Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned

gothic horror Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

story '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'', which was made into a film starring

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

and

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

Life and work

He was born Charles Farrell Myers in California, and grew up in

Chowchilla, California Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, United States. The city's population was 19,039 at the 2020 census. Chowchilla is located northwest of Madera, at an elevation of . The city is the location of two prisons: Central Californi ...

. Under the name Charles F. Myers, he wrote the "Toffee" short stories. Later taking the pseudonym Henry Farrell, his first novel was ''The Hostage'', published in 1959. It was filmed in 1966. Fantastic adventures 195006

With

Lukas Heller Lukas Heller (21 July 1930 – 2 November 1988) was a German-born screenwriter. Biography Heller was born to a Jewish family in Kiel. His father was political philosopher Hermann Heller. He was known for writing the screen adaptions for several ...

, he co-wrote the screenplay for '' Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964), starring Davis and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

. It was based on a story he wrote titled "What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?", and the script earned Heller and Farrell a 1965

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. He wrote the original screenplay for ''

What's the Matter with Helen? ''What's the Matter With Helen?'' is a 1971 American exploitation horror film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters. Plot Leonard Hill and Wesley Bruckner are seen being loaded into a paddy wagon to face ...

'' (1971), which starred

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

and

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

. His wife was actress

Molly Dodd Molly Dodd (November 11, 1921 — March 26, 1981) was an American actress. Biography Born as Mary Elise Dodd in Los Angeles, California to Rev. Neal Dodd (September 6, 1879 — May 26, 1966) and Lila Elsie Dodd (née Weaver; September 12, 1889 ...

, who died in 1981. Dodd appeared in small roles in two movies written by Farrell, the TV production ''

How Awful About Allan ''How Awful About Allan'' is a 1970 American made-for-television horror psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Harrington, the first of two collaborations with writer Henry Farrell (the other was ''What's the Matter with Helen?''), and st ...

'', starring

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influential ...

and

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

and ''What's the Matter with Helen?'' French director

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

's 1972 movie ''

Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me ''A Gorgeous Girl Like Me'' (french: Une belle fille comme moi), also known as ''A Gorgeous Bird Like Me'', is a 1972 French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Bernadette Lafont. It is based on Henry Farrell's 1967 novel of the same ...

'' was based on Farrell's 1967 novel of the same name.

Death

Henry Farrell died in his home in Pacific Palisades, California at age 85. According to his obituary, he completed another novel, titled ''A Piece of Clarisse'', shortly before his deat

There is currently no word on publication.

Novels

*''The Hostage'' (1959) *'' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1960) *''Death on the Sixth Day'' (1961) *''How Awful About Allan'' (1963) *''Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me'' (1967)

Short stories

*"What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?" *"The Eyes of Charles Sand" *"Where Beauty Lies" *"The Do-Gooder"

Filmography

* '' Bus Stop (TV series), Bus Stop'' (1961) - 1 episode ("Jaws of Darkness") * ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'' (1962) - 1 episode ("Where Beauty Lies") * '' Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964, with

) * ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'' (1965–66) - 2 episodes ("The Case of the Wrathful Wraith", "The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers") * ''

'' (1970, TV movie) * ''

The House That Would Not Die ''The House That Would Not Die'' is a 1970 American made-for-television supernatural horror film starring Barbara Stanwyck (in her television film debut), Richard Egan, Michael Anderson Jr. and Kitty Winn. It premiered as the ''ABC Movie of the We ...

'' (1970, TV movie) * ''

'' (1971) * ''The Eyes of Charles Sand'' (1972, TV movie)

External links