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Biography

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

8.8

The Dragon (voice) (archive sound)

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6

2004

6.3

Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)

The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

0.0

The Duke

New Wine

1941

5.5

Phillips

Kisses for Breakfast

1941

6.6

Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)

The Reluctant Dragon

1941

5.4

George

A Man Betrayed

1941

5.7

Quentin

Tall, Dark and Handsome

1941

6.5

George - Fred's Chauffeur

Love Thy Neighbor

1940

5.6

Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)

One Night in the Tropics

1940

4.0

Samuel Stephens

Hullabaloo

1940

Credits

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6

as The Dragon (voice) (archive sound)

2004

8.8

The Big Parade of Comedy

as Arthur Trevelyan in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.)

1964

6.3

New Wine

as The Duke

1941

0.0

Kisses for Breakfast

as Phillips

1941

5.5

The Reluctant Dragon

as Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)

1941

6.6

A Man Betrayed

as George

1941

5.4

Tall, Dark and Handsome

as Quentin

1941

5.7

Love Thy Neighbor

as George - Fred's Chauffeur

1940

6.5

One Night in the Tropics

as Thompson, Steve's Butler (uncredited)

1940

5.6

Hullabaloo

as Samuel Stephens

1940

4.0

La Conga Nights

as Hammond

1940

7.5

He Married His Wife

as Huggins

1940

5.1

At the Circus

as Whitcomb

1939

6.3

Babes in Arms

as William

1939

6.4

Hotel for Women

as Photographer

1939

6.0

She Married a Cop

as Bekins, the Butler

1939

5.7

The Girl Downstairs

as Hugo

1938

4.5

Listen, Darling

as Abercrombie

1938

6.3

Marie Antoinette

as Prince de Rohan

1938

6.6

Hold That Kiss

as Maurice

1938

6.5

Sally, Irene and Mary

as Oscar

1938

6.0

Love Is a Headache

as Hotchkiss, Carlotta's Butler

1938

5.7

Navy Blue and Gold

as Graves

1937

5.9

Live, Love and Learn

as Alfredo

1937

5.8

Double Wedding

as Mr. Flint, Margit's Bookkeeper

1937

6.6

Wake Up and Live

as Foster

1937

5.3

Broadway Melody of 1938

as Jerry Jason

1937

6.2

The Emperor's Candlesticks

as Albert, Stephan's Butler

1937

5.2

Married Before Breakfast

as Tweed

1937

5.0

Personal Property

as Arthur Trevelyan

1937

6.9

Ready, Willing and Able

as Waiter

1937

5.1

Espionage

as Bill Cordell

1937

6.5

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

as Purser

1937

6.0

Dangerous Number

as Minehardi

1937

5.0

We Who Are About to Die

as John Barkley

1937

6.8

🎬

A Girl's Best Years

as Primrose

1936

5.0

Born to Dance

as Floorwalker

1936

6.1

The General Died at Dawn

as Dining Car Man (uncredited)

1936

6.2

Libeled Lady

as Butler (uncredited)

1936

7.3

The President's Mystery

as Roger

1936

5.3

Roaming Lady

as Waters

1936

5.0

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

as Butler (uncredited)

1936

7.5

The Misleading Lady

as Steve

1920

0.0

Prudence the Pirate

as John Astorbilt

1916

0.0

🎬

The Traffic Cop

as Book Agent

1916

0.0

The Flight of the Duchess

as The Duke

1916

0.0

🎬

Bill Bunks the Bandit

as Bill - a Gentleman from the East

1915

0.0