Helen Parrish
Helen Parrish | |
---|---|
Born | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. | March 12, 1923
Died | February 22, 1959 Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged 35)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1927–1958 |
Spouse(s) | (1942–1954) (divorced) 2 children John Guedel (1957–1959) (her death) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Robert Parrish (brother) |
Helen Parrish (March 12, 1923 – February 22, 1959) was an American stage and film actress.[1]
Career[]
She started in movies at the age of 2, getting her first part playing Babe Ruth's daughter in the silent film Babe Comes Home[2] in 1927. She was featured in the Our Gang comedy shorts[3] and sometimes played the lead character as a child, co-starring with some of the great female stars of the day. In her teens she made herself known as a kid sister. During this time she also starred opposite Deanna Durbin in several of her films, playing a jealous, spiteful rival.
Their first film together, Mad About Music (1938), worked so well that they soon formed a sort of Shirley Temple/Jane Withers team in a couple of other movie confections for Universal. In their second film together, Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), Parrish replaced Barbara Read as sister Kay Craig. Her films included X Marks the Spot (1931), When a Feller Needs a Friend (1932), A Dog of Flanders (1935), Little Tough Guy (1938), I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940), You'll Find Out (1940), Too Many Blondes (1941), X Marks the Spot (1942; a remake of her earlier film), Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943) and The Wolf Hunters (1949).
By her mid-twenties she had left motion pictures and turned to television, co-hosting Hour Glass,[4] the first U.S. network variety show in 1946-47. In an era when "... it was a social 'taboo' for a pregnant woman to display herself in public," Parrish was forced to leave Hour Glass as a result of her pregnancy.[5]
One notable TV role was that of Geraldine Rutherford in the first season of the American television situation comedy Leave It to Beaver.[6]
Her last role on television was as women's editor of a morning program, Panorama Pacific, on the West Coast.[2]
Family[]
Her brother, Robert Parrish,[7] was a minor child actor who earned respect as a film editor and director and her sister, Beverly Parrish, died suddenly at the age of 11 after filming only one movie.[8]
On July 11, 1942, Parrish married actor Charles G. Lang, Jr. in Hollywood.[9] They divorced in 1954 and in 1958, she married television producer John Guedel.[2]
Recognition[]
Parrish has a star at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.[10]
Death[]
On February 22, 1959, Parrish died of cancer at Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood.[2][11][3]
Partial filmography[]
- Babe Comes Home (1927) - Young Girl (uncredited)
- The Valiant (1929) - Little Child on Train (uncredited)
- Words and Music (1929) - Song and dance principal
- His First Command (1929) - Jane Sargent
- The Big Trail (1930) - Honey Girl Cameron (uncredited)
- Beau Ideal (1931) - Isobel - as a Child (uncredited)
- Cimarron (1931) - Young Donna (uncredited)
- The Public Enemy (1931) - Little Girl (uncredited)
- Seed (1931) - Margaret Carter as a Child
- X Marks the Spot (1931) - Gloria - as a Child (uncredited)
- Forbidden (1932) - Roberta - Age 8 (uncredited)
- When a Feller Needs a Friend (1932) - Diana Manning
- Goldie Gets Along (1933) - Saunders' Child (uncredited)
- Song of the Eagle (1933) - Elsa as a Girl (uncredited)
- Broadway to Hollywood (1933) - Cousin (uncredited)
- The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) - Joan's friend (uncredited)
- There's Always Tomorrow (1934) - Marjorie White
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) - Schoolgirl (uncredited)
- Straight from the Heart (1935) - Neighbor Girl
- A Dog of Flanders (1935) - Maria Cogez
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - Communion girl (uncredited)
- Make Way for a Lady (1936) - Genevieve (uncredited)
- Maytime (1937) - Maypole Singer (uncredited)
- Mad About Music (1938) - Felice
- Little Tough Guy (1938) - Kay Boylan
- Little Tough Guys in Society (1938) - Penny
- Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939) - Kay Craig
- Winter Carnival (1939) - Ann Baxter
- First Love (1939) - Barbara Clinton
- I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940) - Gertrude 'Trudie' Morgan
- You'll Find Out (1940) - Janis Bellacrest
- Where Did You Get That Girl? (1941) - Helen Borden
- Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga (1941) - Rosie Clancy / Rosita Alvarez
- Too Many Blondes (1941) - Virginia Kerrigan
- It Started with Eve (1941) - Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
- In Old California (1942) - Ellen Sanford
- Tough As They Come (1942) - Ann Wilson
- They All Kissed the Bride (1942) - Vivian Drew
- Sunset Serenade (1942) - Sylvia Clark
- Overland Mail (1942, Serial) - Barbara Gilbert
- X Marks the Spot (1942) - Linda Ward
- Cinderella Swings It (1943) - Sally Murton
- Stage Door Canteen (1943) - Helen Parrish
- The Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943) - Marie Morgan
- Quick on the Trigger (1948) - Nora Reed
- Trouble Makers (1948) - Ann Prescott
- The Wolf Hunters (1949) - Marcia Cameron
References[]
- ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 9780786450190. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Noted Actress, 35, Victim of Cancer". Independent. California, Long Beach. United Press International. February 23, 1959. p. 4. Retrieved July 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Helen Parrish Actress Dies". The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Associated Press. February 23, 1959. p. 23. Retrieved July 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Robertson, Patrick (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781608197385. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Schilling, Jim Von (2013). The Magic Window: American Television ,1939-1953. Routledge. ISBN 9781136398674. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 591. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ McFarlane, Brian (2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. p. 584. ISBN 9781526111975. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 143.
- ^ "Marriages". Billboard. July 25, 1942. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ "Helen Parrish". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Helen Parrish Dies of Cancer". Reading Eagle. February 23, 1959. p. 14. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
Bibliography[]
- Willson, Dixie. Little Hollywood Stars. Akron, OH, e New York: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1935.
External links[]
- 1923 births
- 1959 deaths
- Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Actors from Columbus, Georgia
- Deaths from cancer in California
- American film actresses
- 20th-century American actresses