American actor and singer (1940?2017)
Michael Parks
|
---|
|
Born
| Harry Samuel Parks
(
1940-04-24
)
April 24, 1940
|
---|
Died
| May 9, 2017
(2017-05-09)
(aged 77)
|
---|
Occupations
| |
---|
Years active
| 1960?2017
|
---|
Spouses
|
Louise Johnson
(
m.
1956;
div.
1958)
Joanne E. "Jan" Moriarty
(
m.
1964; died 1964)
Carolyn Kay Carson
(
m.
1969;
div.
1977)
Frances Alston Fenci Walker
(
m.
1987;
div.
1996)
[1]
Oriana Parks
(
m.
)
|
---|
Children
| 2, including
James
|
---|
Michael Parks
(born
Harry Samuel Parks
; April 24, 1940 ? May 9, 2017) was an American singer and actor
[2]
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
,
Robert Rodriguez
, and
Kevin Smith
.
Career
[
edit
]
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, 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
played Constant Doyle.
[3]
[4]
He gained recognition in the role of
Adam
in
John Huston
's
The Bible: In the Beginning...
(1966).
[5]
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.
[6]
[7]
He sang "Wayfarin’ Stranger", a duet with pilot episode co-star
Bonnie Bedelia
, and later the theme song for the show, "Long Lonesome Highway",
[8]
which became a No. 20
Billboard
Hot 100
and No. 41
Hot Country Songs
hit.
[9]
"Long Lonesome Highway" also peaked at number 84 in Australia.
[10]
Parks recorded five albums under
MGM Records
(the label of the studio which produced the series) that charted including
Closing The Gap
(1969),
Long Lonesome Highway
(1970), and
Blue
.
[8]
After disputes with the producers of
Bronson
, Parks said he was informally
blacklisted
in Hollywood.
[11]
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 didn't 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 anti-semitic.
[12]
He played in twelve episodes of ABC's
The Colbys
, a spin-off from
Dynasty
, 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
, 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).
[13]
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).
[14]
He again reprised the role of Earl McGraw in both segments of the film
Grindhouse
(2007), making his fourth appearance as the Texas Ranger.
[15]
His son,
James Parks
, played the son of Earl McGraw in
Kill Bill
,
From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
,
Death Proof
, and
Planet Terror
. Parks played a villain in
Kevin Smith
's horror films
Red State
(2011) and
Tusk
(2014).
[14]
Smith later announced on his podcast that Parks had recorded an album during
Red State
's
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
[
edit
]
Parks was born in
Corona, California
to Harry Arthur Parks and Beatrice Adora Dunwoody.
[16]
[17]
He drifted from job to job during his teenage years, including picking fruit, digging ditches, driving trucks, and fighting forest fires.
[16]
Parks married five times. His first marriage in 1956 at age 16 to Louise Johnson lasted until 1958 and produced a daughter.
[18]
[19]
His second marriage in 1964 to actress
Jan Moriarty
lasted only a few months, ending with her apparent suicide from an overdose.
[20]
His third marriage in 1968 to Carolyn Kay Carson produced a son,
James
.
[19]
His fourth marriage to Alston Fenci, whom he married in 1987, ended in divorce in 1996.
[13]
In 1997, he married Oriana. The union lasted until his death.
[18]
Death and reaction
[
edit
]
Parks died on May 9, 2017, in his Los Angeles home at the age of 77 from undisclosed causes.
[21]
He requested a full body burial at sea, which his wife attended alone following a public funeral held at
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Upon hearing the news, director
Kevin Smith
posted on his
Instagram
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."
[22]
[23]
In a
Twitter
post, director
Robert Rodriguez
referred to Michael Parks as "a true legend".
[24]
Documentary
[
edit
]
Kevin Smith
produced a documentary on the life and times of Michael Parks, directed by Michael's former assistant,
Josh Roush
.
[25]
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
.
[26]
It stars
James Parks
,
Kurt Russell
,
Haley Joel Osment
,
Robert Rodriguez
,
Leonard Maltin
,
Mickey Rourke
,
Justin Long
,
Wyatt Russell
,
Mark Frost
, and others.
[27]
[28]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
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
- 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
[
edit
]
- ^
"Obituaries for 8/17"
.
The Daily Sentinel
. August 17, 2005
. Retrieved
July 20,
2019
.
- ^
"Michael Parks"
. Movies & TV Dept.
The New York Times
. 2015. Archived from
the original
on December 23, 2015
. Retrieved
August 23,
2017
.
- ^
"PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF CONSTANT DOYLE (TV)"
.
Raymond Burr
. The Paley Center for Media
. Retrieved
May 7,
2020
.
- ^
Brockman, Dave.
"The Case of Constant Doyle"
.
Perry Mason TV Series
. Big Dave Brockman's Perry Mason TV Series Wiki
. Retrieved
May 7,
2020
.
- ^
Cooley, Patrick (May 12, 2017).
"Actor Michael Parks' seven best roles during his decades-long career"
.
Cleveland
. Advance Local
. Retrieved
May 10,
2020
.
- ^
Nichols, Dave (May 8, 2010).
One Percenter: The Legend of the Outlaw Biker
. Motorbooks.
ISBN
978-0-7603-3829-2
.
- ^
"Michael Parks, Star of Then Came Bronson, Dies at 77"
.
Ultimate Motorcycling
. May 12, 2017
. Retrieved
September 26,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Leszczak, Bob (June 25, 2015).
From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000
. Rowman & Littlefield.
ISBN
978-1-4422-4274-6
.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel (August 2008).
Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008
. Record Research, Inc. p. 315.
ISBN
978-0-89820-177-2
.
- ^
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970?1992
(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 229.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- ^
Liam Brennan
The Blacklisting of Michael Parks: How a Hollywood Star Was Quietly Shunned
,
The Artifice
, September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2019
- ^
"Sung Antiheroes: An Interview with "Goin' Down the Road" Director Donald Shebib"
. October 16, 2013.
- ^
a
b
III, Harris M. Lentz (April 30, 2018).
Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2017
. McFarland.
ISBN
978-1-4766-7032-4
.
- ^
a
b
Gordon, Dr Roger L. (September 7, 2018).
Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures: Volume II
. Dorrance Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-4809-5841-8
.
- ^
Browning, Mark (July 19, 2012).
George Clooney: An Actor Looking for a Role
. ABC-CLIO.
ISBN
978-0-313-39622-9
.
- ^
a
b
Evans, Greg (May 10, 2017).
"Michael Parks Dies: 'Then Came Bronson', 'Kill Bill' Actor Was 77"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
August 10,
2019
.
- ^
"Harry Samuel Parks"
.
California Birth Index
. Retrieved
August 10,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Michael Parks, 'Kill Bill' and 'Twin Peaks' Actor, Dies at 77"
.
NBC News
.
Associated Press
. May 10, 2017
. Retrieved
August 10,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Bucher, Chris (May 10, 2017).
"Michael Parks' Wives: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know"
.
Heavy.com
. Retrieved
September 24,
2020
.
- ^
Frasier, David K. (September 11, 2015).
Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases
. McFarland.
ISBN
978-1-4766-0807-5
.
- ^
"Michael Parks dies, aged 77"
.
Den of Geek
. May 10, 2017
. Retrieved
June 17,
2017
.
- ^
Kreps, Daniel (May 10, 2017).
"Michael Parks, 'Twin Peaks' Actor and Tarantino Favorite, Dead at 77"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
August 23,
2017
.
- ^
Kelley, Seth (May 10, 2017).
"Michael Parks, Character Actor in 'Kill Bill' and 'Tusk,' Dies at 77"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
May 10,
2017
.
- ^
"RIP Michael Parks: Hollywood's most underrated actor?"
.
BBC
. May 10, 2017
. Retrieved
June 17,
2017
.
- ^
Roush, Josh (May 11, 2017).
"Michael Parks and I"
.
Film Threat
. Retrieved
December 14,
2018
.
- ^
"Josh Roush [Interview]"
.
TRAINWRECK'D SOCIETY
. November 5, 2018
. Retrieved
December 14,
2018
.
- ^
"Long Lonesome Highway"
.
ParksDoc.com
. Retrieved
August 16,
2018
.
- ^
Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks
, Kevin Smith, Haley Joel Osment, Wyatt Russell, 2019
, retrieved
August 16,
2018
{{
citation
}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link
)
- ^
Pitts, Michael R. (December 21, 2012).
Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d ed
. McFarland.
ISBN
978-0-7864-6372-5
.
- ^
Harrison, John (September 28, 2012).
Hip Pocket Sleaze: The Lurid World of Vintage Adult Paperbacks
. SCB Distributors.
ISBN
978-1-900486-98-9
.
- ^
Prouty (1996).
Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews, 1993-1994
. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
978-0-8240-3797-0
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Artists
| |
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Other
| |
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