Cecilia Parker
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Cecilia Parker (April 26, 1914 – July 25, 1993) was a Canadian-American film actress. She was best known for portraying Marian Hardy, the sister of
Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The main film series was released from 1937 to 1946, with a final film made in 1958 in an unsuccessfu ...
, in twelve films of the Andy Hardy series.


Early life and career

Cecilia Parker was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada on April 26, 1914, to parents Naudy Anna and Thomas J. Parker. Her father was from England, where he had served in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. The family moved to Los Angeles, California when she was a child, and Parker graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in 1931. Parker was selected from among a group of extras to attend the
Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. It was the corporate successor to his earlier Greater Ne ...
studio training school for younger players. Soon she was selected to play opposite George O'Brien in '' The Rainbow Trail'' (1932). '' The Rainbow Trail'', written by Zane Grey, was the novelist's sequel to ''
Riders of the Purple Sage ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' is a Western novel by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1912. Considered by scholars to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been calle ...
''. Parker starred with Tom Tyler and
Carmelita Geraghty Carmelita Geraghty (March 21, 1901 – July 7, 1966) was an American silent-film actress and painter. Early life The daughter of screenwriter Tom Geraghty, she was the sister of writers Maurice and Gerald Geraghty. Her father wrote scenario ...
in a 1932–1933 movie serial produced by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
entitled '' Jungle Mystery''. In July 1933, she was chosen to play the heroine in the Ken Maynard western, ''The Trail Drive'' (1933). That same year, she was
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
's leading lady in one of the first
singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western (genre), Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier. The original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, ...
movies, '' Riders of Destiny'', and also appeared in '' Rainbow Ranch''. After playing the sister of
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...
in 1934's '' The Painted Veil'', Parker signed a seven-year contract with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
. The studio wanted a blonde who resembled Garbo as a young girl. Her new contract called for a starting salary of () a week and scaled up to $1,000 () a week for the seventh year. In November 1935, Parker purchased a new home in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
. The following year she joined the ballet school of Dave Gould at MGM, along with
Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen Paula O'Sullivan (May 17, 1911 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish actress who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She starred in dozens of feature films across a span of more than half a ...
. By the fall of 1936, Parker was studying singing. Parker was best known for playing Marian Hardy in the extremely popular
Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The main film series was released from 1937 to 1946, with a final film made in 1958 in an unsuccessfu ...
film series in the late 1930s and early 1940s. She was in the original Hardy film, '' A Family Affair'', in 1937.
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
played Andy Hardy in the series, supported by
Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...
, Fay Holden and Parker portraying his family members, with Ann Rutherford as his sweetheart. Parker's character appeared in 12 of the 16 films, and her romances were a recurring feature of the series. Parker retired from acting after the film '' Andy Hardy's Double Life'' (1942). She and her husband operated a real estate business in
Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
, from 1946 to 1989. Though her Marian Hardy character was absent from the last two Andy Hardy films of the 1940s, Parker briefly returned to acting for the last Andy Hardy movie, 1958's '' Andy Hardy Comes Home''; the attempt to revive and update the series was not a success. She made one last screen appearance, in a 1984 television adaptation of the novel ''
Pudd'nhead Wilson ''Pudd'nhead Wilson'' is a novel by American writer Mark Twain published on 28 November 1894. Its central intrigue revolves around two boys—one, born into slavery, with 1/32 Black American, black ancestry; the other, White American, white, bor ...
'', on the
anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
''
American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...
''.


Personal life

Parker's sister, Linda, was an actress who appeared in a number of uncredited roles in the early 1930s. Both sisters once tested for the same part in ''
David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
''. Parker was a close friend of actress Anne Shirley; during the mid-1930s the two kept a standing dinner date on Thursday nights. In 1938 she married actor Robert Baldwin, who helped her to become a naturalized American citizen in 1940. The couple had three children together, a daughter and two sons.


Death

On July 25, 1993, Parker died age of 79, after what ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called "a long illness".


References


Sources

* '' Bismarck Tribune'', "Fifth Hardy Family Picture Delightful", Friday, December 2, 1938, Page 8. * ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', "Film Outlook During Summer Assumes Rosier Hue", June 14, 1931, Page B9. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Chosen By Fortune For Screen Career", October 6, 1931, Page 10. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Rainbow Trail Announced For Loew's State", December 22, 1931, Page A7. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Tyler To Play Lead", May 31, 1932, Page A9. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Cecilia Parker To Lead", July 16, 1933, Page A1. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Court Accepts Young Player's Film Contract", July 25, 1934, Page A10. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Odd and Interesting", September 25, 1934, Page 19. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Around And About In Hollywood", November 6, 1935, Page A15. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Around And About In Hollywood", February 17, 1936, Page A15. * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Around And About In Hollywood", February 18, 1936, Page A19. * ''Portsmouth Ohio Times'', "Cecilia Parker", Sunday, November 15, 1936, Page 68.


External links

*
Cecilia Parker photographs
at virtual-history.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Cecilia 1914 births 1993 deaths Canadian film actresses Western (genre) film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian silent film actresses Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian people of English descent People from Thunder Bay Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Actresses from Ontario 20th-century Canadian actresses