He graduated from the University of Washington in 1956, served in the U.S. Army, and started his writing career at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
He later served as Time's correspondent in Paris and became a staff writer for its sister publication Life in 1968, where he wrote a column every other week, alternating with Joan Didion.
Time cover stories by Farrell included symphony conductor Bruno Walter (1963),[1] jazz pianist Thelonious Monk (1964)[2] and French actress Jeanne Moreau (1965).
Farrell died at age 49 in the Veterans Administration Hospital, West Los Angeles in 1984, after suffering a heart attack.
He was survived by his wife, Marcia; his daughters, Anne, Joan and Lily; his mother, Marietta Farrell of Seattle; a brother, Dr. Dennis Farrell of San Francisco, and a sister, Colleen Vescia, of Palo Alto, Calif.