Summary
Harriet Oettinger Parsons (1906 – 1983) was an American film producer, actress, director, and magazine writer; one of the few female producers in the United States at the time. Her mother was famed gossip columnist Louella Parsons.
Harriet Parsons | |
|---|---|
 Louella Parsons and her daughter Harriet Parsons, 1959 | |
| Born | Harriet Oettinger Parsons 1906 Burlington, Iowa, US |
| Died | 1983 (aged 76–77) |
| Education | Wellesley College |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, actress, and director |
| Spouse |
King Kennedy
(m. 1939; div. 1946) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent |
|
Biography edit
Beginnings edit
Harriet Oettinger Parsons was born in 1906 in Burlington, Iowa,[1] the daughter of Louella Parsons and Harry Martin.[2]
She appeared as "Baby Parsons" in several movies, which included The Magic Wand (1912), written by her mother.[3] Harriet attended Wellesley College, graduating in 1928.[2][4]
Writing edit
She began working as writer for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer in 1928 but left after a year to become a columnist and associate editor for Photoplay as well as writing for other magazines such as Liberty.[3][5] She left to write for Hearst's International News Service and Universal Service in 1931 and worked there until 1933, when she went to work for Columbia Pictures as a producer.[3] She wrote for The Los Angeles Examiner from 1935 through 1943; had a syndicated column for Hearst from 1938–1940 (Hollywood in Review); and had her own weekly radio show on NBC in 1938, Hollywood Highlights.[6]
Producer career edit
In 1933, she began working for Columbia Pictures producing their Screen Snapshots documentary shorts and in 1940 she moved to Republic Pictures, directing and producing a series of documentary shorts called Meet the Stars, in which she commented on the goings-on of Hollywood A-listers.[3][7][8] She produced her first feature film, Joan of Ozark, in 1942 and was then hired by RKO as a feature film producer in 1943.[3][9] When Howard Hughes took over, Parsons was one of the only producers he kept on.[10] She worked at RKO for 12 years, although the experience was a frustrating one: The studio often reassigned stories she'd chosen to other producers.[11] She was one of only three female producers active in the United States from 1943 to 1955 (the others being Virginia Van Upp and Joan Harrison),[5] and in 1953 was the sole woman member of the Screen Producer's Guild.[12] Parsons bought a home in the Deep Well neighborhood of Palm Springs, California in 1955.[13] From 1956 to 1957 she worked for 20th Century Fox Television.[3] She also co-produced Benn Levy's play Rape of the Belt on Broadway in November 1960.[3][14]
Personal life edit
In 1931, she and actor Edward Woods announced their engagement; it was broken off by 1932.[2][15] She married actor and playwright King Kennedy in September 1939; the couple separated in 1944.[16][17] Parsons sued him for divorce in March 1945, citing cruelty.[18] Parsons' marriage was a classic "cover" for her lesbianism and she and King hardly ever lived together, and by the 1950s she was living with publicist Lynn Bowers.[19]
Parsons adopted a daughter, Evelyn Farney, who became a dancer.[11]
She was a co-founder (with her mother) of the Hollywood Women's Press Club and was a director and member of the entertainment committee member of the Hollywood Canteen during World War II.[3]
Death edit
Parsons died in 1983 at the age of 76 after suffering from cancer for two years. She was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.[citation needed]
Selected filmography edit
- Joan of Ozark (1942)
- The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
- Night Song (1947)
- I Remember Mama (1948)
- Never a Dull Moment (1950)
- Clash by Night (1952)
- Susan Slept Here (1954)
References edit
- ^ Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (1999). Women in world history: a biographical encyclopedia. Yorkin Publications. ISBN 9781414412672.
- ^ a b c "Harriet Parsons Will Wed Actor". Dixon Evening Telegraph. March 24, 1931. p. 3. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituaries". Daily Variety. January 4, 1983. p. 8.
- ^ Roper, Virginia Bruce; Dyson, Helen (1928). The Wellesley Legenda. Boston: Senior class of Wellesley College. p. 81. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ a b Smyth, J. E. (2018). Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190840839.
- ^ Upi (1983-01-04). "Harriet Parsons, Film Maker; Daughter of Louella Parsons". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ^ "Harriet Parsons' Work Praised". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 6, 1941. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Newspaperwoman Gets New Contract". The Hackensack Record. September 25, 1934. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Parsons, Louella (April 22, 1941). "Zanuck and RKO Will Share Maureen O'Hara's Contract". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Jewell, Richard B. (2016). Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0520964242.
- ^ a b Barbas, Samantha (2016). The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons. University of California Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0520249851.
harriet parsons daughter evelyn.
- ^ "Parsons, Harriet (1906–1983) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ^ Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. pp. 247–48, 250. ISBN 978-1479328598.
- ^ Harriet Parsons at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Reviewing 1931 in Filmdom". The New York Daily News. January 3, 1932. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Louella Parsons' Daughter Marries". The Austin American-Statesman. September 29, 1929. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Hopper, Hedda (August 8, 1944). "Film Producer and Writer Separated". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Harriet Parsons Sues for Divorce". The Pittsburgh Press. March 13, 1945. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Mann, William J. Behind the Scenes: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood 1910-1969. New York: Viking, 2001. pp. 195.