff, and more. She would appear in seven more episodes before the show's conclusion in 1983.

Prior to Judy's casting, characters credited as Nurse Able were played by a variety of actresses, including Kellye Nakahara, Sherry Steffens, and Lois Foraker. Her other TV credits included spotlight appearances on Get Smart, The Partridge Family, and as Mrs. Charlotte Miller on Fame. She was also credited as a writer on the medical soap opera Port Charles.

"Beyond a continuing career in the industry as actress and writer, for the past three decades, she and her husband, Joe Bratcher, have conducted a writing salon, Twin Bridges, that teaches, coaches and encourages aspiring writers, all of whom adore them," Mike wrote. "While Judy, somehow, has become both friend and mom.

"She was loved by so many," he concluded. "She will be deeply loved by all of us, forever."

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