Patricia Farr: Movies & Box Office

Patricia Farr, born Arleine Rutledge Farr on January 15, 1913, in Kansas City, Missouri, was an American actress who made a modest yet memorable imprint on Hollywood during the 1930s and early 1940s. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Farr, she spent her formative years in Ogden, Utah, where her great‑great‑grandfather once served as mayor, a fact that underscored a family legacy of public presence. Her first foray into the film industry occurred while she was working as a theater usherette in Los Angeles, a position that led to a contract with Paramount Pictures and her debut in The Secret Call (1931). Over the next decade, Farr accumulated a diverse portfolio of roles, ranging from uncredited chorus parts in Footlight Parade (1933) to a leading turn as Betty Lou Barnes in the Universal serial Tailspin Tommy (1934). In August 1935 she was among fourteen young women selected for a six‑month contract with 20th Century Fox after completing the studio’s rigorous training program, an opportunity that promised a seven‑year renewal option and signaled the studio’s confidence in her potential. Despite never achieving marquee stardom, Farr’s performances earned critical notice; the Sydney Morning Herald praised her comedic timing in Lady Behave! (1937), declaring that she “has the makings of first‑class comedienne.” Outside of film, she cultivated a personal hobby of collecting “hot” swing phonograph records, amassing two full cabinets of rare recordings, a pastime highlighted by the St. Maurice Valley Chronicle. In 1937 she married Robert Mayo, a Columbia Pictures casting director, and the couple remained together until her untimely death. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1946, Farr succumbed to the disease on February 23, 1948 in Burbank, California, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. Her career, though relatively brief, reflects the experiences of many working actresses of the studio era, navigating training schools, fleeting contracts, and a relentless demand for versatile talent.