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IMDbPro

Willard Parker(1912-1996)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Willard Parker
In Britain, a group of survivors fights off a deadly alien invasion that uses robots and a poisonous gas to take over the Earth.
Play trailer2:12
The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)
2 Videos
28 Photos
As New York-born Worcester Van Eps, he was a meter reader who turned professional tennis player, In 1937, aged 25, however, he parlayed his fair-haired good looks and obvious athleticism into an acting career and changed his name to the friendlier and less ethnic marquee moniker (common during that time of Hollywood) of Willard Parker.

After a number of uncredited film roles and a couple of appearances on the Broadway stage with "Johnny Belinda" (1940) and "Lady in the Dark" (1943), Willard was signed by Columbia in the 1940s and moved into "B" movie leads and co-leads. A reliable player, most of his roles, which fell into the action adventure category, went by unnoticed, including the swashbuckling film The Fighting Guardsman (1946), and the western actioners Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949), Apache Drums (1951), The Great Jesse James Raid (1953), Lone Texan (1959) and his "Cole Younger" in Young Jesse James (1960). He also had a secondary non-singing role in his best-known movie, playing a bombastic Texan vying for the affections of Kathryn Grayson in the musical Kiss Me Kate (1953).

In the 1950s, Willard developed a semi-strong following partnered with Harry Lauter in the TV action show, Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955) (1955-1959). He eventually retired to sell real estate. Married twice, his second wife was beautiful blonde actress Virginia Field, who appeared with him in the British sci-fi flick, The Earth Dies Screaming (1964). They had no children together, but Willard did have a son by his previous marriage to former stage actress Marion Pierce.

In 1974, he suffered a stroke that effectively ended his career. He died at age 84, on December 4, 1986, of heart failure.
BornFebruary 5, 1912
DiedDecember 4, 1996(84)
BornFebruary 5, 1912
DiedDecember 4, 1996(84)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank

Photos28

Anita Louise and Willard Parker in The Fighting Guardsman (1946)
Don Ameche, Patricia Barry, Janis Carter, Dorothy Lamour, Jeanne Manet, and Willard Parker in Slightly French (1949)
Evelyn Keyes and Willard Parker in Renegades (1946)
Audrey Long and Willard Parker in David Harding, Counterspy (1950)
Jim Bannon and Willard Parker in The Great Jesse James Raid (1953)
Robert Young, Marguerite Chapman, Barton MacLane, Mike Mazurki, Willard Parker, and Akim Tamiroff in Relentless (1948)
Edward G. Robinson, Wade Boteler, Edward Brophy, Jane Bryan, Ruth Donnelly, Ralph Dunn, Paul Harvey, Ben Hendricks Jr., Harold Huber, Allen Jenkins, Bobby Jordan, Willard Parker, and Doc Stone in A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
Edward G. Robinson, Jane Bryan, and Willard Parker in A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
Willard Parker
Willard Parker
Jim Bannon, Edgar Buchanan, Evelyn Keyes, Willard Parker, Larry Parks, and Forrest Tucker in Renegades (1946)
Hugh Herbert, Janis Carter, Marguerite Chapman, Chester Morris, and Willard Parker in One Way to Love (1946)

Known for

Virginia Field, Willard Parker, and Dennis Price in The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)
The Earth Dies Screaming
5.8
  • Jeff Nolan
  • 1964
The Fighting Guardsman (1946)
The Fighting Guardsman
5.7
  • Baron Francois de St.-Hermain, alias Roland the Bandit
  • 1946
Wallace Ford, Tom Neal, Willard Parker, and Barbara Payton in The Great Jesse James Raid (1953)
The Great Jesse James Raid
4.7
  • Jesse James
  • 1953
Lola Albright, Hillary Brooke, and Willard Parker in Bodyhold (1949)
Bodyhold
5.8
  • Tommy Jones
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Jane Russell and Howard Keel in Waco (1966)
    Waco
  • Virginia Field, Willard Parker, and Dennis Price in The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)
    The Earth Dies Screaming
  • Going My Way (1962)
    Going My Way
  • Air Patrol (1962)
    Air Patrol
  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
    Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
  • Allison Hayes, Willard Parker, and Dan Simmons in The High Powered Rifle (1960)
    The High Powered Rifle
  • Walk Tall (1960)
    Walk Tall
  • Merry Anders, Robert Dix, Emile Meyer, Willard Parker, and Ray Stricklyn in Young Jesse James (1960)
    Young Jesse James
  • Audrey Dalton, Willard Parker, and Grant Williams in Lone Texan (1959)
    Lone Texan
  • Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955)
    Tales of the Texas Rangers
  • M Squad (1957)
    M Squad
  • Lure of the Swamp (1957)
    Lure of the Swamp
  • Naked Gun (1956)
    Naked Gun
  • The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950)
    The Adventures of Ellery Queen
  • The Ford Television Theatre (1952)
    The Ford Television Theatre

Videos2

Trailer
Trailer 2:14
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:12
Official Trailer

Personal details

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    • February 5, 1912
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • December 4, 1996
    • Rancho Mirage, California, USA(heart failure)
    • Virginia FieldOctober 12, 1951 - January 2, 1992 (her death)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    One son with Marion Pierce. He became a banker.

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