CINEFILER

Jean Parker

Born
August 11, 1915
Died
November 30, 2005
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
The Gunfighter
(1950)
Molly
Bluebeard
(1944)
Lucille
The Flying Deuces
(1939)
Georgette
Beyond Tomorrow
(1940)
Jean Lawrence
Little Women
(1933)
Beth
One Body Too Many
(1944)
Carol Dunlap
Full Filmography
Acting
Divorce In The Family
(1932)
Miss Lucile SmIth
Rasputin and the Empress
(1932)
Princess Maria (uncredited)
Lady for a Day
(1933)
Louise
Little Women
(1933)
Beth
The Secret of Madame Blanche
(1933)
Eloise
Made on Broadway
(1933)
Adele
Storm at Daybreak
(1933)
Danitza
Gabriel Over the White House
(1933)
Alice Bronson
What Price Innocence?
(1933)
Ruth Harper
Operator 13
(1934)
Eleanor
Limehouse Blues
(1934)
Toni
You Can't Buy Everything
(1934)
Elizabeth 'Beth' Burton Bell
A Wicked Woman
(1934)
Rosanne Stroud, aka Rosanne Trice
Lazy River
(1934)
Sarah Lescalle
Have a Heart
(1934)
Sally Moore
Two Alone
(1934)
Mazie
Caravan
(1934)
Timka
Sequoia
(1935)
Toni Martin
The Ghost Goes West
(1935)
Peggy Martin
Murder in the Fleet
(1935)
Betty Lansing
Princess O'Hara
(1935)
Princess O'Hara
The Texas Rangers
(1936)
Amanda Bailey
The Farmer in the Dell
(1936)
Adie Boyer
Life Begins with Love
(1937)
Carole Martin
The Barrier
(1937)
Necia Gale
The Arkansas Traveler
(1938)
Judy Allen
Romance of the Limberlost
(1938)
Laurie
Penitentiary
(1938)
Elizabeth Mathews
The Flying Deuces
(1939)
Georgette
Zenobia
(1939)
Mary Tibbett
Flight at Midnight
(1939)
Maxine Scott
She Married a Cop
(1939)
Linda Fay
Parents on Trial
(1939)
Susan Wesley
Romance of the Redwoods
(1939)
June Martin
Beyond Tomorrow
(1940)
Jean Lawrence
Knights of the Range
(1940)
Holly Ripple
Son of the Navy
(1940)
Stevie Moore
Young America Flies
(1940)
Jane
No Hands on the Clock
(1941)
Mrs. Louise Campbell
Power Dive
(1941)
Carol Blake
The Pittsburgh Kid
(1941)
Patricia Mallory
Flying Blind
(1941)
Shirley Brooks
Roar of the Press
(1941)
Alice Williams
Tomorrow We Live
(1942)
Julie Bronson
I Live on Danger
(1942)
Susan Richards
Hi, Neighbor
(1942)
Dorothy Greenfield
The Traitor Within
(1942)
Molly Betts
Torpedo Boat
(1942)
Grace Holman
Hello, Annapolis
(1942)
Doris Henley
Wrecking Crew
(1942)
Peggy Starr
The Girl from Alaska
(1942)
Mary 'Pete' McCoy
Minesweeper
(1943)
Mary Smith
Alaska Highway
(1943)
Ann Coswell
The Deerslayer
(1943)
Judith Hutter
High Explosive
(1943)
Connie Baker
One Body Too Many
(1944)
Carol Dunlap
Bluebeard
(1944)
Lucille
Dead Man's Eyes
(1944)
Heather Hayden
Lady in the Death House
(1944)
Mary Kirk Logan
Detective Kitty O'Day
(1944)
Kitty O'Day
The Navy Way
(1944)
Ellen Sayre
Oh, What a Night!
(1944)
Valerie
Adventures of Kitty O'Day
(1945)
Kitty O'Day
Rolling Home
(1946)
Frances Crawford
The Gunfighter
(1950)
Molly
Toughest Man in Arizona
(1952)
Della
Those Redheads from Seattle
(1953)
Liz
Black Tuesday
(1954)
Hatti Combest
A Lawless Street
(1955)
Cora Dean
The Parson and the Outlaw
(1957)
Sarah Jones
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
(1961)
'Little Women' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Apache Uprising
(1965)
Mrs. Hawks
Cargo of Love
(1968)
Denise
Data provided by TMDB