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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0662065
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2884677
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Filmography (Movies)
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6
Character:Dragon (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
Release Date:31/05/2004
The Big Parade of Comedy
Character:Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)
Release Date:02/09/1964
New Wine
Character:The Duke
Release Date:10/09/1941
Kisses for Breakfast
Character:Phillips
Release Date:05/07/1941
The Reluctant Dragon
Character:Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Release Date:19/06/1941
A Man Betrayed
Character:George
Release Date:07/03/1941
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Character:Quentin
Release Date:24/01/1941
Love Thy Neighbor
Character:George - Fred's Chauffeur
Release Date:27/12/1940
One Night in the Tropics
Character:Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)
Release Date:15/11/1940
Hullabaloo
Character:Samuel Stephens
Release Date:25/10/1940
La Conga Nights
Character:Hammond
Release Date:31/05/1940
He Married His Wife
Character:Huggins
Release Date:19/01/1940
At the Circus
Character:Whitcomb
Release Date:20/10/1939
Babes in Arms
Character:William
Release Date:10/10/1939
Hotel for Women
Character:Photographer
Release Date:03/08/1939
She Married a Cop
Character:Bekins, the Butler
Release Date:11/07/1939
The Girl Downstairs
Character:Hugo
Release Date:23/12/1938
Listen, Darling
Character:Abercrombie
Release Date:21/10/1938
Marie Antoinette
Character:Prince de Rohan
Release Date:26/08/1938
Hold That Kiss
Character:Maurice
Release Date:13/05/1938
Sally, Irene and Mary
Character:Oscar
Release Date:04/03/1938
Love Is a Headache
Character:Hotchkiss, Carlotta's Butler
Release Date:14/01/1938
Navy Blue and Gold
Character:Graves
Release Date:19/11/1937
Live, Love and Learn
Character:Alfredo
Release Date:29/10/1937
Double Wedding
Character:Mr. Flint, Margit's Bookkeeper
Release Date:15/10/1937
Wake Up and Live
Character:Foster
Release Date:23/08/1937
Broadway Melody of 1938
Character:Jerry Jason
Release Date:20/08/1937
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Character:Albert, Stephan's Butler
Release Date:02/07/1937
Married Before Breakfast
Character:Tweed
Release Date:18/06/1937
Personal Property
Character:Arthur Trevelyan
Release Date:19/03/1937
Ready, Willing and Able
Character:Waiter
Release Date:06/03/1937
Espionage
Character:Bill Cordell
Release Date:26/02/1937
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Character:Purser
Release Date:19/02/1937
Dangerous Number
Character:Minehardi
Release Date:22/01/1937
We Who Are About to Die
Character:John Barkley
Release Date:08/01/1937
A Girl's Best Years
Character:Primrose
Release Date:25/12/1936
Born to Dance
Character:Floorwalker
Release Date:27/11/1936
The General Died at Dawn
Character:Dining Car Man (uncredited)
Release Date:17/11/1936
Libeled Lady
Character:Butler (uncredited)
Release Date:09/10/1936
The President's Mystery
Character:Roger
Release Date:28/09/1936
Roaming Lady
Character:Waters
Release Date:02/05/1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Character:Butler (uncredited)
Release Date:09/04/1936
The Misleading Lady
Character:Steve
Release Date:20/12/1920
Prudence the Pirate
Character:John Astorbilt
Release Date:21/10/1916
The Traffic Cop
Character:Book Agent
Release Date:08/04/1916
The Flight of the Duchess
Character:The Duke
Release Date:11/03/1916
Bill Bunks the Bandit
Character:Bill - a Gentleman from the East
Release Date:16/12/1915
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