Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She initially aspired to be an illustrator and artist, but was discovered at age 17 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

executive

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

after a photograph of her was published in a Los Angeles newspaper when she won a poster contest. She made her feature film debut in the

pre-code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama '' Divorce in the Family'' (1932), before being loaned to

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, who cast her in Frank Capra's ''

Lady for a Day ''Lady for a Day'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the 1929 short story "Madame La Gimp" by Damon Runyon. It was the first film for which Capra received an Acade ...

'' (1933). The same year, she starred as Elizabeth March in George Cukor's adaptation of '' Little Women'' opposite Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, and

Frances Dee Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical ''Playboy of Paris'' (1930). She starred in the film '' An American Tragedy'' (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 ...

. Subsequent roles included lead parts in the drama '' Sequoia'' (1934), and in the British comedy-fantasy ''

The Ghost Goes West ''The Ghost Goes West'' is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette, and directed by René Clair, his first English-language film. The film shows an Old World ghost dealing with American ...

'' (1935). Parker later starred in the Laurel and Hardy comedy ''

The Flying Deuces ''The Flying Deuces'', also known as ''Flying Aces'', is a 1939 buddy comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their short film ''Beau Hunks'' (1931). Plot While the boys ...

'' (1939), followed by the sports film ''

The Pittsburgh Kid ''The Pittsburgh Kid'' is a 1941 American sports film directed by Jack Townley and starring Billy Conn, Jean Parker and Dick Purcell.Ritchie p.231 The film's sets were designed by the art director John Victor Mackay. Plot About to fight his bigg ...

'' (1941), and the film noir '' Dead Man's Eyes'' (1944), opposite Lon Chaney Jr. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in 1946, in the title role of ''Loco'', followed by a leading role in the Broadway production of '' Burlesque'' (1946–1947) opposite

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

. In 1948, she replaced Judy Holliday for the national Broadway touring production of Garson Kanin's '' Born Yesterday'', which earned her favorable reviews. The next year, she appeared opposite Gregory Peck in a stage production of the comedy ''Light Up the Sky''. By the 1950s, Parker's film career had slowed, though she continued to appear in a small number of films, including supporting parts in the Westerns '' The Gunfighter'' (1950) and '' Toughest Man in Arizona'' (1952), and the film noir ''

Black Tuesday The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

'' (1954). She gave birth to her only child, son Robert Lowery Hanks Jr., in 1952, from her fourth marriage to actor Robert Lowery. Parker made her final film appearance in 1965's '' Apache Uprising''. She spent her later years in California, where she died of a stroke at the

Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

in Los Angeles in 2005.

Biography

1915–1932: Early life

Parker was born on August 11, 1915 in Deer Lodge, Montana to Lewis A. Green, a gunsmith, hunter, and chef from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, and Perl Melvina "Millie" Burch, a native of Deer Lodge. Many of the details surrounding Parker's birth have been reported with little consistency. Secondary sources regarding her birth year range from 1912 to 1916, and some claim she was born in

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

, not Deer Lodge. Furthermore, some sources state her birth name as Lois Mae Green, while others indicate she was born Luise Stephanie Zelinska. Despite these discrepancies, Parker's son, Robert, insisted she was born Lois May Green in Deer Lodge in 1915, which is consistent with contemporaneous Montana birth records from the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

. Parker's parents were unemployed and experienced poverty. At some point in her early childhood, between ages 6 and 10, she was adopted by the Spickard family of Pasadena, California. She relocated there, and attended elementary school before graduating from Pasadena's John Muir High School. Her original aspirations were in the fine arts and illustration. In 1932, at age 17, Parker—then known as Lois Mae Green—entered a poster illustration competition, which resulted in her photograph appearing in a Los Angeles newspaper. Ida Koverman, an assistant to

(MGM) executive

, saw this photo and persuaded Mayer to give Parker a screen test. By Parker's account: "My ambition was to be an artist. I had no thought of acting."

1932–1937: Career beginnings

Following a successful screen test, Parker was signed to MGM and given her stage name of Jean Parker. She made her feature film debut in the drama '' Divorce in the Family'' (1932), followed by an uncredited role in ''

Rasputin and the Empress ''Rasputin and the Empress'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Richard Boleslawski and written by Charles MacArthur. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the film is set in Imperial Russia and stars the Barrymore siblings (John, a ...

'' (1932). She subsequently appeared in minor roles in the political fantasy film '' Gabriel Over the White House'' (1933), and the drama '' The Secret of Madame Blanche'' (also 1933). Jean Parker with mountain lion, 1934

In 1933, MGM loaned Parker to

, who provided her with larger parts in their films, beginning with a major supporting role in Frank Capra's comedy-drama ''

'', playing the estranged daughter of an indigent saleswoman in New York City. The same year, Parker was loaned to RKO Pictures to appear in George Cukor's film adaptation of '' Little Women'', portraying Elizabeth March opposite Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, and

. She later reflected: "Playing Beth was the hardest thing I ever did. I was scared stiff, for I had no real training in acting. To make it harder still, I was only 16 while the others were all over 24. I was terribly shy then... but all the girls did everything they could to help me, particularly Miss Hepburn." The following year, RKO gave Parker her first starring role in '' Two Alone'', which was followed by a series of leading roles for MGM, including in the drama '' Sequoia'', in which she played a woman living among the sequoia forests of northern California raising a mountain lion and orphaned fawn; the romance ''

Operator 13 ''Operator 13'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romance film directed by Richard Boleslawski and starring Marion Davies, Gary Cooper, and Jean Parker. Based on stories written by Robert W. Chambers, the film is about a Union spy who impersonates a ...

'', in which she starred opposite

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, playing a Southern belle during the American Civil War; and in the drama '' A Wicked Woman'', in which she starred as the daughter of a woman (played by

Mady Christians Marguerita Maria "Mady" Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951) was an Austrian actress who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted during the McCarthy period. Biography She ...

) who murders her abusive husband. She also starred in the British film ''

'' for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, playing the daughter of an American businessman opposite

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award f ...

and

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the F ...

. Though forging a successful acting career at the time, Parker continued to utilize her artistic talents, contracting in June 1935 to make eight original sketches a month for a Beverly Hills shop. In December 1935, Parker became engaged to New York socialite newspaperman George E. McDonald, and eloped with him to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

on March 22, 1936.

1938–1949: Film and stage

In 1938, she had the lead role in the drama '' Romance of the Limberlost'', followed by a supporting part in RKO's comedy ''

'' (1939) opposite Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. On November 9, 1939 she opened the Downtown Theatre in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, and in December 1941, at the Orinda Theater in Contra Costa County. In January 1940, after four years of marriage to McDonald, Parker was granted an interlocutory decree of divorce, which was finalized on January 23, 1941. On February 14, 1941, Parker married Los Angeles radio commentator Henry Dawson Sanders, known professionally as Douglas Dawson. Beginning in September 1941, the couple operated a flying service (the Dawson-Parker Parker Flying Service) from Palm Springs Airport in California, which was eventually shuttered at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In July 1942, Sanders joined the United States Coast Guard, and in September 1942 the couple were separated preceding their July 1943 divorce. A month after she was granted her final divorce decree on July 29, 1944, Parker married Dr. Kurt "Curtis" Arthur Grotter, a Hollywood insurance broker and former correspondent for a group of Czechoslovakian newspapers and active with the Braille Institute in Los Angeles, as he had a substantial loss of vision. Gregory Peck Light Up the Sky 1949

Parker remained active in film throughout the war, playing opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in the film noir thriller '' Dead Man's Eyes'' (1944). For Monogram Pictures, she inaugurated the Kitty O'Day mystery film series, playing the title character in two films: ''

Detective Kitty O'Day ''Detective Kitty O'Day'' is a 1944 American comedy mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring Jean Parker, Peter Cookson and Tim Ryan. The film was intended as an attempt to create a new low-budget detective series, but only one se ...

'' (1944), and '' Adventures of Kitty O'Day'' (1945). In the latter part of the 1940s, Parker appeared in several stage productions: She made her

debut in the title role of the comedy ''Loco'' in 1946. Journalist Lee Evans of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, al ...

'' gave the play a middling review, noting that while the play was "fairly well acted," Parker "does not create any great stir with her performance." Parker returned to Broadway with a starring role opposite

in '' Burlesque'' (1946–1947). In late 1948, she replaced Judy Holliday in the national touring Broadway production of '' Born Yesterday'', co-starring with

Lon Chaney, Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

Her performance in the production was well received by audiences. A review of the October 1948 Philadelphia premiere by ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' gave the production a rave review, noting: "To say that piquant and personable Miss Parker, and Chaney as her uncouth, comedy

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...

, play their parts as though they had been written for them, is the highest possible praise, but is amply merited for the zestful spontaneity of their performances." In the summer of 1949, Parker appeared in a production of the comedy play ''Light Up the Sky'', opposite Gregory Peck, which opened at the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

before having touring performances throughout the fall of that year. On December 29, 1949, Parker and her third husband, Grotter, were granted a divorced following their July 1949 separation. In April 1947, Jean Parker Christened Seaboard Air Line passenger train, "The Silver Comet" at New York's Penn station, before the trains first run to Birmingham, Alabama.

1950–2005: Later career and retirement

Parker and Chaney continued to appear in touring productions of ''Born Yesterday'' through 1950. Also in 1950, Parker returned to film with a supporting role in '' The Gunfighter'' opposite Gregory Peck, playing a saloon singer. The following year, in 1951, while appearing at a nightclub in Sydney, Australia, Parker made international headlines when she was escorted off Bondi Beach by swimsuit inspector Abe Laidlaw, who measured her bikini and determined it was too skimpy. On May 19, 1951, Parker secretly married actor Robert Lowery Hanks at the home of a friend in

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

. The two had previously co-starred in the 1944 film '' The Navy Way''. In late 1951, Parker and Lowery co-starred in a touring stage production of

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

's ''

Detective Story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

''. Critic Harold Whitehead, reviewing a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

performance of the play, observed that Parker seemed "shaky and ill-at-ease" throughout. The following year, on September 24, 1952, Parker gave birth to her only child, a son, Robert Lowery Hanks II, in Los Angeles. Parker continued to appear occasionally in films throughout the remainder of the 1950s, including a starring role opposite Edward G. Robinson in the film noir ''

'' (1954), followed by a role in '' A Lawless Street'' (1955). 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 Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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. Parker filed for divorce from her fourth husband, Lowery, in September 1957, but it was never finalized. She made her last film appearance was in '' Apache Uprising'' (1965). Parker worked as an

acting coach An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepar ...

in the 1970s for a time, but spent the following several decades largely out of the public eye, earning a reputation as a "Hollywood recluse." In 1998, she moved into the

in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles.

Death

Parker died of a stroke at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital on November 30, 2005. She is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

Legacy

In the 1950s, columnist Erskine Johnson deemed Parker "the Liz Taylor of the 1930s." Upon her death, journalist

Ronald Bergan Ronald Bergan (né Ginsberg, 2 November 1937 – 23 July 2020) was a South African-born British writer and historian. He was contributor to ''The Guardian'' (from 1989) and lecturer on film and other subjects as well as the author (or co-author) ...

noted Parker as an undervalued actress whose career was stifled by the studio system who gave her "too little chance to shine."

Filmography

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

* * * * *
Photographs of Jean Parker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Jean Age controversies 1910s births 1915 births 2005 deaths American acting coaches American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Montana Actresses from Pasadena, California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players People from Deer Lodge, Montana 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women