Jean Parker
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 11, 1915
- Died
- November 30, 2005
- Birthplace
- Deer Lodge, Montana, USA
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.
Filmography
- The Laurel & Hardy Story: An Affectionate Rememberence
The Laurel & Hardy Story: An Affectionate Rememberence 1990
as Self (archive footage)
Cargo of Love 1968
as Denise
Apache Uprising 1965
as Mrs. Hawks
The Parson and the Outlaw 1957
as Sarah Jones
A Lawless Street 1955
as Cora Dean
Black Tuesday 1954
as Hatti Combest
Those Redheads from Seattle 1953
as Liz
Toughest Man in Arizona 1952
as Della
The Gunfighter 1950
as Molly
Rolling Home 1946
as Frances Crawford
Adventures of Kitty O'Day 1945
as Kitty O'Day
Dead Man's Eyes 1944
as Heather Hayden
One Body Too Many 1944
as Carol Dunlap
Bluebeard 1944
as Lucille
Oh, What a Night! 1944
as Valerie
Detective Kitty O'Day 1944
as Kitty O'Day
Lady in the Death House 1944
as Mary Kirk Logan
The Navy Way 1944
as Ellen Sayre
The Deerslayer 1943
as Judith Hutter
Minesweeper 1943
as Mary Smith
Alaska Highway 1943
as Ann Coswell
High Explosive 1943
as Connie Baker
The Traitor Within 1942
as Molly Betts
Wrecking Crew 1942
as Peggy Starr
Tomorrow We Live 1942
as Julie Bronson
Hi, Neighbor 1942
as Dorothy Greenfield
I Live on Danger 1942
as Susan Richards
- Soaring Stars
Soaring Stars 1942
as Herself
Hello, Annapolis 1942
as Doris Henley
The Girl from Alaska 1942
as Mary 'Pete' McCoy
Torpedo Boat 1942
as Grace Holman
No Hands on the Clock 1941
as Mrs. Louise Campbell
Flying Blind 1941
as Shirley Brooks
The Pittsburgh Kid 1941
as Patricia Mallory
Power Dive 1941
as Carol Blake
Roar of the Press 1941
as Alice Williams
Young America Flies 1940
as Jane
Beyond Tomorrow 1940
as Jean Lawrence
Son of the Navy 1940
as Stevie Moore
Knights of the Range 1940
as Holly Ripple
The Flying Deuces 1939
as Georgette
Parents on Trial 1939
as Susan Wesley
Flight at Midnight 1939
as Maxine Scott
She Married a Cop 1939
as Linda Fay
Zenobia 1939
as Mary Tibbett
Romance of the Redwoods 1939
as June Martin
The Arkansas Traveler 1938
as Judy Allen
Romance of the Limberlost 1938
as Laurie
Penitentiary 1938
as Elizabeth Mathews
The Barrier 1937
as Necia Gale
Life Begins with Love 1937
as Carole Martin
The Texas Rangers 1936
as Amanda Bailey
The Farmer in the Dell 1936
as Adie Boyer
The Ghost Goes West 1935
as Peggy Martin
Murder in the Fleet 1935
as Betty Lansing
Princess O'Hara 1935
as Princess O'Hara
Sequoia 1935
as Toni Martin
Caravan 1934
as Timka
Limehouse Blues 1934
as Toni
A Wicked Woman 1934
as Rosanne Stroud, aka Rosanne Trice
Have a Heart 1934
as Sally Moore
Operator 13 1934
as Eleanor
Lazy River 1934
as Sarah Lescalle
Two Alone 1934
as Mazie
You Can't Buy Everything 1934
as Elizabeth 'Beth' Burton Bell
Little Women 1933
as Beth
Lady for a Day 1933
as Louise
What Price Innocence? 1933
as Ruth Harper
Storm at Daybreak 1933
as Danitza
Made on Broadway 1933
as Adele
Gabriel Over the White House 1933
as Alice Bronson
The Secret of Madame Blanche 1933
as Eloise
Rasputin and the Empress 1932
as Princess Maria (uncredited)
Divorce In The Family 1932
as Miss Lucile SmIth
Credits from TMDB.