Henry Farrell

This article is about the novelist. For the political scientist, see Henry Farrell (political scientist).

Henry Farrell
Born	Charles Farrell Myers (1920-09-27)September 27, 1920 Madera County, California, U.S.
Died	Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist, screenwriter
Spouse(s)	Molly Dodd (19??-1981; her death)

Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned gothic horror story What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which was made into a film starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

Life and work

He was born Charles Farrell Myers in California, and grew up in Chowchilla, California. Under the name "Charles H Myer", he wrote the "Toffee" short stories. Later taking the pseudonym Henry Farrell, his first novel was The Hostage, which was published in 1959.

Myers's "The Shades of Toffee" was the cover story in the June 1950 issue of Fantastic Adventures

Another Toffee story was cover-featured in Imagination

With Lukas Heller, he co-wrote the screenplay for Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), starring Davis and Olivia de Havilland. It was based on a story he wrote entitled Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?, and the script earned Heller and Farrell a 1965 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. He wrote the original screenplay for What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), which starred Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters.

His wife was actress Molly Dodd, who died in 1981. Dodd appeared in small roles in two movies written by Farrell, the TV production How Awful About Allan starring Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris and What's the Matter with Helen? French director François Truffaut's 1972 movie Une belle fille comme moi was based on Farrell's 1967 novel Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me.

Death

Henry Farrell died in his Pacific Palisades, California, home at age 85. According to his obituary, he completed another novel, titled A Piece of Clarisse, shortly before his death [1]. There is currently no word on publication.

Novels

• The Hostage (1959)
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1960)
• Death on the Sixth Day (1961)
• How Awful About Allan (1963)
• Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me (1967)

Stories

• Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?
• The Eyes of Charles Sand
• Where Beauty Lies
• The Do-Gooder

Screenplays

• Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
• What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)

Teleplays

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (TV program) (one episode)
• Bus Stop (1961) (TV program) (one episode)
• The House That Would Not Die (1970) (made-for-TV movie)
• How Awful About Allan (1970) (made-for-TV movie)
• The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972) (made-for-TV movie)

See also

• List of horror fiction authors

External links

• Henry Farrell at the Internet Movie Database