James Parrott
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James Parrott | |
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![]() Jobyna Ralston with Parrott in The White Blacksmith, 1922 | |
Born | |
Died | May 10, 1939 | (aged 41)
Other names | Paul Parrott |
Occupation | Film director, actor |
Years active | 1913–1939 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/James_Parrott%2C_Stan_Laurel_and_Oliver_Hardy.jpg/220px-James_Parrott%2C_Stan_Laurel_and_Oliver_Hardy.jpg)
James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase.
Biography[]
Early years[]
James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Blanche Thompson Parrott. In 1903, his father died from a heart attack, leaving the family in bad financial shape, which forced them to move in with a relative. Charley Jr. quit school, so he could go to work, in order to support his mother and brother. Eventually the call of the stage beckoned him, and Charley Jr. left home at age 16 to travel the vaudeville circuit as a singer and comedic performer. By the time James had reached his teens, he too, had quit school, and became involved with the street gangs of Baltimore.
Later, Charley's connections in the film industry helped his younger brother to become established in movies, and he would appear during the 1920s in a series of relatively successful comedies for producer Hal Roach. He was billed first as "Paul Parrott", then "Jimmie Parrott", Approximately 75 comedies were produced from 1921 to 1923, with titles continuing to be released through Pathé until 1926. Frequent co-stars included Marie Mosquini, Jobyna Ralston, Eddie Baker, and Sunshine Sammy.
Parrott is probably best known as a comedy director. As "James Parrott", he specialized in the two-reel misadventures of Laurel and Hardy, including the Oscar-winning classic The Music Box, and Helpmates.
Later years[]
During the 1930s Parrott had acquired serious drinking and drug problems (his diet medications were actually addictive amphetamines) and although still able to direct quality shorts, he had developed a reputation as unreliable. By the mid-1930s his work was spotty: Stan Laurel used him sporadically to contribute gags to the Laurel and Hardy features, and he would direct an Our Gang short in 1934, plus several acceptable entries in Thelma Todd–Patsy Kelly series.
Death[]
By 1937, Parrott was accepting any jobs that came his way. He could no longer be counted on to direct or write, and relied on his brother to support him financially. There was a brief marriage to Ruby Ellen McCoy in 1937, but as his various addictions worsened, so did his state of mind.
Parrott died at the age of 41 of heart failure. His brother Charley was devastated and died 13 months later. He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park, the same cemetery where his brother, Charley Chase rests. His brother Chase had refused to help him financially until he cleaned up his act. Parrott's death at 41 was attributed to a heart attack, but former Hal Roach associates maintained he committed suicide. Guilt-ridden over his brother's tragic end, Chase drank himself to death a year later.
Filmography[]
Actor[]
- 1918 : Hit Him Again
- 1918 : A Gasoline Wedding
- 1918 : Look Pleasant, Please
- 1918 : Here Come the Girls
- 1918 : Let's Go
- 1918 : On the Jump
- 1918 : Follow the Crowd
- 1918 : Pipe the Whiskers
- 1918 : It's a Wild Life
- 1918 : Hey There!
- 1918 : Kicked Out
- 1918 : Two-Gun Gussie
- 1918 : Fireman Save My Child
- 1918 : Sic 'Em, Towser
- 1918 : Somewhere in Turkey
- 1918 : An Ozark Romance
- 1918 : Kicking the Germ Out of Germany
- 1918 : That's Him
- 1918 : Bride and Gloom
- 1918 : Two Scrambled
- 1918 : No Place Like Jail
- 1918 : Why Pick on Me?
- 1918 : Just Rambling Along
- 1918 : Hear 'Em Rave
- 1918 : She Loves Me Not
- 1919 :
- 1919 : Do You Love Your Wife?
- 1919 : Wanted - $5,000
- 1919 : Going! Going! Gone!
- 1919 : Hustling for Health
- 1919 : Hoots Mon!
- 1919 : I'm on My Way
- 1919 : The Dutiful Dub
- 1919 : A Sammy in Siberia
- 1919 : Young Mr. Jazz
- 1919 : Crack Your Heels
- 1919 : Ring Up the Curtain
- 1919 : Si, Senor
- 1919 : Pistols for Breakfast
- 1919 : Swat the Crook
- 1919 : Off the Trolley
- 1919 : At the Old Stage Door
- 1919 : A Jazzed Honeymoon
- 1919 : Count Your Change
- 1919 : Chop Suey & Co.
- 1919 : Heap Big Chief
- 1919 : Don't Shove
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- 1922 : Blaze Away
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- 1922 : Fair Week
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- 1923 : Watch Your Wife
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- 1923 : Don't Say Die
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- 1923 : Finger Prints
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- 1931 : Pardon Us
- 1934 : Washee Ironee
Director[]
- 1921 :
- 1922 : Mixed Nuts
- 1924 :
- 1924 : Hard Knocks
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- 1925 : Should Sailors Marry?
- 1926 : The Cow's Kimona
- 1926 : On the Front Page
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- 1927 : Fluttering Hearts
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- 1927 : Now I'll Tell One
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- 1928 : Their Purple Moment
- 1928 : Should Married Men Go Home?
- 1928 : Two Tars
- 1928 : Habeas Corpus
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- 1929 : Perfect Day
- 1929 : They Go Boom!
- 1929 : The Hoose-Gow
- 1930 : La Vida nocturna
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- 1930 : Night Owls
- 1930 : Blotto
- 1930 : Brats
- 1930 : Below Zero
- 1930 : Hog Wild
- 1930 : The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
- 1930 : Another Fine Mess
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- 1931 : Be Big!
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- 1931 : Pardon Us
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- 1932 : Helpmates
- 1932 : The Music Box
- 1932 : The Chimp
- 1932 : County Hospital
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- 1933 : Twice Two
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- 1934 : Washee Ironee
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- 1935 : Treasure Blues
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- 1935 : The Tin Man
- 1935 : The Misses Stooge
- 1935 :
Writer[]
- 1925 :
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- 1926 : Wandering Papas
- 1926 : Say It with Babies
- 1926 :
- 1926 : Along Came Auntie
- 1926 :
- 1926 : Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes
- 1926 : Get 'Em Young
- 1926 : On the Front Page
- 1928 :
- 1928 : Should Married Men Go Home?
- 1937 : Way Out West
- 1938 : Swiss Miss
- 1938 : Block-Heads
References[]
External links[]
- Hal Roach Studios actors
- Hal Roach Studios filmmakers
- Vaudeville performers
- 1897 births
- 1939 deaths
- Silent film comedians
- Male actors from Baltimore
- Film directors from Maryland
- 20th-century American male actors
- Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
- American male film actors
- American male comedy actors
- 20th-century American comedians
- Comedians from California