20/10/2026
At 92, Jamie Farr is one of the last surviving stars of M*A*S*H. He spent 11 seasons making America laugh as Corporal Klinger, but one of the most touching stories of his life has nothing to do with television. It involves a can of tuna, a marriage that has lasted more than 63 years, and the painful reality of watching old friends disappear.
Long before millions knew his name, Jamie Farr and his wife, Joy, were struggling just to get by. Acting jobs were unpredictable, money was painfully tight, and one evening, a $350 paycheck they desperately needed never arrived. When they searched their kitchen for something to eat, they found just one can of tuna. That was dinner.
Years later, after M*A*S*H had made him famous, Jamie revealed that they still kept a can of tuna in their cupboard. It was a reminder of how far they had come and the difficult years they had survived together.
Joy had married Jamie on February 16, 1963, nearly a decade before M*A*S*H premiered. She knew him before the fame, before the steady paychecks, and before Klinger became a household name. Through every uncertain chapter, they built a family and a life together.
Jamie never forgot the people who helped him along the way, either. After serving in the Army in Japan and Korea, he struggled to establish himself in Hollywood. Legendary comedian Red Skelton offered him kindness and opportunities when he needed them most. Years later, Jamie carried that same appreciation into his relationships with the cast of M*A*S*H.
Klinger was originally supposed to appear in just one episode. Instead, Jamie became a beloved regular, bringing warmth and humor to a show that often explored the heartbreaking realities of war. Even the military dog tags he wore on screen were his own from his Army service.
But the greatest gift of those years may have been the friendships.
In May 2025, Jamie and Joy reportedly spent an hour talking on the telephone with their dear friend and former co-star Loretta Swit. They laughed, reminisced, and made plans to see each other again in July. Loretta sounded happy, and there seemed to be plenty more memories left to make.
She died later that night at 87.
Jamie would never get that July reunion.
Among the memories he treasured was a Christmas gathering when Loretta accidentally locked herself inside the bathroom at his home. Getting her out became a hilarious ordeal, and the story brought laughter for years. After her death, even that little mishap carried a different kind of meaning.
Today, Jamie is among the few remaining major cast members of M*A*S*H, alongside Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, and Gary Burghoff. The show ended in 1983, but the friendships, laughter, and memories have stayed with him for more than four decades.
And through all those years, Joy has remained by his side.
The young couple who once shared a single can of tuna could never have imagined the extraordinary life waiting for them. Jamie eventually earned the love of millions, worked with television legends, and became part of American entertainment history.
Yet after all the fame, the awards, and the applause, one small detail still says so much about the man behind Corporal Klinger.
More than six decades after that difficult dinner, there's still a can of tuna in the cupboard.
