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.

Institutionalized: Seattle P-I, 3/24/44

While Seattle P-I featured Farmer's institutionalization on its front page, The Seattle Times hid the article a couple of pages into their paper.  Seattle P-I also included a picture of Farmer from "Happier Days."

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.    

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."    

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.  

Western State Hospital Exposed: Seattle P-I, 2/18/49

The Seattle P-I ran an investigative piece exposing the harsh conditions of Western State Hospital on Feb. 18, 1949.  The article never mentioned Farmer, but focused on the condition of the hospital.  The story dominated the front page.

Exposing Western State Hospital: Seattle P-I, 2/18/49

In a strictly investigative piece, the Seattle P-I covers the wretched condition of the hospital and lists out the shortfalls of the institution, focusing on the drastic numbers in overcrowding and understaffing.

“The hospital has 15 graduate nurses for its 2,736 patients.  Minimum standards of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene call for 107.” 

“On the payroll are 249 ward attendants.  The mental hygiene committee recommends a minimum of 446 for the hospital’s case load.” 

“Patients are put to bed around 4 pm and kept there 12 hours because of staff shortages.”  

Exposing Western Continued: Seattle P-I, 2/18/49

The photos show how the patients' beds "are jammed in, one almost touching the other," and how "drastic  overcrowding forces use of open areaways for sleeping quarters."



The captions detail how canvas covers open apertures through which wind and rain blow in, and describes how the hospital is forced to use both gyms and extremely vulnerable "fire traps" of buildings to house the 510 extra patients.

Exposing Western Continued: Seattle P-I, 2/18/49

Exposing Western State Hospital: The Seattle P-I, 2/18/49

The investigative exposure of Western State Hospital was completely a product of the Seattle P-I, not the Seattle Times.  While Farmer was indeed “being treated” in the hospital during the investigation and publication of this article, she was never mentioned throughout the piece, which had a focus on the conditions of the hospital itself, rather than focusing upon one [famous] person’s experience.