Henry Farrell, 85, whose book was basis for 'Baby Jane' movie

Douglas Martin, The New York Times

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Henry Farrell, whose gift for writing pulpy melodrama was most famously realized in the 1962 movie Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, died March 29 at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif. He was 85.

The Baby Jane movie was based on a novel Mr. Farrell wrote in 1960. He also was a co-writer of the screenplay for the 1964 campy cult classic Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which was based on one of his short stories.

In both movies, Mr. Farrell made a bad joke of the command to grow old gracefully by creating once-glamorous female characters and turning them into crazy hags acting out evil fantasies.

In Baby Jane, the stars were Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who had never appeared together and who were both trying to revive flagging careers. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including best actress for Davis.

Mr. Farrell and director Robert Aldrich hoped to reunite the stars for Sweet Charlotte, but Crawford declined. The second movie received seven Academy Award nominations.

Charles Henry Myers was born Sept. 27, 1920, in California. He used the pseudonym Farrell.

Mr. Farrell was married to actress Molly Dodd, who died in 1981. He is survived by his sister, Wanda Zey Michael, of University Place, Wash.

He recently finished a novel titled A Piece of Clarisse.