Jameson Parker

124
Jameson Parker bigraphy, stories - Film

Jameson Parker : biography

November 18, 1947 –

Francis Jameson Parker Jr. (born November 18, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his role of A.J. Simon on the 1980s television series Simon & Simon.

Biography

Parker was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 18, 1947. He attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., and a Swiss prep school.New York Times: , accessed March 4, 2012 He studied drama at Beloit College and acted in student theater productions. While living in Washington, D.C., he landed a job with a production of The Great White Hope at the Arena Stage and then acted in theatrical productions of Caligula and Indians. After completing his degree at Beloit in 1971,TV Guide: , accessed March 4, 2012 he performed in dinner theater and summer stock in the Washington, D.C., area.

In 1972, he moved to New York City, where he secured several television commercials and appeared in off-Broadway plays. He was cast as Dale Robinson in the daytime drama Somerset. He also created the role of Brad Vernon on One Life to Live.

Parker made his motion picture debut in The Bell Jar (1979) and starred in A Small Circle of Friends (1980), in which he played one of three radical college students during the 1960s.New York Times: , accessed March 4, 2012 The United Artists film received a limited theatrical release and grossed under $1 million."50 Top-Grossing Films". (Week ending March 19, 1980). Variety, March 22, 1980 Another film from early in his acting career was the controversial White Dog (1982).

In addition, he played the leads in several CBS television movies: Women at West Point (1979),New York Times: , accessed March 4, 2012 Anatomy of a Seduction (1979),New York Times: , accessed March 4, 2012 The Gathering II (1979), The Promise of Love (1980), Callie and Son (1981), and A Caribbean Mystery (1983).

He appeared in Simon & Simon from 1981 to 1988, and in 1987 starred alongside Donald Pleasance and Alice Cooper in John Carpenter’s horror movie Prince of Darkness.

In 1985, Beloit awarded him its Distinguished Service Citation.Beloit College: , accessed March 4, 2012

Parker guest-starred on the ABC series Family and Hart to Hart, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He appeared in the television movies Who is Julia? (1986), Dead Before Dawn (1993), and Violation of Trust (1991). He appeared on the sitcom Major Dad. With his Simon & Simon co-star Gerald McRaney he appeared in the theatrical movie American Justice, which he co-produced.New York Times: , accessed March 4, 2012 After completing this movie, he returned to Beloit College to star in a live summer stock theatrical production as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Parker has written four books:

  • An Accidental Cowboy recounts his life after Simon & SimonESPN Outdoors: , accessed March 4, 2012
  • To Absent Friends: A Collection of Stories of the Dogs We Miss (compiler)
  • American Riff
  • The Horseman at Midnight

Parker has often said that he was not the typical "Hollywood type", and that he is very much a homebody.

In the fall of 1992, Parker was shot by a neighbor near his home. He made a full recovery, and the neighbor was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine years in prison.Los Angeles Times: , accessed March 4, 2012