Farrell made his Broadway debut as a young drummer in Strip for Action[1] and made his movie debut in Winged Victory,[2] the film version of the Army Air Forces play of the same title.

He also appeared in a number of other films, including Kissin' Cousins costarring with his mother, Glenda Farrell, and Elvis Presley, and A Guide for the Married Man with Walter Matthau.

On television, Farrell played Corporal Thad Carson on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin,[4] Riff Ryan on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,[4]: 267  and Chet Holliday, father of Alice Holliday, in the 1958–59 syndicated sitcom This is Alice.

In 2003, Farrell was honored during the 21st Annual Golden Boot Awards ceremony for his work in the Western genre, along with Sue Ane Langdon, Michael Dante, Graham Greene, Kris Kristofferson, and Tommy Lee Jones, among others.

[5] Farrell died of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, at the age of 82.