'M*A*S*H' Star Judy Farrell, Best Known as Nurse Able, Dies at 84

Judy Farrell, renowned for portraying Nurse Able on the acclaimed television series M*A*S*H., had died at the age of 84, according to reports.

Farrell’s son, Michael, informed TMZ that she suffered a stroke nine days before her death, which occurred on April 2 in the hospital. Despite being alert, Farrell couldn’t speak due to the stroke but could hold and squeeze hands with her loved ones.

Farrell’s Nurse Able was featured in eight episodes of M*A*S*H, co-starring Alan Alda as Captain Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce and Gary Burghoff as Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly. Her ex-husband, Mike Farrell, played the role of Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the show during the ’70s and ’80s.

CBS

Originally named Judy Hayden, she initially met Farrell while studying for a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University in 1961 and, by ’63, subsequently had two children, Erin and Michael.

The marriage of the Farrells was incorporated into the storyline in the episode “The Colonel’s Horse.” In that particular episode, the character of Hunnicutt mentioned that his wife Peg, portrayed by Catherine Bergstrom in two onscreen appearances and a few photographs, hailed from Quapaw, Oklahoma, the same hometown as Judy, and that her father’s name was Floyd Hayden. Additionally, his on-screen daughter’s name was Erin, the same as his daughter’s.

Following her divorce from her first husband in 1983, Farrell married actor Joe Bratcher, known mostly for producing The Howling (1981), two years later.

Farrell also guest-starred in many classic TV shows like Get Smart, The Partridge Family, and Quincy, M.E. Additionally, she acted in the movies J.W. Coop (1971), Chapter Two (1979), and Long-Term Relationship (2006). Farrell also wrote 13 episodes for the soap opera Port Charles, a spin-off of General Hospital that debuted in 1997.

Bratcher and her two children survive her.