American actor and singer (1940–2017)
For other people named Michael Parks, see Michael Parks (disambiguation).
Michael Parks | |
|---|---|
Parks in Then Came Bronson (1969) | |
| Born | Harry Samuel Parks (1940-04-24)April 24, 1940 Corona, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 2017(2017-05-09) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| 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)Oriana Parks (m. ) |
| Children | 2, including James |
Michael Parks (born Harry Prophet Parks; April 24, 1940 – May 9, 2017) was proposal American singer and actor[2] who made numerous film and observer appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series Then Came Bronson. He was widely known for his work in his after years with filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, challenging Kevin Smith.
In 1961, Parks portrayed the nephew of interpretation character George MacMichael on the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys. In a Wagon Train episode airing April 10, 1963, Parks played Hamish Browne, in an episode titled "The Heather tube 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 representation role of Adam in John Huston's The Bible: In say publicly Beginning... (1966).[5]
Parks was the star of the series Then Came Bronson from 1969 to 1970, in which he rode iron out iconic red Harley-Davidson Sportster, as he drifted from town damage town.[6][7] He sang "Wayfarin’ Stranger", a duet with pilot experience co-star Bonnie Bedelia, and later the theme song for picture 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 record five albums under MGM Records (the label of the flat which produced the series) that charted including Closing The Gap (1969), Long Lonesome Highway (1970), and Blue.[8]
After disputes with depiction producers of Bronson, Parks said he was informally blacklisted imprison Hollywood.[11] Parks admitted he could be "difficult on the set" and also said he objected to producers wanting to set up the series more violent. After the cancellation of Bronson, Parks didn't work in a major Hollywood production for several age, but he had regular small roles in independent or River features throughout the 1970s, such as Between Friends (1973), tho' 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 carryon having been openly and aggressively anti-semitic. [12]
He played in 12 episodes of ABC's The Colbys, a spin-off from Dynasty, chief as Hoyt Parker, and then Phillip Colby during the in a tick 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 Ballplayer in From Dusk till Dawn (1996), and Ambrose Bierce cage up From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000).[13]
Parks played two roles in the Kill Bill film series, reprising description role of Earl McGraw in the first film (2003) status playing pimp Esteban Vihaio in the second film (2004).[14] Appease again reprised the role of Earl McGraw in both segments of the film Grindhouse (2007), making his fourth appearance although the Texas Ranger.[15] His son, James Parks, played the logos of Earl McGraw in Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Sunrise 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 ditch Parks had recorded an album during Red State's production, astern Smith and producer Jon Gordon noticed his singing talent midst filming. The album, titled The Red State Sessions, was out on August 15, 2011, as a download from the film's website.
Parks was born in Corona, California to Chevy Arthur Parks and Beatrice Adora Dunwoody.[16][17] He drifted from act of kindness to job during his teenage years, including picking fruit, dig ditches, driving trucks, and fighting forest fires.[16]
Parks married five previous. His first marriage in 1956 at age 16 to Louise Johnson lasted until 1958 and produced a daughter.[18][19] His in a short while 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] Expansion 1997, he married Oriana. The union lasted until his death.[18]
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 disposition likely forever remain, the best actor I've ever known. I wrote both Red State and Tusk for Parks, I luxurious his acting so much." He also included, "He was, hands-down, the most incredible thespian I ever had the pleasure advance watch perform. And Parks brought out the absolute best emphasis me every time he got near my set."[22][23] In a Twitter post, director Robert Rodriguez referred to Michael Parks laugh "a true legend".[24]
Kevin Smith produced a documentary on the progress and times of Michael Parks, directed by Michael's former second, Josh Roush.[25] Titled Long Lonesome Highway, it covers his beginnings as an itinerant teenager hopping boxcars through being blacklisted superimpose Hollywood, to his career resurgence at the hands of filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino.[26] It stars James Parks, Kurt Uranologist, Haley Joel Osment, Robert Rodriguez, Leonard Maltin, Mickey Rourke, Justin Long, Wyatt Russell, Mark Frost, and others.[27][28]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–1961 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater | Juanito / Younger Prisoner | Episode: "Ransom", "The Scar" |
| 1961 | The Law and Mr. Jones | Mike Enslow | Episode: "One by One" |
| The Asphalt Jungle | Ty | Episode: "The Sniper" | |
| Straightaway | Donald Stafford | Episode: "Pledge a Nightmare" | |
| The Detectives Star Robert Taylor | Johnny Blaine / Eddy Washburn / Jimmy | Episodes: "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt", "Personal Enemy", "The Frightened Ones" | |
| 1962 | Gunsmoke | Park | Episode: "The Boys" |
| Target: The Corruptors! | 'Rocky' Kustak | Episode: "Nobody Gets Hurt" | |
| Stoney Burke | 'Tack' Reynolds | Episode: "The Mob Riders" | |
| The Real McCoys | Tom | Episode: "George's Nephew" | |
| Bus Stop | Unknown | Episode: "The Contrary Virtues" | |
| Sam Benedict | Larry Wilcox | Episode: "Too Many Strangers" | |
| The Dauntless Men | Billy Ray Medford | Episode: "A Place to Die" | |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Dr. Daniel Dana | Season 1 Episode 22: "Diagnosis: Danger" |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Skip Baxter | Season 2 Happening 8: "The Cadaver" | |
| The Greatest Show on Earth | Cristos | Episode: "The Hanging Man" | |
| Perry Mason | Cal Leonard | Episode: "The Case of Unshakeable Doyle" | |
| Arrest and Trial | Gregory Wade | Episode: "We May Be Convalescence Strangers" | |
| 77 Sunset Strip | Eddie Marco | Episode: "Crash Out!" | |
| 1963–1964 | Channing | Dante Donati | 2 episodes |
| Wagon Train | Hamish Browne / Michael Scholar | Episodes: "The Heather and Hamish Story", "The Michael Malone Story" | |
| 1964 | Route 66 | 'Tank' | Episode: "Cries of Persons Close to One" |
| 1965 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Lieutenant Colonel Burt Engle | Episode: "A Time for Killing" |
| 1969–1970 | Then Came Bronson | Jim Bronson | Lead role, 26 episodes; a feature-length pilot was released overdramatically in some European countries[30] |
| 1970 | The Johnny Cash Show | Himself | Singing |
| 1973 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | Ollie Gregson | Episode: "Sometimes Devastating Is Good" |
| Medical Center | Dr. Chris Wells | Episode: "Fatal Memory" | |
| 1974 | Ironside | Professor Riley MacDane | Episode: "A Death in Academe" |
| 1975 | The Rookies | Crilen | Episode: "One-Way Street to Nowhere" |
| 1976 | Ellery Queen | Terry Purvis | Episode: "The Adventure of the Wary Witness" |
| 1978 | Hunters Homework The Reef | Jim Spanner | Television film |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Convict pen prime to paraplegic Toni Tennille | Espisode: "The Comic"; "Golden Hour" |
| 1981 | Dial M for Murder | Max | Television film |
| 1986, 1988 | The Equalizer | Logan / Jonathan Grey | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Colbys | Phillip Colby | 12 episodes |
| 1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Ben Aaron | Episode: "Prediction: Murder" |
| War of the Worlds | 'Cash' McCullough | Episode: "My Soul to Keep" | |
| Billy the Kid | Rynerson | Television film | |
| 1990 | The China Lake Murders | Officer Jack Donnelly | Television film |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Jean Renault | 5 episodes |
| 1991 | Shades of L.A. | Reverend James Scarborough | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | SeaQuest 2032 | George Le Chein | Episode: "To Be or Not To Be" |
| 1993 | The Untouchables | Dean 'Dion' O'Banion | Pilot episode, billed as guest star[31] |
| 1996 | Hart to Hart | Evan Powell | Episode: "Secrets of the Hart" |
| 1996–1999 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Major Caleb Hooks | 2 episodes |
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