JP
Photo of Jean Parker

Jean Parker

Actor
Born August 11, 1915Died November 30, 2005 (90 years)
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.
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • The Gunfighter
  • The Flying Deuces
  • Lady for a Day
  • Beyond Tomorrow
  • Bluebeard
  • One Body Too Many
  • Detective Kitty O'Day
  • Laurel & Hardy
  • Frontier Doctor
  • Alaska Highway
  • Power Dive
Known For
  • The Gunfighter
  • The Flying Deuces
  • Little Women
  • Bluebeard
  • The Ghost Goes West
  • One Body Too Many
  • Lady for a Day
  • Dead Man's Eyes
  • Operator 13
  • Black Tuesday
  • Lady in the Death House
  • A Lawless Street
  • Detective Kitty O'Day
  • The Texas Rangers
  • Beyond Tomorrow
  • Adventures of Kitty O'Day
  • Minesweeper
  • Roar of the Press
  • Gabriel Over the White House
  • Son of the Navy
  • No Hands on the Clock
  • Zenobia

Filmography

2004
1986
Laurel & Hardy (TV Series) · as Georgette
1985
Cocoon · as Character In Film Clip From 'flying Deuces'
1969
Hollywood: The Selznick Years · as 'little Women' (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1965
Apache Uprising · as Mrs. Hawks
1957
The Parson and the Outlaw · as Sarah Jones
1956
Frontier Doctor (TV Series) · as Liz Lambert
1955
A Lawless Street · as Cora Dean
1955
Matinee Theater (TV Series)
1955
Damon Runyon Theater (TV Series) · as Dolly
1954
Black Tuesday · as Hatti Combest
1954
The Lone Wolf (TV Series) · as Agnes Henshaw
1954
Stories of the Century (TV Series) · as Ella Watson Aka Cattle Kate
1953
1953
Private Secretary (TV Series)
1952
1952
Cowboy G-Men (TV Series) · as Dixie Shannon - Saloon Owner
1951
The Red Skelton Show (TV Series) · as Clara Appleby
1950
The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (TV Series) · as Sally Field
1950
1949
Suspense (TV Series)
1946
Rolling Home · as Frances Crawford
1945
Adventures of Kitty O'Day · as Kitty O'day
1944
One Body Too Many · as Carol Dunlap
1944
Bluebeard · as Lucille
1944
Dead Man's Eyes · as Heather Hayden
1944
The Navy Way · as Ellen Sayre
1944
1944
Lady in the Death House · as Mary Kirk Logan
1943
Minesweeper · as Mary Smith
1943
Alaska Highway · as Ann Coswell
1943
High Explosive · as Connie Baker
1942
Wrecking Crew · as Peggy Starr
1942
Tomorrow We Live · as Julie Bronson
1942
I Live on Danger · as Susan Richards
1942
Hello, Annapolis · as Doris Henley
1941
No Hands on the Clock · as Mrs. Louise Campbell
1941
Flying Blind · as Shirley Brooks
1941
Power Dive · as Carol Blake
1941
Roar of the Press · as Alice Williams
1940
1940
Beyond Tomorrow · as Jean Lawrence
1940
Son of the Navy · as Stevie Moore
1940
Knights of the Range · as Holly Ripple
1939
1939
Flight at Midnight · as Maxine Scott
1939
She Married a Cop · as Linda Fay
1939
Zenobia · as Mary Tibbett
1939
Romance of the Redwoods · as June Martin
1938
The Arkansas Traveler · as Judy Allen
1938
1937
Life Begins with Love · as Carole Martin
1937
The Barrier · as Necia Gale
1936
The Texas Rangers · as Amanda Bailey
1935
The Ghost Goes West · as Peggy Martin
1935
Murder in the Fleet · as Betty Lansing
1934
Sequoia · as Toni Martin
1934
Limehouse Blues · as Toni
1934
A Wicked Woman · as Rosanne Stroud, Aka Rosanne Trice
1934
Have a Heart · as Sally Moore
1934
Operator 13 · as Eleanor
1934
Lazy River · as Sarah Lescalle
1934
Caravan · as Timka
1934
You Can't Buy Everything · as Elizabeth 'beth' Burton Bell
1934
Two Alone · as Mazie
1933
Little Women · as Beth
1933
1933
Storm at Daybreak · as Danitza
1933
Made on Broadway · as Adele
1933
Gabriel Over the White House · as Alice Bronson
1933
1932
Rasputin and the Empress · as Princess Maria (uncredited)
1932
Divorce in the Family · as Miss Lucile Smith

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