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
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
as Butler (uncredited)
The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
as Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Libeled Lady (1936)
as Butler (uncredited)
At the Circus (1939)
as Whitcomb
Babes in Arms (1939)
as William
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
as Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette (1938)
as Prince de Rohan
The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)
as Albert, Stephan's Butler
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6 (2004)
as Dragon (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
as Dining Car Man (uncredited)
Born to Dance (1936)
as Floorwalker
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
as Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)
Double Wedding (1937)
as Mr. Flint, Margit's Bookkeeper
Navy Blue and Gold (1937)
as Graves
The Girl Downstairs (1938)
as Hugo
A Man Betrayed (1941)
as George
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
as Jerry Jason
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
as Purser
He Married His Wife (1940)
as Huggins
Sally, Irene and Mary (1938)
as Oscar
Wake Up and Live (1937)
as Foster
Listen, Darling (1938)
as Abercrombie
Ready, Willing and Able (1937)
as Waiter
The Misleading Lady (1920)
as Steve
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)
as Quentin
Live, Love and Learn (1937)
as Alfredo
The Traffic Cop (1916)
as Book Agent
Hullabaloo (1940)
as Samuel Stephens
Hold That Kiss (1938)
as Maurice
Roaming Lady (1936)
as Waters
Personal Property (1937)
as Arthur Trevelyan
The President's Mystery (1936)
as Roger
La Conga Nights (1940)
as Hammond
Kisses for Breakfast (1941)
as Phillips
Bill Bunks the Bandit (1915)
as Bill - a Gentleman from the East
Love Thy Neighbor (1940)
as George - Fred's Chauffeur
Love Is a Headache (1938)
as Hotchkiss, Carlotta's Butler
Dangerous Number (1937)
as Minehardi
Hotel for Women (1939)
as Photographer
She Married a Cop (1939)
as Bekins, the Butler
We Who Are About to Die (1937)
as John Barkley
Espionage (1937)
as Bill Cordell
Prudence the Pirate (1916)
as John Astorbilt
Married Before Breakfast (1937)
as Tweed
The Flight of the Duchess (1916)
as The Duke
New Wine (1941)
as The Duke
A Girl's Best Years (1936)
as Primrose