Jean Parker
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
Matinee Theater
1955
Suspense
1949
Private Secretary
1953
Stories of the Century
1954
The Gunfighter
1950
Rasputin and the Empress
1932
Hello, Annapolis
1942
Little Women
1933
Lady for a Day
1933
Apache Uprising
1965
A Lawless Street
1955
The Flying Deuces
1939
Filmography
Matinee Theater
· 1955
Suspense
· 1949
Private Secretary
· 1953
Stories of the Century
as Ella Watson aka Cattle Kate · 1954
The Gunfighter
as Molly · 1950
Rasputin and the Empress
as Princess Maria (uncredited) · 1932
Hello, Annapolis
as Doris Henley · 1942
Little Women
as Beth · 1933
Lady for a Day
as Louise · 1933
Apache Uprising
as Mrs. Hawks · 1965
A Lawless Street
as Cora Dean · 1955
The Flying Deuces
as Georgette · 1939
Zenobia
as Mary Tibbett · 1939
Murder in the Fleet
as Betty Lansing · 1935
Gabriel Over the White House
as Alice Bronson · 1933
The Barrier
as Necia Gale · 1937
The Secret of Madame Blanche
as Eloise · 1933
Black Tuesday
as Hatti Combest · 1954
Dead Man's Eyes
as Heather Hayden · 1944
Those Redheads from Seattle
as Liz · 1953
I Live on Danger
as Susan Richards · 1942
Lady in the Death House
as Mary Kirk Logan · 1944
The Girl from Alaska
as Mary 'Pete' McCoy · 1942
Divorce In The Family
as Miss Lucile SmIth · 1932
Adventures of Kitty O'Day
as Kitty O'Day · 1945
The Texas Rangers
as Amanda Bailey · 1936
Toughest Man in Arizona
as Della · 1952
What Price Innocence?
as Ruth Harper · 1933
Life Begins with Love
as Carole Martin · 1937
Detective Kitty O'Day
as Kitty O'Day · 1944
The Laurel & Hardy Story: An Affectionate Rememberence
as Self (archive footage) · 1990
You Can't Buy Everything
as Elizabeth 'Beth' Burton Bell · 1934
The Farmer in the Dell
as Adie Boyer · 1936
One Body Too Many
as Carol Dunlap · 1944
The Ghost Goes West
as Peggy Martin · 1935
Soaring Stars
as Herself · 1942
No Hands on the Clock
as Mrs. Louise Campbell · 1941
Roar of the Press
as Alice Williams · 1941
Rolling Home
as Frances Crawford · 1946
Lazy River
as Sarah Lescalle · 1934
Operator 13
as Eleanor · 1934
Oh, What a Night!
as Valerie · 1944
Romance of the Redwoods
as June Martin · 1939
Son of the Navy
as Stevie Moore · 1940
She Married a Cop
as Linda Fay · 1939
Bluebeard
as Lucille · 1944
The Parson and the Outlaw
as Sarah Jones · 1957
Princess O'Hara
as Princess O'Hara · 1935
The Navy Way
as Ellen Sayre · 1944
Romance of the Limberlost
as Laurie · 1938
Knights of the Range
as Holly Ripple · 1940
Beyond Tomorrow
as Jean Lawrence · 1940
A Wicked Woman
as Rosanne Stroud, aka Rosanne Trice · 1934
Two Alone
as Mazie · 1934
Flight at Midnight
as Maxine Scott · 1939
Made on Broadway
as Adele · 1933
Have a Heart
as Sally Moore · 1934
Storm at Daybreak
as Danitza · 1933
Power Dive
as Carol Blake · 1941
Caravan
as Timka · 1934
Torpedo Boat
as Grace Holman · 1942
Cargo of Love
as Denise · 1968
The Traitor Within
as Molly Betts · 1942
Penitentiary
as Elizabeth Mathews · 1938
Flying Blind
as Shirley Brooks · 1941
Sequoia
as Toni Martin · 1935
Hi, Neighbor
as Dorothy Greenfield · 1942
Alaska Highway
as Ann Coswell · 1943
Limehouse Blues
as Toni · 1934
Minesweeper
as Mary Smith · 1943
The Deerslayer
as Judith Hutter · 1943
Tomorrow We Live
as Julie Bronson · 1942
The Arkansas Traveler
as Judy Allen · 1938
The Pittsburgh Kid
as Patricia Mallory · 1941
Parents on Trial
as Susan Wesley · 1939
High Explosive
as Connie Baker · 1943
Young America Flies
as Jane · 1940
Wrecking Crew
as Peggy Starr · 1942