Farnsworth's career was largely in Western films, although he did appear in the television miniseries Roots and in 1985 he appeared in the Canadian series Anne of Green Gables.
In 1979 Farnsworth was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Comes a Horseman and in 2000 he was nominated for Best Actor for The Straight Story.
Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Farnsworth committed suicide by shooting himself at his ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico. He is interred with his wife in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Richard Farnsworth has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.