By:eryn
Frances Farmer. She is known in her hometown as “the bad
girl of Seattle”. Born on September 19th in 1913.
Her parents we’re Ernest and Lillian Farmer, both form
Seattle. Her siblings we’re Edith, Wesley and half-sister
Rita. Frances in her early years, wanted to become a writer. In 1931, she won a creative
writing contest with her controversial essay called 'God
Dies'. This is when she was a junior in high school, and the
National wire services report her story as “Seattle girl
denies God and wins Prize”. I believe she won a trip to
somewhere, like Soviet Union.Because no one from Seattle, that knew the Farmer family, or had anyhting to do with them wanted her to go. See, back then communism
was a much bigger deal then it is today, and everyone fear, if she went on her trip,
she return a "commie". She went on the trip. And stayed the same.
For her further education, she
enters University of Washington and there joins the drama
department and acts in her first plays there called 'Helen Of
Troy' and 'Alien Corn'. Due to her rave reviews for her
performances, she switches from journalism to drama as her
major. In 1935, after winning yet another contest, she sails
for Russia. She won a Voice If Action newspaper
subscription. Yet again, wire services pick up on this story
again as well and denounce Communism. She left for Russia by
her self, and decided to come back to the states, and live
in New York. There, she was discovered by a talent scout and
signs a contract with Paramount. Her film debut was in 1936,
called 'Too Many Parents'. During the next 6 years; she made 18
more films, 3 Broadway plays and 30 major radio shows and 7
stock company productions. All this by the age of 27.
People by them compared her to Greta Garbo, another popular
in the show business. She was called “screen’s outstanding
find” that year.
However, while her professional career was exploding,
her personal life was disintegrating. She had a failed
marriage with actor Leif Erikson, and just a string of
failed relationships. Due to all that, and stress pressured
on by her career, she became addicted to amphetamines to
help control her weight.
In 1942, she was arrested for drunk driving without a
license and failure to obey dim-out zone restrictions. She
received 180 days in jail, and probation. By this year,
Frances was drinking heavily and relying on amphetamines,
which only made her more volatile.
In 1943, she got arrested again for violating probation
and assault by getting into a fight. The court hearing
placed her under the care of psychiatrist Thomas H. Leonard.
Due to her uncooperative behavior, he diagnosed her as
“suffering from manic depressive psychosis-probably a
forerunner definite dementia praecox”. They dismissed her
case, calling it “meaningless gibberish” and the next day
she was transferred to the screen actors’ sanitarium in La
Crescenta.
Frances’ mother was a big part of getting her daughter
involved with all the psychologist, and calling them to the
house, saying her daughter was crazy. She never understood
Frances’ ever, they had a bad relationship till the day her
mother died. Frances’ mother, Lillian recommits Frances to
the state asylum in 1945.
For the next seven years, Frances became irreversibly
emitted in “the dark world” of psychiatric treatment and
abuse. She underwent shock treatment “a brutal psychiatric
torture that stuns the body in addition to inflicting
extensive brain damage”. With her terrible reactions toward
the insulin shock, she received 90 more of them. To this,
she was no longer able to concentrate and remember lines.
They also gave her hydrotherapy baths, where from that she
got raped several times. In 1950, she received a
trans-orbitial lobotomy. From her series of violent
treatments stripped her of her dignity and talent.
After her lobotomy, she left to go back home to Seattle
to take care of her parents. She marries Alfred Lobley in
1954.
Frances re-discovered working as a hotel clerk in San
Francisco in 1957. She makes several appearances in movies
and TV appearances, but nothing major. Her last show
business works was hosting an afternoon television show
Frances Farmer Presents in Indianapolis till 1964.
In late 1968, she begins to work from home and starts
on an autobiography, but never finishes. She died on August
1st, 1970, at age 56, from cancer of the esophagus.
One of Frances’ quotes~ , about her
life at the institution: :
Frances to me is clearly the biggest idol I have. Since she was young, she stood up and belived in herself and had an open-mind for all. He talents and beauty was not like any other. If there is anyhting I want in this world, it is definatly for her to have her revenge on Seattle.
RIP Frances. I love you and adore you.
For More Information About Frances Farmer...
www.cchr.org/art/eng/page34.htm http://www.geocities.com/~themistyone/index2.html www.angelfire.com/nv/kfc/farmer.html www.hollywoodtarot.com/francesfarmer.html NOTE: You will have to copy and paste these URL's into yer browser.
