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Mimsy Farmer
Mimsy Farmer
	Farmer in 1975
Born	Merle Farmer; February 28, 1945 (age 79); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, sculptor
Years active	1961–1991
Spouses	; Vincenzo Cerami (m. 1970; div. 1986)[citation needed] ; Francis Poirier; (m. 1989)
Children	1[citation needed]

Merle "Mimsy" Farmer (born February 28, 1945)^[2]^[3] is a former American actress, artist and sculptor. She began her career appearing in several Hollywood studio films, such as Spencer's Mountain (1963) and Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965), followed by roles in the exploitation films Devil's Angels and Riot on Sunset Strip (both 1967).

Farmer went on to establish herself as an international performer, starring in numerous European films, including the dramas More (1969) and Strogoff (1970), as well as multiple Italian giallo films: Dario Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974), Autopsy (1975), and Lucio Fulci's The Black Cat (1981).

Early years

Farmer was born Merle Farmer on February 28, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois.^[2] Her father was a news reporter for the Chicago Tribune and a writer for radio.^[2] Her mother was French. Her nickname, which she later took as her stage name, is derived from a line in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky: "All mimsy were the borogoves".^[4]

When she was four years old, her family relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she was raised.^[5] Farmer graduated from Hollywood High School in 1962.^[6] Her early experience as an entertainer came in her role of handling rabbits for a magician who performed at children's birthday parties.^[7] As a teenager, Farmer also worked as a concession cashier and theater usherette at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles.^[8]

Career

Farmer acted in Spencer's Mountain (1963)^[7] and More (1969). After a brief film career in the United States, mostly portraying party-girl types in films such as Hot Rods to Hell (1967), Riot on Sunset Strip (1967), and The Wild Racers (1968), Farmer moved to Italy.^[9] Most of her acting career has been in Europe, with roles in gialli such as Four Flies on Grey Velvet by Dario Argento, The Black Cat by Lucio Fulci and The Perfume of the Lady in Black by Francesco Barilli.^[10]^[11]

In 1962 and 1963, respectively, Farmer guest-starred as Laurie in "The Swingin' Set" and as Joanne Wells in "Boys and Girls" on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show.

She made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1964, including the role of defendant Kathy Anders in "The Case of the Tragic Trophy" and as Sande Lukins in "The Case of the Careless Kidnapper". She appeared on My Three Sons, Honey West, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Outer Limits (March 2, 1964, episode "Second Chance") and The F.B.I.

In 1966, she appeared as Lorrie Thatcher in the episode "The Calico Kid" and as Antonia in the episode "A Prince of a Ranger" on Laredo.

In 1971, Farmer won a special David di Donatello film award for acting for her performance in The Road to Salina (1970).

Since 1992, she has worked as a sculptor for theatre and opera in France and Italy, and for films such as Oceans, Troy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Marie Antoinette, Five Children and It, The Golden Compass, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Wrath of the Titans, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Beauty and the Beast.

She also creates personal sculptures and paintings.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Gidget Goes Hawaiian	Girl in Lobby	Uncredited
1963	Spencer's Mountain	Claris Coleman
1965	Bus Riley's Back in Town	Paula
1967	Hot Rods to Hell	Gloria
	Riot on Sunset Strip	Andrea Dollier
	Devil's Angels	Marianne
1968	The Wild Racers	Katherine Pearson
1969	More	Estelle
1970	Strogoff	Nadia
1970	Road to Salina	Billie
1971	Four Flies on Grey Velvet	Nina Tobias
1972	The Master and Margaret	Margarita
1972	Corpo d'amore	The Woman
1973	La vita in gioco	Anna
	One Way	Milena
	Two Men in Town	Lucie
	Les mille et une mains	Nadine
1974	The Perfume of the Lady in Black	Silvia Hacherman
	Allonsanfàn	Francesca
	The Suspects	Candice Strasberg
1975	Autopsy	Simona Sana
1975	The Track	Helen Wells
1977	Antonio Gramsci: The Days of Prison	Giulia
1978	L'amant de poche (The pocket lover)	Helen Miller
1978	Bye Bye Monkey	Feminist Actress
1979	The Concorde Affair	Jean Beneyton
1980	Operation Leopard	Annie Devrindt
1980	Même les mômes ont du vague à l'âme	Charlotte
1981	The Black Cat	Jill Travers
1982	The Girl from Trieste	Valeria
1983	Quartetto Basileus	Miss Permamint
	The Death of Mario Ricci	Cathy Burns
	Un foro nel parabrezza	Daniza
1984	The World of Don Camillo	Jo Magro
1984	Code Name: Wild Geese	Kathy Robson
1986	La ragazza dei lillà	Leonora
	Body Count	Julia Ritchie
	Evil Senses	Nicol
1987	Poisons	Anne
1988	Il segreto dell'uomo solitario

Television

1962	My Three Sons - Steve gets an "A"	Janee Holmes	Sitcom
1964	Perry Mason - The Case of the Careless Kidnapper	Sande Lukins	TV movie
1964	Perry Mason - The Case of the Tragic Trophy	Kathy Anders	TV movie
1989	Ceux de la soif	Comtesse Von Kleber	TV movie
1991	Safari	Ingrid	TV movie (final film role)

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
1963	Laurel Awards	Golden Laurel	Nominated
1971	David di Donatello	Special David	Won

References

^ "The Strange Case of Mimsy Farmer". Austin Film Society. April 21, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Thomas, Bob (August 17, 1962). "Mimsy Farmer Starts Thomas To Wondering". Corsicana Daily Sun. Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Karney, Robin; Lucas, Sharon (2000). Cinema: Year by Year, 1894-2000 (3rd ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 348. ISBN 978-0-789-46118-6.
^ Warner Bros. Publicity quoted in Reid, John CinemaScope One: Stupendous in 'Scope (p. 75), 2004.
^ McCarthy, Marilou (July 7, 1963). "Meet Mimsy Farmer". New York Daily News. p. 625 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mimsy Farmer Has Come a Long Way". Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat. United Press International. August 5, 1962. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Mimsy Farmer Has First Role in a Picture". Kingsport News. Tennessee, Kingsport. United Press International. August 3, 1962. p. 6. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mimsy Farmer Begins Comeback at 20". Oroville Mercury-Register. April 16, 1966. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mimsy Farmer, Danger Girl" Archived 2010-04-21 at the Wayback Machine, lostinthegrooves.com; accessed June 13, 2017.
^ Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), mondoholocausto.blogspot.com; accessed June 13, 2017.
^ Moon in the Gutter: A Tribute to Mimsy Farmer in Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet (July 2008), mooninthegutter.blogspot.com; accessed June 13, 2017.