Farmer's Drunk Drive: 10/20/42

Seattle P-I, 10/20/42

The Seattle Times, 10/20/42

On October 20, 1942, Frances Farmer was pulled over for driving with headlights on in a dim-out zone and was then jailed briefly for drunken driving.  Both The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I covered her drunken driving story, detailing a similar story of how Farmer was "bored" by the dim-out regulations, as well as the police's questions.  The Seattle P-I featured a picture of the actress as well.

Frances Farmer Arrested and Tried: 1/14/43

On January 14, 1943, Frances Farmer was tried for violation of her probation and failure to pay the remainder of her previous drunken driving fine.  Her sarcastic retorts and violent behavior made her trial sensational in both The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I.  The Seattle Times featured its article, "Ex-Seattle Girl Cries She 'Drank Everything'" on its front page.     

Both articles (Times and P-I) cover the main points of her trial in a very similar fashion, emphasizing her sarcasm and belligerence.  Both contain the following quotes by Farmer:

    "'Have you ever had a broken heart?' she screamed."

    "'I'm an actress, hadn't you heard?'"

    "'The judge sentenced me to 180 days.  Where do I eat,   
    where do I sleep, where do I brush my teeth?'"

    "'Since you appeared in this court last October 24,' Judge 
    Marshall Hickson asked her, 'have you had anything to 
    drink?'
    Her answer was a shout:
    'Yes, I drank everything I could get, including benzedrine!'" 

    "'What do you expect me to do?  I get liquor in my orange 
    juice - in my coffee.  Must I starve to death to obey your 
    laws?'"

    "'Yes, I was fighting for my country and myself.'"

From here, the articles differ slightly.  The article in the P-I continues with Farmer in court as she makes sardonic remarks about avoiding her parole officer, and it also quotes her asking, "What I want to know is do I have any civil rights?" after she was prohibited from calling a lawyer.

The Seattle Times' article instead details the scene of her arrest the day before, where she asked the police for permission to bathe before going to jail and then left the bathroom with nothing on in the presence of the officers.  Like the P-I the day before, The Times emphasized how inappropriate her (lack of) clothing was rather than her outstanding fees and probation violation.  The Times' article did not mention Farmer's outcry about civil rights.

Farmer's Arrest: The Seattle Times, 1/14/43

Losing Sanity? The Seattle Times, 1/15/43

 On January 15, 1943, an article in The Seattle Times covered Farmer's first case of questionable sanity.  It ran on the front page, and began with, "A complaint was filed in Superior Court today asking a hearing to determine the sanity of Frances Farmer... Dr. Thomas Leonard, a psychiatrist, filed the complaint, and Miss Farmer was ordered removed immediately to General Hospital pending a hearing next Wednesday."  
The article then moved on to mention the sympathy Farmer was receiving, as well as her quiet night in prison. 

Three photos accompanied the piece - two were before/after arrest shots, and one was a full body photo of her arrest. 


Seattle P-I did not run any article stating that Farmer was having a hearing questioning her sanity at all during this period of time.  

Farmer Committed to Western State Hospital: 3/24/44

The Seattle Times, 3/24/44

Seattle P-I, 3/24/44

When Frances Farmer was committed to Western State Hospital on March 24, 1944, both The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I covered the event; however, each took its own approach.

While Seattle P-I featured Farmer's institutionalization on its front page, the article was rather short.  It mentioned Farmer's history, including her time as a student as well as her arrest and her visit to a California hospital after her trouble began in 1942.  The article indicates Farmer's mental health concerns started after her arrest in 1942, and Farmer's mother is reported as the one who filed the insanity complaint.  

Curiously, Seattle P-I also chose to incorporate a photo; however, the picture chosen was an old one from Farmer's "Happy Days" (see below) and is just another picture of Farmer during her acting career.  There was no current/contrasting photo provided.

The Seattle Times, on the other hand, did not include an article about Farmer on its front page, but instead chose to run her article a couple of pages into the paper.  The Times' article also touched upon Farmer's time as a student, but it provided a clearer timeline of Farmer's troubles since 1942.  The article quoted Farmer's mother, saying Farmer's mental health issues began emerging after her run-in with the law in 1942, then continuing on through the present.  The Times explained how, after removing Farmer from the California hospital, her mother tried to care for Farmer until she became unmanageable at home.  The article then described an incident between Farmer and her mother, after which her mother filed an insanity complaint, as she was "entirely unable to control her at home."  The Times even quotes doctors describing Farmer's form of insanity as schizophrenia.

Farmer's Release from Western State Hospital: 7/2/44

Seattle P-I, 7/2/44

The Seattle Times, 7/2/44

Farmer was released from Western State Hospital on July 2, 1944.  Both The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I covered her return home.  Both papers placed her story on the bottom in the center of their front pages, almost mirroring each other.

Farmer's Release From Western State Hospital: 7/2/44

Both The Seattle Times and Seattle P-I covered Farmer's release from Western State Hospital.  The two articles were almost identical, and even ran on the same page in the same place on July 2, 1944.

The article in The Seattle Times states that Farmer was released to her mother after being "completely cured." The article then goes on to lightly discuss Farmer's plans for the future, including her desire to eventually get back into filmmaking and her possible interest in nursing.  The article focuses on her future and does not address her experiences, and Farmer's mother is quoted often, even mentioning how much healthier Farmer appears.

Similarly, the Seattle P-I article states that after Farmer's complete cure, she was released from the hospital to her mother.  Like the article in The Seattle Times, it discusses Farmer's desire to return to acting; however, it never acknowledges any desire on Farmer's part to pursue nursing, and features her mother less prominently than The Seattle Times does.  Instead, the P-I briefly mentions how Farmer's "split personality was reportedly mended in the Steilacoom institution," and how Farmer's mother saw the "psychopathic results... as almost miraculous." 

Pictured below, the articles are strikingly similar, with slightly differing approaches: the P-I focuses on Farmer's actual recovery, and The Times focuses on Farmer's future.    

Farmer's Release: 7/2/44

The Seattle Times, 7/2/44

Seattle P-I, 7/2/44

Home Sweet Home: The Seattle Times, 7/3/44

The Seattle Times published a story concerning Farmer's return home from Western State Hospital on July 3, 1944.  The article, which was essentially a fluff piece, focuses upon Farmer's appearance and her proper place as an actress.  The article begins, "Looking as though she just had stepped from a stage set, comely, blonde Frances Farmer, 30-year-old former stage and screen star..." Already the focus is upon appearance and her role within society.  One of the only descriptions of her experiences within the hospital itself was a quote:  "It's all been like a terrible dream and it's wonderful to be home again."  However, even through the quote it chose, The Seattle Times is emphasizing the importance of a woman's proper place - within the home.  While Farmer briefly mentions her experiences in the hospital, she is only partially quoted and the article softens the blow of the true nature of mental institutions by saying "she didn't enjoy the confinement, the close quarters and the lack of privacy."    

Actress Happy With Mother: The Seattle Times, 7/3/44

What the Press Didn't Cover: 1945-1950

After she was "cured" and released from Western State Hospital on July 3, 1944, Frances Farmer moved back in with her mother.  However, in 1945 she was readmitted to the hospital.  She would not leave for five years.  In 1950, Farmer was released on the hospital's equivalent of parole, but she was not officially discharged until 1953.  

Her long-term hospital stay was of no interest to the press, and she dropped off The Seattle Times' and Seattle P-I's radars as suddenly as she had appeared.  As a patient, Farmer lost her 'glamor,' as well as her ability to cause mayhem, and she subsequently lost all press appeal.  

I was unable to locate any articles from 1945 or 1950 in either The Seattle Times or Seattle P-I covering her re-admittance to or release from Western State Hospital.  The (assumed) absence of any such articles emphasizes both the Times' and the P-I's interest in Farmer only as a celebrity, focusing either on Farmer's thriving (and acceptable) career or her 'disgraceful' fall from stardom.  Interest in her mental illness only interested the press so long as she remained famous, pertinent, relevant.