Michael Parks
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Michael Parks (born Harry Samuel Parks; April 24, 1940 – May 9, 2017) was an American singer and actor who made numerous film and television appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series '' Then Came Bronson.'' He was widely known for his work in his later years with filmmakers such as
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
,
Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...
, and
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
.


Career

In 1961, Parks portrayed the nephew of the character George MacMichael on the ABC sitcom '' The Real McCoys''. In a '' Wagon Train'' episode airing April 10, 1963, Parks played Hamish Browne, in an episode titled "The Heather and Hamish Story". He appeared as Cal Leonard in the 1963 '' Perry Mason'' episode " The Case of Constant Doyle", in which
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
played Constant Doyle. He gained recognition in the role of
Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...
in
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...
's '' The Bible: In the Beginning...'' (1966). Parks was the star of the series '' Then Came Bronson'' from 1969 to 1970, in which he rode an iconic red Harley-Davidson Sportster, as he drifted from town to town. He sang "Wayfarin' Stranger", a duet with pilot episode co-star Bonnie Bedelia, and later the theme song for the show, "Long Lonesome Highway", which became a nimber-20 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number-41
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
hit. "Long Lonesome Highway" also peaked at number 84 in Australia. Parks recorded five albums under MGM Records (the label of the studio that produced the series) that charted including ''Closing The Gap'' (1969), ''Long Lonesome Highway'' (1970), and ''Blue''. After disputes with the producers of ''Bronson'', Parks said he was informally blacklisted in Hollywood. Parks admitted he could be "difficult on the set" and also said he objected to producers wanting to make the series more violent. After the cancellation of ''Bronson,'' Parks did not work in a major Hollywood production for several years, but he had regular small roles in independent or Canadian features throughout the 1970s, such as '' Between Friends'' (1973), although director Donald Shebib had trouble dealing with Parks, describing him as a "terrific actor in a lot of ways, but weird". Later in the same interview, Shebib accuses Parks of having been openly and aggressively antisemitic. He played in 12 episodes of ABC's '' The Colbys'', a spin-off from ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'', first as Hoyt Parker, and then Phillip Colby during the second season (1986–1987). He appeared as Irish mob boss Tommy O'Shea in '' Death Wish V: The Face of Death'' (1994), French-Canadian drug runner Jean Renault in the ABC television series ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
'', Dr. Banyard in '' Deceiver'' (1997), Texas Ranger Earl McGraw in '' From Dusk till Dawn'' (1996), and Ambrose Bierce in '' From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'' (2000). Parks played two roles in the '' Kill Bill'' film series, reprising the role of Earl McGraw in the first film (2003) and playing pimp Esteban Vihaio in the second film (2004). He again reprised the role of Earl McGraw in both segments of the film ''Grindhouse'' (2007), making his fourth appearance as the Texas Ranger. His son, James Parks, played the son of Earl McGraw in ''Kill Bill'', '' From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money'', ''
Death Proof ''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American slasher film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a Stunt performer, stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he says are "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito ...
'', and '' Planet Terror''. Parks played a villain in
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
's horror films '' Red State'' (2011) and ''
Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...
'' (2014). Smith later announced on his podcast that Parks had recorded an album during ''Red State'' production, after Smith and producer Jon Gordon noticed his singing talent during filming. The album, titled ''The Red State Sessions'', was released on August 15, 2011, as a download from the film's website.


Personal life

Parks was born in
Corona, California Corona (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crown") is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States, directly bordering Orange County, California, Orange and San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino counties. Its curre ...
to Harry Arthur Parks and Beatrice Adora Dunwoody. He drifted from job to job during his teen years, including picking fruit, digging ditches, driving trucks, and fighting forest fires. Parks married five times. His first marriage in 1956 at age 16 to Louise Johnson lasted until 1958 and produced a daughter. His second marriage in 1964 to actress Jan Moriarty lasted only a few months, ending with her apparent suicide from an overdose. His third marriage in 1968 to Carolyn Kay Carson produced a son, actor James Parks. His fourth marriage to Alston Fenci, whom he married in 1987, ended in divorce in 1996. In 1997, he married Oriana. The union lasted until his death.


Death and reaction

Parks died on May 9, 2017, in his Los Angeles home at the age of 77 from undisclosed causes. He requested a full-body burial at sea, which his wife attended alone following a public funeral held at
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...
. Upon hearing the news, director Kevin Smith posted on his
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account, "Michael was, and will likely forever remain, the best actor I've ever known. I wrote both ''Red State'' and ''Tusk'' for Parks, I loved his acting so much." He also included, "He was, hands-down, the most incredible thespian I ever had the pleasure to watch perform. And Parks brought out the absolute best in me every time he got near my set." In a
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
post, director Robert Rodriguez referred to Michael Parks as "a true legend".


Documentary

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
produced a documentary on the life and times of Michael Parks, directed by Michael's former assistant, Josh Roush. Titled ''Long Lonesome Highway'', it covers his beginnings as an itinerant teenager hopping boxcars through being blacklisted in Hollywood, to his career resurgence at the hands of filmmakers such as
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
. It stars James Parks,
Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor before transitioning to leading roles as an adult in various genres such as action adventures, science-fiction, westerns, romance films, co ...
, Haley Joel Osment,
Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...
,
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
, Mickey Rourke, Justin Long, Wyatt Russell, Mark Frost, and others.


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography

ALBUMS: * 1969 – ''Closing The Gap'' (MGM) * 1970 – ''Long Lonesome Highway'' (MGM) * 1970 – ''Blue'' (MGM) * 1970 – ''Lost & Found '' (Verve) * 1971 – ''Best Of Michael Parks'' (MGM) * 1981 – ''You Don't Know Me '' (First American) * 1998 – ''Coolin' Soup'' (Listen) * 2011 – ''The Red State Sessions'' (SModcast) SINGLES: * 1969 - Tie Me To Your Apron Strings Again / Won't You Ride in My Little Red Wagon (MGM K14092) #117 Billboard's Bubbling Under chart * 1970 - Long Lonesome Highway / Mountain High (MGM K14104) #20 Billboard's Hot 100 chart, #41 Billboard's Country Singles * 1970 - Sally (Was A Gentle Woman) / Spend A Little, Save A Little (Give A Little Away) (MGM K14154) * 1970 - Big "T" Water / Won't You Ride in My Little Red Wagon (MGM K14363) * 1970 - I Was Born In Kentucky / Turn Around Little Mama (Verve VK10653)


References


External links

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Michael Parks sings Long Lonesome Highway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Michael 1940 births 2017 deaths American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from California American male singers People from Corona, California 21st-century American male actors