M*A*S*H* star stops in Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Mike Farrell, the actor best known for his roles on M*A*S*H* and Providence, was in Fort Wayne to speak about human rights. It was part of the 2010 closing events for the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace.

Farrell talked about his life and career in T.V. although he said he was an activist before he was an actor. He said his time on M*A*S*H* opened doors to opportunities he never even dreamed of.

“If I was going to do something, it was going to be local,” he said. “If I was going to travel it would be within the United States. Whereas when I was on MASH I was invited to things that take me to Asia in Africa and Central America and places I had not yet had the opportunities to be.”

Now, Farrell travels the country speaking out for reform in the American prison system. He said he’s always been passionate about human rights.

“I think it's important that people understand, one, that it exists. Two, that it's important, and three that it is aspiration in what we will do in terms of living up to it. It’s really up to us as individuals not just our leadership,” he explained.

Over the years, and in part, because of his role on T.V., Farrell has really been able to focus on what he calls the injustice of the system.

“What prisons ought to be is a combination of school and hospital,” he said. “They ought to treat the need of the people who are, for what ever reason, behaving badly and they ought to be mending those wounded minds and wounded souls.”

His message at the Inter-faith prayer was simple: be involved.

“I like to remind people and be citizens of the United States and take advantage of what that means. It's not just dusting off the old sayings of the trophies on the shelves, it's participation,” he said. “I believe very strongly in participatory democracy.”

This year is the 62nd anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.