Barnett Parker

Within the British colony of expatriate actors in Hollywood during the 1930s Barnett Parker born 11 September 1886 in Batley Yorkshire England was among the most stereotypical Harrowgate Collegeeducated straightbacked balding and wellintoned Parker caricatured a multitude of unctuous stiffupperlip butlers manservants 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 Pineros The Mind the Paint Girl in 1912 He was well served with further roles in hit plays like Hobsons 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 Coastbased 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 1930s 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