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