Jean Parker
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 11, 1915
- Died
- November 30, 2005 (aged 90)
- Birthplace
- Deer Lodge, Montana, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jean Parker (born Lois Mae Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. She landed her first screen test while still in high school. She acted opposite such well-known actors as Katharine Hepburn, Robert Donat, Edward G. Robinson, Randolph Scott, and Laurel and Hardy. She was married four times and had one son, Robert Lowery Hanks. Parker appeared in 70 movies from 1932 through 1966. In 1932, she posed as a flower girl and living poster in a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade, where she was seen by Ida Koverman, secretary to MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer. The following day the studio called her on the phone and invited her for a screen test. Parker's film debut came in Divorce in the Family (1932). She had a successful career at MGM, RKO and Columbia including roles in such films as Little Women, Lady for a Day, Gabriel Over the White House, Limehouse Blues, The Ghost Goes West, and Rasputin and the Empress. In 1939, she starred opposite Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in RKO's The Flying Deuces. Parker remained active in film throughout the 1940s, playing opposite Lon Chaney in Dead Man's Eyes, and a variety of other films. During World War II, she toured many of the veteran hospitals throughout the U.S. and performed on radio. In the 1950s, Parker co-starred opposite Edward G. Robinson in Black Tuesday; had a small but effective role in The Gunfighter, and appeared in A Lawless Street (1955). Her last film appearance was Apache Uprising (1966). Parker also appeared on Broadway. In 1949, she replaced Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday on Broadway and enjoyed a successful run in this classic. She appeared on Broadway opposite Bert Lahr in the play Burlesque. She did summer stock in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, toured in the play Candlelight and Loco, and performed on stage in other professional productions. In 1954, Parker played the role of "Cattle Kate Watson of Wyoming" in an episode of the syndicated television series Stories of the Century, the first western program to win an Emmy Award. The series starred and was narrated by Jim Davis. Later in her career and life, Parker continued a successful stint on the West Coast theatre circuit and worked as an acting coach. At age 83, Parker moved into the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, where she died of a stroke on November 30, 2005, at the age of 90. She was survived by her son, Robert, and granddaughters Katie and Nora Hanks. She was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Laurel & Hardy Story: An Affectionate Rememberence
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Cargo of Love
Movie · as Denise
Apache Uprising
Movie · as Mrs. Hawks
The Parson and the Outlaw
Movie · as Sarah Jones
A Lawless Street
Movie · as Cora Dean
Matinee Theater
TV · 1 ep
Black Tuesday
Movie · as Hatti Combest
Stories of the Century
TV · as Ella Watson aka Cattle Kate · 1 ep
Those Redheads from Seattle
Movie · as Liz
Private Secretary
TV · 1 ep
Toughest Man in Arizona
Movie · as Della
The Gunfighter
Movie · as Molly
Suspense
TV · 1 ep
Rolling Home
Movie · as Frances Crawford
Adventures of Kitty O'Day
Movie · as Kitty O'Day
One Body Too Many
Movie · as Carol Dunlap
Bluebeard
Movie · as Lucille
Dead Man's Eyes
Movie · as Heather Hayden
Lady in the Death House
Movie · as Mary Kirk Logan
Detective Kitty O'Day
Movie · as Kitty O'Day
The Navy Way
Movie · as Ellen Sayre
Oh, What a Night!
Movie · as Valerie
Minesweeper
Movie · as Mary Smith
Alaska Highway
Movie · as Ann Coswell
The Deerslayer
Movie · as Judith Hutter
High Explosive
Movie · as Connie Baker
Tomorrow We Live
Movie · as Julie Bronson
I Live on Danger
Movie · as Susan Richards
Hi, Neighbor
Movie · as Dorothy Greenfield
Torpedo Boat
Movie · as Grace Holman
The Traitor Within
Movie · as Molly Betts
Soaring Stars
Movie · as Herself
Hello, Annapolis
Movie · as Doris Henley
Wrecking Crew
Movie · as Peggy Starr
The Girl from Alaska
Movie · as Mary 'Pete' McCoy
No Hands on the Clock
Movie · as Mrs. Louise Campbell
Power Dive
Movie · as Carol Blake
The Pittsburgh Kid
Movie · as Patricia Mallory
Flying Blind
Movie · as Shirley Brooks
Roar of the Press
Movie · as Alice Williams
Beyond Tomorrow
Movie · as Jean Lawrence
Knights of the Range
Movie · as Holly Ripple
Son of the Navy
Movie · as Stevie Moore
Young America Flies
Movie · as Jane
The Flying Deuces
Movie · as Georgette
Zenobia
Movie · as Mary Tibbett
She Married a Cop
Movie · as Linda Fay
Flight at Midnight
Movie · as Maxine Scott
Parents on Trial
Movie · as Susan Wesley
Romance of the Redwoods
Movie · as June Martin
The Arkansas Traveler
Movie · as Judy Allen
Romance of the Limberlost
Movie · as Laurie
Penitentiary
Movie · as Elizabeth Mathews
The Barrier
Movie · as Necia Gale
Life Begins with Love
Movie · as Carole Martin
The Texas Rangers
Movie · as Amanda Bailey
The Farmer in the Dell
Movie · as Adie Boyer
Sequoia
Movie · as Toni Martin
The Ghost Goes West
Movie · as Peggy Martin
Murder in the Fleet
Movie · as Betty Lansing
Princess O'Hara
Movie · as Princess O'Hara
Operator 13
Movie · as Eleanor
Limehouse Blues
Movie · as Toni
You Can't Buy Everything
Movie · as Elizabeth 'Beth' Burton Bell
A Wicked Woman
Movie · as Rosanne Stroud, aka Rosanne Trice
Lazy River
Movie · as Sarah Lescalle
Have a Heart
Movie · as Sally Moore
Two Alone
Movie · as Mazie
Caravan
Movie · as Timka
Lady for a Day
Movie · as Louise
Little Women
Movie · as Beth
The Secret of Madame Blanche
Movie · as Eloise
Made on Broadway
Movie · as Adele
Storm at Daybreak
Movie · as Danitza
Gabriel Over the White House
Movie · as Alice Bronson
What Price Innocence?
Movie · as Ruth Harper
Divorce In The Family
Movie · as Miss Lucile SmIth
Rasputin and the Empress
Movie · as Princess Maria (uncredited)