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Robert Reese Parrish (January 4, 1916December 4, 1995) was an American film director, editor and former child actor. He won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on '' Body and Soul'' (1947).


Life and career

Born in
Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...
, Parrish was the son of Coca-Cola salesman Gordon R. Parrish and actress Laura Virginia ( Reese) Parrish. The Parrish siblings, including Beverly and Helen, entered into acting in the 1920s when the family moved to Los Angeles. He died on December 4 1995 in New York at 79.


Acting

Parrish made his debut film appearance in the ''
Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...
'' short ''
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
'' (1927). He then appeared in the classic '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927); '' Yale vs. Harvard'' (1928), another Our Gang short; '' Mother Machree'' (1928) and '' Four Sons'' (1928) from
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
; '' Speedy'' (1928) with Harold Lloyd; '' Riley the Cop'' (1928) for Ford; '' The Iron Mask'' (1929) with Douglas Fairbanks; '' The Divine Lady'' (1929); '' The Racketeer'' (1929); '' Anna Christie'' (1930) with Greta Garbo; the anti-war film '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930); '' The Big Trail'' (1930) with
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' ...
; '' Up the River'' (1930) for Ford; '' The Right to Love'' (1930) with Ruth Chatterton; Charles Chaplin's '' City Lights'' (1931); '' Scandal Sheet'' (1931); '' I Take This Woman'' (1931); '' Forbidden'' (1932) for
Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
; '' The Miracle Man'' (1932); and '' Scandal for Sale'' (1932). Parrish was in '' This Day and Age'' (1932) for Cecil B. de Mille; '' Doctor Bull'' (1933), '' Judge Priest'' (1934), '' The Whole Town's Talking'' (1935), and '' The Informer'' (1935) for Ford; ''
The Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
'' (1935) for de Mille; '' Steamboat Round the Bend'' (1935) and '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' (1936) for Ford; '' Shipmates Forever'' (1936); '' One in a Million'' (1936) and '' Thin Ice'' (1937) with Sonia Henie; '' History Is Made at Night'' (1937) for
Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...
; '' Thrill of a Lifetime'' (1938); '' Having Wonderful Time'' (1938); '' Mr. Doodle Kicks Off'' (1938); and '' Dramatic School'' (1938).


Editor

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
encouraged Parrish to work behind the scenes and put him on as an editing apprentice on '' The Informer''. He later hired Parrish as assistant editor for '' Mary of Scotland'' (1936). He worked on Ford films behind the scenes in editing and sound capacities, including ''
Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
'' (1939), '' Young Mr Lincoln'' (1939), '' Drums Along the Mohawk'' (1939), '' The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), '' The Long Voyage Home'' (1940) and '' Tobacco Road'' (1941). Both Ford and Parrish served in the U.S. Navy during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and together they also produced a number of documentary and training films, including '' The Battle of Midway'' (1942), '' How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines'' (1943), '' German Industrial Manpower'', and '' December 7th: The Movie'' (1943). Parrish also worked as editor on George Stevens' '' That Justice Be Done'' (1945), and '' The Nazi Plan'' (1945). When Parrish got out of the navy, he helped edit Robert Rossen's boxing drama '' Body and Soul'' (1947). In 1947, Parrish shared the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
, with co-nominee Francis Lyon, for his work on the film. Parrish went on to edit '' A Double Life'' (1947) for
George Cukor George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...
, '' No Minor Vices'' (1948) for Lewis Milestone, and '' Caught'' (1949) for Max Ophüls. Parrish's second Academy Award nomination, shared with Al Clark, was for the political drama directed by Rossen, '' All the King's Men'' (1949). In the first versions done by Al Clark, the film was poorly received by preview audiences and studio executives. Parrish discovered that a "montage approach" was much more successful, with arbitrary cuts made a set time before and after each important action. In addition to the editing nomination for Clark and Parrish, the film won the Best Picture Award outright and was a popular success. He also edited '' No Sad Songs for Me'' (1950) and '' A Woman of Distinction'' (1950), as well as the documentary '' Of Men and Music'' (1951).


Directing

Parrish made his directorial debut with the revenge drama '' Cry Danger'' (1951). Parrish followed it with '' The Mob'' (1951); and '' The San Francisco Story'' (1952), with Joel McCrea. Parrish replaced
Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Later noted as a ''film noir'' specialist, Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and ''Hell's Island'', all ...
on '' Assignment: Paris'' (1952) and did some uncredited work on '' The Lusty Men'' (1952). He directed '' My Pal Gus'' (1952) and '' Rough Shoot'' (1953). '' The Purple Plain'' (1954) was nominated for the Award for Best British Film at the 8th British Academy Film Awards. Parrish followed it with '' Lucy Gallant'' (1955), '' Fire Down Below'' (1957), '' Saddle the Wind'' (1958), and '' The Wonderful Country'' (1959). He did an episode of '' Johnny Staccato'', "The Poet's Touch", and did several episodes of '' The Twilight Zone'', " One for the Angels", " A Stop at Willoughby" and " The Mighty Casey". Parrish returned to features with '' In the French Style'' (1963). He followed it with '' Up from the Beach'' (1965) and '' The Bobo'' (1967) with Peter Sellers. He directed some of Sellers' scenes in the ''
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
'' parody '' Casino Royale'' (1967), he is credited among its five directors. Parrish also directed '' Duffy'' (1968), '' Doppelgänger'' (1969), '' A Town Called Bastard'' (1971) and '' The Marseille Contract'' (1974). His final film, co-directed by Bertrand Tavernier, was '' Mississippi Blues'' (1983). He had an acting role in the film, ''Blue Bayou'' (1990).


Memoirs

Summing up Parrish's career, Allen Grant Richards commented that "Other than his excellent editing work and early directing, Parrish may be most remembered as storyteller from his two books of Hollywood memoirs." Film historian
Kevin Brownlow Kevin Brownlow (born Robert Kevin Brownlow; 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. He is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era, having become inter ...
wrote of Parrish's first memoir, ''Growing Up In Hollywood'' (1976), "His stories about these pictures were marvellous in themselves, and he often came at them sideways, so not only the punchline but the situation took you by surprise. We all entreated him to write them down and in 1976 he did so, producing one of the most enchanting – and hilarious – books about the picture business ever written .. 'Growing Up In Hollywood''ought to be reprinted in this centenary irthyear." The sequel, ''Hollywood Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1988), followed.


Selected filmography


Director

* '' Cry Danger'' (1951) * '' The Mob'' (1951) * '' The San Francisco Story'' (1952) * '' Assignment – Paris!'' (1952) * '' My Pal Gus'' (1952) * '' Rough Shoot'' (1953) * '' The Purple Plain'' (1954) * '' Lucy Gallant'' (1955) * '' Fire Down Below'' (1957) * '' Saddle the Wind'' (1958) * '' The Wonderful Country'' (1959) * '' In the French Style'' (1963) * '' Up from the Beach'' (1965) * '' Casino Royale'' (1967) * '' The Bobo'' (1967) * '' Duffy'' (1968) * '' Doppelgänger'' (1969) * '' A Town Called Bastard'' (1971) * '' The Marseille Contract'' (1974) * '' Mississippi Blues'' (1983)


Editor

*'' The Battle of Midway'' (1942) *'' How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines'' (1943) *'' German Industrial Manpower'' (1943) *'' December 7th (film)'' (1943) *'' That Justice Be Done'' (1945) *'' The Nazi Plan'' (1945) *'' A Double Life'' (1947) *'' Body and Soul'' (1947; with Francis D. Lyon) *'' No Minor Vices'' (1948) *'' All the King's Men'' (1949; with Al Clark) *'' Caught'' (1949) *'' No Sad Songs for Me'' (1950; with W. Lyon) *'' Of Men and Music'' (1951)


Autobiographies

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References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Robert 1916 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American screenwriters American documentary film directors American film editors American male child actors American male film actors American male non-fiction writers American male screenwriters Best Film Editing Academy Award winners Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Los Angeles Film producers from California Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state) Film directors from Los Angeles Male actors from Columbus, Georgia Male actors from Los Angeles Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Screenwriters from California United States Navy personnel of World War II Writers from Columbus, Georgia Writers from Los Angeles