Jean Parker
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
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
78
Gender
Female
Birthday
1915-08-11 (109 years old)
Place of Birth
Deer Lodge, Montana, USA
Acting

1968

Cargo of Love as Denise

1965

Apache Uprising as Mrs. Hawks

1961

Hollywood: The Selznick Years as 'Little Women' (archive footage) (uncredited)

1957

The Parson and the Outlaw as Sarah Jones

1955

Matinee Theater as Not available

1955

A Lawless Street as Cora Dean

1954

Stories of the Century as Ella Watson aka Cattle Kate

1954

Black Tuesday as Hatti Combest

1953

Private Secretary as Not available

1950

The Gunfighter as Molly

1949

Suspense as Not available

1946

Rolling Home as Frances Crawford

1945

Adventures of Kitty O'Day as Kitty O'Day

1944

Bluebeard as Lucille

1944

One Body Too Many as Carol Dunlap

1944

Lady in the Death House as Mary Kirk Logan

1944

Dead Man's Eyes as Heather Hayden

1944

Detective Kitty O'Day as Kitty O'Day

1944

Oh, What a Night! as Valerie

1944

The Navy Way as Ellen Sayre

1943

Alaska Highway as Ann Coswell

1943

The Deerslayer as Judith Hutter

1943

High Explosive as Connie Baker

1943

Minesweeper as Mary Smith

1942

Hello, Annapolis as Doris Henley

1942

Tomorrow We Live as Julie Bronson

1942

I Live on Danger as Susan Richards

1942

Torpedo Boat as Grace Holman

1942

The Girl from Alaska as Mary 'Pete' McCoy

1942

Wrecking Crew as Peggy Starr

1942

The Traitor Within as Molly Betts

1942

Soaring Stars as Herself

1942

Hi, Neighbor as Dorothy Greenfield

1941

Power Dive as Carol Blake

1941

No Hands on the Clock as Mrs. Louise Campbell

1941

Roar of the Press as Alice Williams

1941

Flying Blind as Shirley Brooks

1941

The Pittsburgh Kid as Patricia Mallory

1940

Beyond Tomorrow as Jean Lawrence

1940

Son of the Navy as Stevie Moore

1940

Knights of the Range as Holly Ripple

1940

Young America Flies as Jane

1939

Zenobia as Mary Tibbett

1939

The Flying Deuces as Georgette

1939

Romance of the Redwoods as June Martin

1939

Parents on Trial as Susan Wesley

1939

She Married a Cop as Linda Fay

1939

Flight at Midnight as Maxine Scott

1938

Penitentiary as Elizabeth Mathews

1938

The Arkansas Traveler as Judy Allen

1937

Life Begins with Love as Carole Martin

1937

The Barrier as Necia Gale

1936

The Texas Rangers as Amanda Bailey

1936

The Farmer in the Dell as Adie Boyer

1935

Murder in the Fleet as Betty Lansing

1935

Sequoia as Toni Martin

1935

The Ghost Goes West as Peggy Martin

1935

Princess O'Hara as Princess O'Hara

1934

Limehouse Blues as Toni

1934

Lazy River as Sarah Lescalle

1934

You Can't Buy Everything as Elizabeth 'Beth' Burton Bell

1934

Two Alone as Mazie

1934

A Wicked Woman as Rosanne Stroud, aka Rosanne Trice

1934

Operator 13 as Eleanor

1934

Caravan as Timka

1934

Have a Heart as Sally Moore

1933

Little Women as Beth

1933

Lady for a Day as Louise

1933

Gabriel Over the White House as Alice Bronson

1933

Made on Broadway as Adele

1933

Storm at Daybreak as Danitza

1933

What Price Innocence? as Ruth Harper

1932

Rasputin and the Empress as Princess Maria (uncredited)

1932

Divorce In The Family as Miss Lucile SmIth