Helen Parrish

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This article is about an actress. For information on the writer/scholar, see Helen Parish.
Helen Parrish
Helen Parrish 1940.jpg
Parrish pictured in 1940
Born(1923-03-12)March 12, 1923
Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 1959(1959-02-22) (aged 35)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
OccupationActress
Years active1927–1958
Spouse(s) (1942–1954) (divorced) 2 children
John Guedel (1957–1959) (her death)
Children2
RelativesRobert 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[]

References[]

  1. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 9780786450190. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ^ 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. open access
  3. ^ 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. open access
  4. ^ Robertson, Patrick (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781608197385. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  5. ^ Schilling, Jim Von (2013). The Magic Window: American Television ,1939-1953. Routledge. ISBN 9781136398674. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ McFarlane, Brian (2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. p. 584. ISBN 9781526111975. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  8. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 143.
  9. ^ "Marriages". Billboard. July 25, 1942. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Helen Parrish". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  11. ^ "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[]

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