Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist

From its opening pages, Mike Farrell’s new memoir reveals the distinctive voice of a man for whom life is an ongoing odyssey of self-discovery, personal commitment, and uncompromising social engagement. With deep insight and disarming candor, Farrell describes his early years as a timid but restless teenager in West Hollywood, delivering groceries to the homes of Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, and countless other celebrities, while dreaming of having his own career as an actor. In stark but riveting language, he relates his formative years as a Marine recruit, confused, conflicted, and eager to prove himself as a man. Farrell humorously portrays his professional development from a young soap opera player on Days of Our Lives to the amiable star of two popular television series, M*A*S*H and Providence, to the respected producer of successful motion pictures like Dominick and Eugene and Patch Adams. At the heart of his story, Farrell narrates his public struggle to be a responsible citizen of the world. From his firsthand accounts of the ravages of war and oppression in Cambodia, El Salvador, Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and the Gaza Strip, to his tireless advocacy against capital punishment, to his deep commitment to environmental causes, Farrell portrays each of these experiences with passion, outrage, and stubborn optimism.