Timothy Farrell
actor, activist, businessman (1922-1989)
Timothy Farrell (birth name: Timothy Sperl)(June 26, 1922 – May 9, 1989) was an American film actor, best known for his roles in Ed Wood films such as Jail Bait, The Violent Years and Glen or Glenda. He also worked for the County Marshal of Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Born as Timothy Sperl, he was a native of Los Angeles and graduate of Alexander Hamilton High School. During World War II Farrell served in the Army Air Corps.
Farrell worked as a Bailiff for the Los Angeles Marshal's Department while also working in low-budget exploitation movies. In 1948 he portrayed a doctor in the film Test Tube Babies, explaining to a young couple that there is no shame in test-tube fertilization (a similar role to that in the subsequent Glen or Glenda). Both films were produced by George Weiss, who used Farrell in a string of exploitation films in the 1950s. In 1951, Farrell, along with everyone else on the film set of Paris After Midnight, was swept up in a police vice raid, which caused him professional embarrassment with his courtroom career.
Characters
Farrell's career was notable for its recurring roles:
He made three low-budget exploitation movies for George Weiss in which he played the part of sleazy gymnasium owner Umberto Scalli. These films, largely a vehicle for female-wrestling footage, include Devil's Sleep, Racket Girls, and Dance Hall Racket.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Timothy Farrell” as actor, activist, businessman (1922-1989). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as actor, activist, businessman (1922-1989). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7807191. VIAF identifies the subject as 19880474. The Library of Congress control number is n81020090. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1922, 1989, 1948 and 1951.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Timothy Farrell”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Timothy Farrell primary sources, Timothy Farrell archive and Timothy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Timothy Farrell”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Timothy Farrell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.