Bob Farrell was an early radio star. The press information on the back of this 1932 photo reads:

Bob Farrell, fourteen year old San Francisco lad who plays Ernest in "Shipwrecked," NBC serial adptation of The Swiss Family Robinson, is a good type for the resourceful Robinson lad. Bob is a first-class Scout and a champion swimmer. "Shipwrecked," which was adapted for radio by H. C. Connette, is heard every weekday morning, 8:15 to 8:30 o'clock PST, over an NBC-KGO network.