JAMIE: FARR THE BEST of Times

The M*A*S*Halum shares personal memories with Closer.

- William Keck & Amanda Champagne-Meadows

It’s a very special time for Jamie Farr. The actor best known for playing M*A*S*H’s Corporal Klinger recently celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife, Joy. He’ll enjoy another milestone later this summer when he turns 90! Jamie will also be one of the original cast members sharing memories in M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, a new two-hour special airing Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. on Fox. “I still enjoy watching the show because it’s like looking through a family album of all the people we no longer have with us but that we dearly loved — Harry Morgan [Colonel Potter], Larry Linville [Major Burns], Wayne Rogers [Trapper John], Bill Christopher [Father Mulcahy] and David Ogden Stiers [Major Winchester],” Jamie tells Closer. “These were all wonderful souls who became friends.”

Did you ever take any day jobs while you were waiting for your big break as an actor?

I used to have a lot of odd jobs when we didn’t have any money and had to pay the rent: a salesman in downtown LA, an airline reservationist. I worked for a messenger service delivering scripts and did janitorial work at a chinchilla farm.

Early in your career, you became close with comedian Red Skelton.

He was like a second father to me. On The Red Skelton Hour, Red and I were playing two sailors coming back from Korea with an abandoned baby that Red’s character, Cookie, wants to adopt. But the only way he can do that is if he’s married — so he dresses me up as his wife. I had no idea I was going to be having a career in a dress!

That’s ironic!