Jameson Parker

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Jameson Parker
Born
Francis Jameson Parker Jr.

(1947-11-18) November 18, 1947 (age 73)
OccupationActor
Years active1966–2009
Spouse(s)Anne Taylor Davis
(m. 1969; div. 1974)
Bonnie Parker
(m. 1976; div. 1992)

(m. 1992)
Children4
Cast of One Life to Live (1977). Front, L–R: Jameson Parker and Teri Keane. Back: Julia Montgomery and Farley Granger

Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his role of A.J. Simon on the 1980s television series Simon & Simon.

Early life and education[]

Jameson Parker, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 18, 1947. He is the son of Jameson and Sydney Buchanan (née Sullivan) Parker. His father had been general legal counsel for the Parker family steel mill, an investment analyst, and government attorney (working first with the Maryland Public Expenditure Council and later with the United States Naval Reserve). In 1947, he was in private practice, but about to embark on a career as a diplomat with the United States Department of State.

His mother was the daughter of Mark Sullivan, Sr., a former editor of Collier's and later columnist with the New York Herald Tribune newspaper. She was a short story author (under a pen name), and a reporter for The Washington Post.[1] His parents eloped on June 8, 1933, and married in Rockville, Maryland.[2]

Jameson Parker Sr. died in 1972. His widow married her husband's Harvard Law School friend, Lewis Metcalfe Walling, a former New Deal labor attorney, in 1974.[3]

Jameson Jr. attended St. Albans School, Washington, D.C., and a Swiss prep school.[4] He studied drama at Beloit College.[5]

Acting career[]

At Beloit College, he acted in student theater productions, and, while living in Washington, D.C., he landed a job with a production of The Great White Hope at the Arena Stage and then acted in theatrical productions of Caligula and Indians.[6] After completing his degree at Beloit College in 1971, he performed in dinner theater and summer stock in the Washington, D.C., area.[5]

In 1972, he moved to New York City, where he secured several television commercials and appeared in off-Broadway plays. He was cast as Dale Robinson in the daytime drama Somerset and created the role of Brad Vernon on One Life to Live. During this period, Parker guest-starred on the ABC series Family and Hart to Hart.

Parker made his motion picture debut in The Bell Jar (1979) and starred in A Small Circle of Friends (1980), in which he played one of three radical college students during the 1960s.[7] The United Artists film received a limited theatrical release and grossed under $1 million.[8] Another film from early in his acting career was the controversial White Dog (1982).

In addition, he played the leads in several CBS television movies: Women at West Point (1979),[9] Anatomy of a Seduction (1979),[10] The Gathering II (1979), The Promise of Love (1980), Callie and Son (1981), and A Caribbean Mystery (1983).

He became well-known by co-starring in Simon & Simon from 1981 to 1989.[5] Thanks to the hit show's popularity, in 1985, Beloit awarded him its Distinguished Service Citation.[6] With his Simon & Simon co-star Gerald McRaney he appeared in the theatrical movie Jackals, which Parker co-produced.[11] After completing this movie, he returned to Beloit College to star in a live summer stock theatrical production as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In 1987, starred alongside Donald Pleasence in John Carpenter's horror movie Prince of Darkness.

Parker guest-starred on the CBS series Walker, Texas Ranger as a corrupt cop. He appeared in the television movies Who Is Julia? (1986), Dead Before Dawn (1993), and Violation of Trust (1991). He guest starred on the sitcom Major Dad with his Simon & Simon co-star Gerald McRaney.

Parker's last known acting work was in 2003–2004, after a four year hiatus, when he appeared in four episodes of JAG. Although he did voice over work as the narrator for the documentary Endangered Species: California Fish and Game Wardens in 2009, he seems to have[weasel words] effectively retired from acting without an official announcement. He now makes his living as a writer for a variety of hard-copy and on-line magazines and is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, An Accidental Cowboy.[12]

Writing career[]

Parker has written five books:

  • Parker, Jameson (2003). An Accidental Cowboy. ebook. ISBN 978-0984981236. recounts his life after Simon & Simon[13]
  • Parker, Jameson (2003). To Absent Friends: A Collection of Stories of the Dogs We Miss. Minocqua, WI: Willow Creek Press. ISBN 978-1572237063.
  • Parker, Jameson (2012). American Riff. ebook. ISBN 978-0984981298.
  • Parker, Jameson (2012). The Horseman at Midnight. ebook. ISBN 978-0984981267.
  • Parker, Jameson (2016). Dancing with the Dead. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593939946.

Personal life[]

Parker has been married three times. On July 19, 1969, he married Anne Taylor Davis in Fairfax County, Virginia, with whom he has one daughter.[14] The two divorced on August 7, 1975 in Alexandria, Virginia.[15] In 1976, Parker married Bonnie Dottley in New York City; the couple had three children.[16] They divorced in 1992. He married Darleen Carr on June 18, 1992.[citation needed]

On October 1, 1992, Parker was shot in the left armpit and right arm by a neighbor during a verbal altercation concerning dog waste. He made a full recovery, and the neighbor was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine years in prison.[17]

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
1975 Crossfire TV movie
1975–76 Somerset Dale Robinson Daytime serial
1976–78 One Life to Live Brad Vernon #1 Daytime serial
1976 Once an Eagle TV miniseries
1977 79 Park Avenue TV miniseries
1978 The Immigrants TV movie
1979 Women at West Point J.J. Palfrey TV movie
1979 The Bell Jar Buddy Willars
1979 Anatomy of a Seduction Ed Taggert TV movie
1979 The Gathering, Part II Bud TV movie
1980 Family Jack Episode: "Jack of Hearts"
1980 Hart to Hart Whitney Rogers Episode: "A Question of Innocence"
1980 A Small Circle of Friends Nick Baxter
1980 The Promise of Love Sam Daniels TV movie
1981 Callie & Son Randy Bordeaux TV movie
1981–89 Simon & Simon A.J. Simon 156 episodes
1982 Bret Maverick Whitney Delaworth III Episodes: "Faith, Hope and Clarity" (Parts 1 & 2)
1982 White Dog Roland Grale
1982 Magnum, P.I. A.J. Simon Episode: "Ki'is Don't Lie"
1983 A Caribbean Mystery Tim Kendall TV movie
1983 Whiz Kids A.J. Simon Episode: "Deadly Access"
1986 Jackals Dave Buchanon
1986 Who Is Julia? Don North TV movie
1987 Prince of Darkness Brian Marsh
1989 Spy Frank Harvey TV movie
1990 Waiting for the Wind David Short
1991 Major Dad Evan Charters Episode: "Polly's Choice"
1991 She Says She's Innocent Eric Reilly TV movie
1991 Curse of the Crystal Eye Luke Ward
1991 Murder, She Wrote Gordon Forbes Episode: "The Skinny According to Nick Cullhane"
1991 Murder, She Wrote Dane Kenderson Episode: "Terminal Connection"
1991 Pros and Cons Jace Novak Episode: "May the Best Man Win"
1992–93 The Legend of Prince Valiant Sir Kay (voice) 5 episodes
1993 Dead Before Dawn Robert Edelman TV movie
1994 Burke's Law Ben Hutchins Episode: "Who Killed Nick Hazard?"
1995 Simon & Simon: In Trouble Again A.J. Simon TV movie
1995 ABC Afterschool Special John Atkins Episode: "Long Road Home"
1996 Have You Seen My Son Mike Pritcher TV movie
1996 Dead Man's Island Lyle Stedman TV movie
1996 Walker, Texas Ranger Sgt. Bob Horne Episode: "The Brotherhood"
1997 Something Borrowed, Something Blue Richard Ives TV movie
1997 Promised Land Dr. Smith Episode: "Take Back the Night"
1998 The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue Troy (voice) Direct-to-video
2003–04 JAG Harrison Kershaw 4 episodes
2009 Endangered Species: California Fish and Game Wardens Narrator (voice) Documentary

References[]

  1. ^ "Sydney Walling, Colonel Dames Member, Author". The Washington Post. November 29, 1982. p. D6. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. ^ "Miss Sullivan Wed to Jameson Parker". The Washington Post. June 9, 1933. p. 20.
  3. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (January 26, 1997). "L. Metcalf Walling, 88, Who Helped Set Labor Policy in New Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  4. ^ "Anne Davis Betrothed to Francis Parker 2d", The New York Times; June 4, 1969; accessed March 4, 2012
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Jameson Parker: Biography", TV Guide accessed March 4, 2012.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Beloit College: "F. Jameson Parker II', accessed March 4, 2012
  7. ^ Canby, Vincent: "Film: Small Circle of 3 College Friends", The New York Times, March 12, 1980, accessed March 4, 2012
  8. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". (Week ending March 19, 1980). Variety, March 22, 1980
  9. ^ Maslin, Janet: "TV: Movie Tells Story Of West Point Women", The New York Times, February 27, 1979, accessed March 4, 2012
  10. ^ O'Connor, John J.: "TV: Film of an Affair, Anatomy of a Seduction", The New York Times, May 8, 1979, accessed March 4, 2012
  11. ^ Nina Darnton, "Film: American Justice" The New York Times, September 19, 1986, accessed March 4, 2012
  12. ^ Parker, Jameson. "Homepage Biography". Jameson Parker Homepage. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  13. ^ Swan, James A.: "A True Hero's Journey" ESPN Outdoor, October 2, 2003 Archived March 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 4, 2012
  14. ^ Virginia Marriage Records, file 69 024277
  15. ^ Virginia Divorce Records, file 75-010115
  16. ^ New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995
  17. ^ Mrozek, Thom (December 11, 1993). "Studio City Man Gets 9 Years in Shooting of Actor Parker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2019.

External links[]

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