Mike Farrell

Michael Joseph “Mike” Farrell (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the popular television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). More recently, Farrell was a producer of Patch Adams (1998) starring Robin Williams, and has starred on the television series Providence (1999–2002) and appeared as Milton Lang, the father of Victor Lang (John Slattery), husband of Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria Parker) on Desperate Housewives (2007–2008). He is also a prominent activist for politically progressive causes. He was seen in the tenth season episode “Persona” of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Even before he was well-known, Farrell was an activist for many political and social causes. He has worked with Human Rights Watch, was on the Board of Advisors of the original Cult Awareness Network, and has been president of Death Penalty Focus for more than ten years.
In 1985, Farrell was in Central America, helping refugees from the civil war in El Salvador. A guerrilla commander, Nidia Diaz, had been taken prisoner. She needed surgery, but no Salavadoran doctor dared to help her. Amnesty International recruited a foreign doctor. Farrell was present as an observer but was, in his words, “shanghaied into assisting with the surgery” when the doctor said his help was needed. The in-prison surgery was successful. Diaz went on to be one of the signatories of the Chapultepec Peace Accords (the peace treaty ending the war), and she served in the Constituent Assembly of El Salvador and in the Central American Parliament.
He married actress Judy Farrell in 1963. They were divorced in 1983. They have two children, Michael and Erin. On M*A*S*H Hunnicutt’s daughter was also named Erin.
On December 31, 1984, he married actress Shelley Fabares.