Barry Farrell (1935 – December 10, 1984) was an American journalist and editor who wrote for

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s. He worked for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' and ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

s'' in the 1960s and 1970s. He also wrote a book about

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

and Patricia Neal entitled ''Pat and Roald''.

Early life

Farrell was a native of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1956, served in the U.S. Army, and started his writing career at the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

''.

Magazine career

Farrell was hired by ''

'' magazine in 1960, working first in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

then in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where he became the magazine's music writer. He later served as ''Times correspondent in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and became a staff writer for its sister publication ''

'' in 1968, where he wrote a column every other week, alternating with Joan Didion. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the early 1970s where he was West Coast Editor of '' Harper's''. He also taught writing, including at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

. ''Time'' cover stories by Farrell included symphony conductor Bruno Walter (1963), jazz pianist

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

(1964) and French actress

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

(1965). In 1968, he signed the “ Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge and refused to pay taxes in protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Farrell interviewed

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine in February 1972. He wrote ''Pat and Roald'', the biographical story of author

and his wife, actress Patricia Neal. A collection of his essays, ''How I Got to Be This Hip'', edited by Steve Hawk, was published in 1999. He was a close friend of Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne.

Death in Los Angeles

Farrell died at age 49 in the Veterans Administration Hospital, West Los Angeles in 1984, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. He was survived by his wife, Marcia; his daughters, Anne, Joan and Lily; his mother, Marietta Farrell of Seattle; a brother, Dr. Dennis Farrell of San Francisco, and a sister, Colleen Vescia, of Palo Alto, Calif. .

Publications

Books

* ''Pat and Roald'', publisher Kingsport Press, 1969Pat and Roald
The Library of Congress. * ''How I Got to be This Hip'', Steve Hawk editor, publisher WSP, 1999, , LCCN: 00268647

Articles

*"The candidate from Disneyland" (

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

) -February 1976 *"Celebrity market" (Deceptive advertising; Endorsements in advertising) -December 1975 *"George in the afternoon" (

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

) -August 1975 *"A let-burn situation" (Fires; Los Angeles; Police; Political violence; Terrorists) -September 1974 *"California inquest" ( Manson Family killings,

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy, a United States Senat ...

-May 1974 *"The Ellsberg mask" (

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...

) -October 1973 *"Desert manners" (Fiction) -August 1976

References

External links

Six articles and a fiction piece in ''Harper's Magazine'' (available by subscription):
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Barry American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American tax resisters 1935 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers