Barnett Parker
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Within the British colony of expatriate actors in Hollywood during the 1930's, Barnett Parker, born 11 September 1886, in Batley, Yorkshire, England, was among the most stereotypical. Harrowgate College-educated, straight-backed, balding and well-intoned, Parker caricatured a multitude of unctuous, stiff-upper-lip butlers, man-servants or waiters, though his performances could, at times, verge on the brink of being camp. When driven to frustration his characters commonly resorted to incoherent twitter or wild gesticulation. Parker was trained under Marie Tempest and George Alexander in England. He first acted on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre as Wilfred Tavish in Arthur Wing Pinero's "The "Mind the Paint" Girl" in 1912. He was well served with further roles in hit plays like "Hobson's Choice" (1915), "Artists and Models" (1924) and "The Red Robe" (1928). He was at first prone to reject film offers, professing to favor acting on stage. Nonetheless, the celluloid medium eventually beckoned, enticing him to sign with the East Coast-based studio Thanhouser in 1915. He worked in films during the daytime (while treading the boards at night) and quickly landed a plum role as a weak socialite, rescuing Gladys Hulette in Prudence, the Pirate (1916). He was seldom thereafter afforded the opportunity for heroic acts. During the 1930's, he was primarily in demand for small roles as dandified or 'silly ass' Britishers, giving value for money in films like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Personal Property (1937), Live, Love and Learn (1937) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). Looking rather older than his years, Barnett Parker died at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles after multiple heart attacks on August 5, 1941.
Known for
Credits
Libeled Lady (1936)
as Butler (uncredited)
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
as Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)
The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
as Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
as Butler (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette (1938)
as Prince de Rohan
The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)
as Albert, Stephan's Butler
He Married His Wife (1940)
as Huggins
Babes in Arms (1939)
as William
Wake Up and Live (1937)
as Foster
Sally, Irene and Mary (1938)
as Oscar
The Flight of the Duchess (1916)
as The Duke
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
as Purser
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
as Jerry Jason
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6 (2004)
as Dragon (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
as Dining Car Man (uncredited)
At the Circus (1939)
as Whitcomb
The Girl Downstairs (1938)
as Hugo
The Traffic Cop (1916)
as Book Agent
The Misleading Lady (1920)
as Steve
Love Is a Headache (1938)
as Hotchkiss, Carlotta's Butler
Live, Love and Learn (1937)
as Alfredo
Navy Blue and Gold (1937)
as Graves
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
as Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)
Bill Bunks the Bandit (1915)
as Bill - a Gentleman from the East
Listen, Darling (1938)
as Abercrombie
Double Wedding (1937)
as Mr. Flint, Margit's Bookkeeper
Born to Dance (1936)
as Floorwalker
New Wine (1941)
as The Duke
Hotel for Women (1939)
as Photographer
A Man Betrayed (1941)
as George
La Conga Nights (1940)
as Hammond
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)
as Quentin
Ready, Willing and Able (1937)
as Waiter
We Who Are About to Die (1937)
as John Barkley
Personal Property (1937)
as Arthur Trevelyan
Espionage (1937)
as Bill Cordell
Kisses for Breakfast (1941)
as Phillips
Love Thy Neighbor (1940)
as George - Fred's Chauffeur
She Married a Cop (1939)
as Bekins, the Butler
The President's Mystery (1936)
as Roger
Hold That Kiss (1938)
as Maurice
Married Before Breakfast (1937)
as Tweed
A Girl's Best Years (1936)
as Primrose
Roaming Lady (1936)
as Waters
Hullabaloo (1940)
as Samuel Stephens
Dangerous Number (1937)
as Minehardi
Prudence the Pirate (1916)
as John Astorbilt