Eleanor Parker | |
|---|---|
 Parker in the 1940s | |
| Born | Eleanor Jean Parker (1922-06-26)June 26, 1922 Cedarville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 2013(2013-12-09) (aged 91) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1941–1991 |
| Known for | Caged Detective Story Interrupted Melody The Sound of Music Scaramouche |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Chasen Parker (grandson) |
Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress. She was nominated for threeAcademy Awards for her roles in the filmsCaged (1950),Detective Story (1951), andInterrupted Melody (1955), the first of which won her theVolpi Cup for Best Actress. She was also known for her roles in the filmsOf Human Bondage (1946),Scaramouche (1952),The Naked Jungle (1954),The Man with the Golden Arm (1955),A Hole in the Head (1959),The Sound of Music (1965), andThe Oscar (1966).
Eleanor Jean Parker was born on June 26, 1922, inCedarville, Ohio, the daughter of Lola (née Isett) and Lester Day Parker.[1] She moved with her family to East Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended public schools and graduated fromShaw High School. "Ever since I can remember, all I wanted to do is act", she said. "But I didn't just dream about it. I worked at it."[2]
She appeared in a number of school plays. After graduation, she went to Martha's Vineyard to work on her acting. She got a job as a waitress and was offered a screen test by20th Century Fox, but turned it down. Wanting to focus on films, she moved to California and started appearing at thePasadena Playhouse.[2]
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She was in the audience one night at Pasadena Playhouse when spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. He offered her a test, and she accepted; the studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941.[3]
She was cast that year in the filmThey Died with Their Boots On, but her scenes were deleted.[4][5] Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short filmSoldiers in White in 1942.
She was given some decent roles in the B filmsBusses Roar (1942) andThe Mysterious Doctor (1943), and she had a small role inMission to Moscow (1943). This performance impressed Warners, so whenJoan Leslie was held up onRhapsody in Blue, Parker replaced her inBetween Two Worlds (1944), playing the wife ofPaul Henreid's character.
She stayed in supporting roles forCrime by Night (1944) andThe Last Ride (1944), then was given the starring role with Dennis Morgan inThe Very Thought of You (1944), replacingIda Lupino. She was given a cameo inHollywood Canteen (1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version ofSomerset Maugham'sOf Human Bondage (1946). Although directorEdmund Goulding called Parker one of the five greatest actresses in America,[6] previews were not favorable, and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released to an underwhelming reception. However, in 1953, Parker called it her favorite role.[7]
Parker later said the "big break" of her career was when she was cast withJohn Garfield inPride of the Marines (1945). "It was a great part, and who wouldn't look good with John Garfield", she later said. "He was absolutely wonderful."[8] However, two films that followed withErrol Flynn, the romantic comedyNever Say Goodbye (1946) and the dramaEscape Me Never (1947), were box-office disappointments.
Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – inStallion Road (where she was replaced byAlexis Smith) andLove and Learn.[9]
She made the comedyVoice of the Turtle (1947, aired today under the titleOne for the Book) withRonald Reagan and was in an adaptation ofThe Woman in White (1948). She refused to appear inSomewhere in the City (1948) so Warners suspended her again;Virginia Mayo played the role.[10]
Parker then had two years off, and during this time, she married and had a baby. She turned down a role inThe Hasty Heart (1949), which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England, and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year. "I probably received my salary for only six months during 1947 and 1948, but I can't regret that", she said. "All my life, I wanted a child, and anything that might happen to me professionally on that account would hardly seem a loss."[11]
She returned inChain Lightning withHumphrey Bogart. "I've had my fling at roles that have little or no relation to most people's lives", she said in a 1949 interview. "I want to keep away from such assignments, as I can from now on, even though, as some may say, they mean exercising your skill and talent in acting."[11]
Parker heard aboutCaged (1950), a film Warners was making of a woman in prison, and she lobbied the role. She got it, and won the 1950Volpi Cup for Best Actress at theVenice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.[12] She also had a good role in the melodramaThree Secrets (1950).
In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film calledSafe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release.[13]
Parker's career outside of Warners started badly withValentino (1951), where she played a fictionalized wife ofRudolph Valentino, and then she tried the comedyA Millionaire for Christy (1951) (originally calledThe Golden Goose).
In 1951, Parker signed a contract with Paramount for one film per year, with an option for outside films.[14] This arrangement began brilliantly withDetective Story (1951) for directorWilliam Wyler, playing Mary McLeod, the woman who doesn't understand the position of her unstable detective husband (played byKirk Douglas); Parker was nominated for the leading actressOscar in 1951 for her performance, which, to date, remains the shortest performance to be nominated in the category.[15]
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Parker followedDetective Story with her portrayal of an actress in love with a swashbuckling nobleman (played byStewart Granger) inScaramouche (1952), a role originally intended forAva Gardner. Parker later claimed that Granger was the only person she didn't get along with during her entire career.[8] However, they had good chemistry, and the film was a massive hit. MGM rushed her intoAbove and Beyond (1952), a biopic of Lt. Col.Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (Robert Taylor), the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a solid hit. While Parker was makingEscape from Fort Bravo (1953), she signed a five-year contract with MGM.[16]
She was named as star ofMy Most Intimate Friend[17] and ofOne More Time, from a script byRuth Gordon andGarson Kanin, but neither film was made. Back at Paramount, Parker starred withCharlton Heston as a 1901 mail-order bride inThe Naked Jungle (1954), directed byByron Haskin and produced byGeorge Pal.
Parker returned to MGM where she was reunited with Robert Taylor inValley of the Kings (1954) and the WesternMany Rivers to Cross (1955).
"I maintain that if you work, believe in yourself, and do what is right for you without stepping all over others, the way somehow opens up", she said in 1953. "By that, I don't mean just sitting back. At Warners, they still have a mile-long list of my suspensions for refusing certain parts. Anyway, I never did a Western. Not once. It's paid off too."[7]
In a 1954 interview, she said her favorite films wereCaged andDetective Story and her least favorite wereChain Lightning,Escape Me Never,Valentino, andThe Woman in White. She had commitments to make two films per year at MGM and one per year at Paramount. "Personally, I prefer to be under contract", she said.[18]
MGM gave her one of her better roles as opera singerMarjorie Lawrence inInterrupted Melody (1955). It was a big hit and earned Parker a third Oscar nomination; she later said it was her favorite film.[8]
Also in 1955, Parker appeared in the film adaptation of theNational Book Award-winnerThe Man with the Golden Arm (1955), directed byOtto Preminger and released throughUnited Artists. She played Zosh, a woman in a wheelchair and the wife of heroin-addicted would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). It was a major commercial and critical success.
In 1956, she was billed above the title withClark Gable for the comedyThe King and Four Queens, also for United Artists.
It was then back to MGM for two movies, both dramas:Lizzie (1957), in the title role, as a woman with a split personality, andThe Seventh Sin (1957), a remake ofThe Painted Veil. Both films flopped at the box office, and as a result, Parker's plans to produceL'Eternelle, about French resistance fighters, did not materialize.[19]
Parker supportedFrank Sinatra in the popular comedyA Hole in the Head (1959). She returned to MGM forHome from the Hill (1960), co-starring withRobert Mitchum, then took overLana Turner's role of Constance Rossi inReturn to Peyton Place, a 1961 sequel to the hit 1957 film. It was made by 20th Century Fox which producedMadison Avenue (1961) with Parker.
In 1960, she made her TV debut. "I look for the quality story and for parts that I think will be good or fun. People told me I was crazy to doHole in the Head andHome from the Hill, but both those pictures appealed to me. I did enough of the bad ones (films), while I was under contract – because I was being told to do them. That's the problem with being under contract. You do the pictures, or be suspended. Now, I don't want to work unless I have faith in the part. This has nothing to do with wanting to be famous, or anything like that. It's just that I love acting."[20]
In the early 1960s, she worked increasingly in television, with the occasional film role such asPanic Button (1964).
Parker's best-known screen role was playing Baroness Elsa von Schraeder in the 1965Oscar-winning musicalThe Sound of Music.
In 1966, she played an alcoholic widow in the crime dramaWarning Shot, a talent scout who discovers a Hollywood star inThe Oscar, and a rich alcoholic inAn American Dream. From the late 1960s, she focused on television roles.
In 1963, Parker appeared in the medical dramaThe Eleventh Hour in the episode "Why Am I Grown So Cold?", for which she was nominated for anEmmy Award as Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. In 1964, she appeared in the episode "A Land More Cruel" onBreaking Point. In 1968, she portrayed a spy inHow to Steal the World, a film originally shown as the two-part concluding episodes ofThe Man from U.N.C.L.E..[21]
Parker starred with Michael Sarrazin and Gayle Hunnicutt in her final theatrical film of the 1960s, the tense thrillerEye of The Cat (1969), which was written byJoseph Stefano.
In 1969–1970, Parker starred in the television seriesBracken's World, for which she was nominated for a 1970Golden Globe Award as Best TV Actress – Drama. "I wanted to do the series so I could stay put", she said. "Every movie I'm offered is shot in Europe or Asia or somewhere. I'm tired of running around."[22] Parker left the series after the first 16 episodes, citing the limited nature of her role.
After 1969, she worked steadily, but except for a small role inSunburn (1979), her onscreen acting was on television. Parker appeared in the NBC seriesGhost Story episode "Half a Death" (1972). Parker appeared in the TV movieMaybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (1971) and on TV inHome for the Holidays (1972). She starred in other TV movies and made guest appearances on series such asHawaii Five-O,The Love Boat,Hotel, andMurder, She Wrote. Her final TV role was in the 1991 TV movieDead on the Money.
Concurrent with her TV career, Parker starred in a number of theatrical productions, including the role of Margo Channing inApplause, the Broadway musical version of the filmAll About Eve. The role originally was played in the musical byLauren Bacall. In 1976, she played Maxine in theAhmanson Theater revival ofThe Night of the Iguana. She was replaced in theCircle in the Square Theatre revival ofPal Joey during previews.[23]
For her contributions to the movie industry, Parker was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard.[24]
Parker was married four times:
She was the grandmother of actorChasen Parker.[31]
Parker was raised a Protestant, and later converted toMessianic Judaism, a form of Christianity which takes on some Jewish characteristics, telling theNew York Daily News columnistKay Gardella in August 1969: "I think we're all Jews at heart...I wanted to convert for a long time." She embraced and was a supporter of Messianic Jewish philosopher, teacher, and commentatorRoy Masters, owner of theFoundation of Human Understanding in Grants Pass, Oregon. In 1978, she wrote the foreword to Masters's bookHow Your Mind Can Keep You Well.,[32]
Parker, a life-longDemocrat, endorsedAdlai Stevenson for president in the1952 presidential election.[33]
Eleanor Parker died on December 9, 2013, at a medical facility in Palm Springs, California, from complications of pneumonia. She was 91.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | They Died with Their Boots On | bit part | scenes deleted |
| 1942 | The Big Shot | Telephone Operator | voice, uncredited |
| Busses Roar | Norma | ||
| Soldiers in White | Nurse Ryan | short subject | |
| Men of the Sky | Mrs. Frank Bickley | short subject | |
| Vaudeville Days | Colleen | uncredited short subject | |
| 1943 | The Mysterious Doctor | Letty Carstairs | |
| Mission to Moscow | Emlen Davies | ||
| Destination Tokyo | Mike's Wife on Record | voice, uncredited | |
| 1944 | Between Two Worlds | Ann Bergner | |
| Atlantic City | Bathing Beauty | uncredited | |
| Crime by Night | Irene Carr | ||
| The Last Ride | Kitty Kelly | ||
| The Very Thought of You | Janet Wheeler | ||
| Hollywood Canteen | herself | cameo | |
| 1945 | Pride of the Marines | Ruth Hartley | |
| 1946 | Of Human Bondage | Mildred Rogers | |
| Never Say Goodbye | Ellen Gayley | ||
| 1947 | Escape Me Never | Fenella MacLean | |
| Always Together | herself | cameo, uncredited | |
| The Voice of the Turtle | Sally Middleton | ||
| 1948 | The Woman in White | Laurie Fairlie Ann Catherick | |
| 1949 | It's a Great Feeling | herself | cameo, uncredited |
| 1950 | Chain Lightning | Joan "Jo" Holloway | |
| Caged | Marie Allen | ||
| Three Secrets | Susan Adele Connors Chase | ||
| 1951 | Valentino | Joan Carlisle Sarah Gray | |
| A Millionaire for Christy | Christabel "Christy" Sloane | ||
| Detective Story | Mary McLeod | ||
| 1952 | Scaramouche | Lenore | |
| Above and Beyond | Lucey Tibbets | ||
| 1953 | Escape from Fort Bravo | Carla Forester | |
| 1954 | The Naked Jungle | Joanna Leiningen | |
| Valley of the Kings | Ann Barclay Mercedes | ||
| 1955 | Many Rivers to Cross | Mary Stuart Cherne | |
| Interrupted Melody | Marjorie Lawrence | ||
| The Man with the Golden Arm | Zosh Machine | ||
| 1956 | The King and Four Queens | Sabina McDade | |
| 1957 | Lizzie | Elizabeth Lizzie Beth Richmond | |
| The Seventh Sin | Carol Carwin | ||
| 1959 | A Hole in the Head | Eloise Rogers | |
| 1960 | Home from the Hill | Hannah Hunnicutt | |
| The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio | Sister Cecelia | ||
| 1961 | Return to Peyton Place | Connie Rossi | |
| Madison Avenue | Anne Tremaine | ||
| 1962 | Checkmate | Marion Bannion Gussie Hill | episode: "The Renaissance of Gussie Hill" |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Connie Folsom | episode: "Why Am I Grown So Cold?" |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Fern Selman | episode: "Seven Miles of Bad Road" | |
| 1964 | Panic Button | Louise Harris | |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | Dorian Smith | episode: "Knight's Gambit" | |
| 1965 | The Sound of Music | The Baroness Elsa Schraeder | |
| Convoy | Kate Fowler | episode: "Lady on the Rock" | |
| 1966 | The Oscar | Sophie Cantaro | |
| An American Dream | Deborah Kelly Rojack | ||
| 1967 | Warning Shot | Mrs. Doris Ruston | |
| The Tiger and the Pussycat | Esperia Vincenzini | ||
| 1968 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Margitta Kingsley | episode: "The Seven Wonders of the World Affair"; released in cinemas asHow to Steal the World |
| 1969 | Eye of the Cat | Aunt Danny | |
| Hans Brinker | Dame Brinker | ||
| Bracken's World | Sylvia Caldwell | episodes 1–16 | |
| 1971 | Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring | Claire Miller | TV movie |
| Vanished | Sue Greer | TV movie | |
| 1972 | Circle of Fear | Paula Burgess | episode: "Half a Death" |
| Home for the Holidays | Alex Morgan | TV movie | |
| 1973 | The Great American Beauty Contest | Peggy Lowery | TV movie |
| 1975 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Christine Drayton | TV pilot |
| 1978 | Hawaii Five-O | Mrs. Kincaid | episode: "The Big Aloha" |
| The Bastard | Lady Amberly | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Sunburn | Mrs. Thoren | |
| She's Dressed to Kill | Regine Danton | TV movie | |
| 1980 | Once Upon a Spy | The Lady | TV movie |
| Vega$ | Laurie Bishop | episode: "A Deadly Victim" | |
| 1981 | Madame X | Katherine Richardson | TV movie |
| 1979–1982 | The Love Boat | Rosie Strickland Alicia Bradbury | episode: "A Dress to Remember" episode: "Buddy and Portia's Story/Julie's Story/Carol and Doug's Story/Peter and Alicia's Story" |
| 1977–1983 | Fantasy Island | Peggy Atwood Eunice Hollander Baines | episode: "Nurses Night Out" episode: "Yesterday's Love/Fountain of Youth" episode: "Pilot" |
| 1983 | Hotel | Leslie | episode: "The Offer" |
| 1984 | Finder of Lost Loves | Nora Spencer | episode: "The Gift" |
| 1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Maggie Tarrow | episode: "Stage Struck" |
| 1991 | Dead on the Money | Catherine Blake | TV movie |
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Lux Radio Theatre | Detective Story[35] |
| Institution | Category | Year | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | 1951 | Caged | Nominated |
| 1952 | Detective Story | Nominated | ||
| 1956 | Interrupted Melody | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best TV Actress – Drama | 1970 | Bracken's World | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Nominated |
| Laurel Awards | Top Female Star | 1958 | — | Nominated |
| 1959 | — | Nominated | ||
| 1960 | — | Nominated | ||
| Venice Film Festival | Volpi Cup for Best Actress | 1950 | Caged | Won |
