Jameson Parker

Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his roles as the first Brad Vernon in the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', and as 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 ( 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''. His parents eloped on June 8, 1933, and married in Rockville, Maryland.

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.

Jameson Jr. attended St. Albans School, Washington, D.C., and a Swiss prep school. He studied drama at Beloit College in Wisconsin."Jameson Parker: Biography"
''TV Guide'' accessed March 4, 2012.

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''. After completing his degree at Beloit College in 1971, he performed in dinner theater and summer stock in the Washington, D.C., area.

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. The United Artists film received a limited theatrical release and grossed under $1 million. 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), ''Anatomy of a Seduction'' (1979), ''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 as A.J. Simon in ''Simon & Simon'' from 1981 to 1989. Thanks to the hit show's popularity, in 1985, Beloit awarded him its Distinguished Service Citation.Beloit College
"F. Jameson Parker II'
accessed March 4, 2012 With his ''Simon & Simon'' co-star Gerald McRaney he appeared in the theatrical movie ''Jackals'', which Parker co-produced. 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''. In 2003, he co-hosted the show ''A Dog's Life'' with wife Darleen on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). In 2009, Parker did voice-over work as the narrator for the documentary ''Endangered Species: California Fish and Game Wardens''. He became a freelance writer for a variety of hard-copy and on-line magazines and wrote several books, among them the biography ''An Accidental Cowboy'' about his life after acting.

Writing career

Parker has written five books:
* recounts his life after ''Simon & Simon''Swan, James A.
"A True Hero's Journey"
ESPN Outdoor, October 2, 2003 , accessed March 4, 2012
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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. The two divorced on August 7, 1975, in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1976, Parker married Bonnie Dottley in New York City; the couple have three children. They divorced in 1992. He married Darleen Carr on June 18, 1992.

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.

Filmography

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Jameson
1947 births
American male film actors
American male soap opera actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Beloit College alumni
Living people
American shooting survivors
Male actors from Baltimore
St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni