Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress who appeared in some 80 movies and television series. An actress of notable versatility, she was called Woman of a Thousand Faces by Doug McClelland, author of a biography of Parker by the same title.At the age of 18, Parker was signed by Warner Brothers in 1941. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 1950s, for Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951) and Interrupted Melody (1955). Her role in Caged also won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. One of her most memorable roles was that of Baroness Elsa Schrader in the 1965 musical The Sound of Music.
Paul Day Clemens, Richard Parker Friedlob, Sharon Anne Friedlob, Susan Eleanor Friedlob
Parents
Lola Isett, Lester Day Parker
Awards
Volpi Cup for Best Actress
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Movies
The Sound of Music, Caged, Interrupted Melody, Detective Story, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Naked Jungle, Scaramouche, Escape from Fort Bravo, Home from the Hill, A Hole in the Head, Pride of the Marines, The King and Four Queens, The Voice of the Turtle, Valley of the Kings, Many Rivers to Cro...
TV Shows
Bracken's World, Fantasy Island, The Eleventh Hour, The Sound of Music, Vanished
Star Sign
Cancer
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Trademark
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Often portrayed strong willed women
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Quote
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When I'm spotted somewhere, it means that my characterizations haven't covered up Eleanor Parker the person. I prefer it the other way around.
On March 6, 1951, Parker had to abandon her sickbed and flee with her two small children when a fire broke out in her Beverly Hills home. She was in bed with the flu when she was aroused by the smell of smoke. She took her daughters, Susan, 3, and Sharon, 1, and left the house. The blaze destroyed a staircase and a wall with damages estimating at $500.
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In May 1950, she was chosen as "Mother of the Year" by American florists.
Broke the champagne bottle on the nose on the locomotive, launching the "California Zephyr" a well-known passenger train on its inaugural eastbound run from San Francisco to Chicago at the Western Pacific Depot (San Francisco) on March 19, 1949.
Discovered at age 18 by a Warner Bros. talent agent while merely sitting in the audience of the Pasadena Playhouse, and after just one semester of student training there.
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Mother of Susan Eleanor Friedlob (born March 7, 1948), Sharon Anne Friedlob (born April 18, 1950), Richard Parker Friedlob (born October 8, 1952) and Paul Clemens (born January 7, 1958, as Paul Day Clemens). All were born in Los Angeles County, California.
$1.3 Million
