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Emory Parnell
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Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Parnell was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent eight months in the Arctic in 1929, looking for gold in that area's wastelands. He also worked as a telegrapher.
Parnell spent his early years as a concert violinist. He performed on the Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits until 1930, when he relocated to Detroit, Michigan, to narrate and act in commercial and industrial films. A 1923 newspaper article described an upcoming Lyceum performance of "Emory Parnell, the one man band," saying that Parnell "plays an accordion, the snare drum and base [sic] drum, all at the same time."
During part of the Chautauqua years, Parnell had a family act that included his wife. In 1970, she recalled, "[w]e covered every state as well as Canada, Alaska and New Zealand." The Parnells resumed the act during the Korean War, doing "three to six programs a week in Army camps."
Seeking better opportunities in Hollywood, Parnell and his wife moved to Los Angeles, California, where, helped by his red-faced Irish look of frustration, he immediately began to appear in films in roles such as policemen, doormen, landlords, and small town businessmen. One of his first films was Doctor Rhythm (1938).
Although his appearances were often in "B" films (playing storekeeper Billy Reed in several of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies), he also performed in "A" films, including portraying a Paramount studio executive who sang about avoiding libel suits to open 1941's Louisiana Purchase. Parnell was also part of writer-director Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors in the 1940s, appearing in five of Sturges's films, including The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, where he played the mean-spirited Mr. Tuerck, the chief antagonist of Constable Kockenlocker (played by William Demarest). He also appeared as grumpy socialite Ajax Bullion in the Three Stooges short subject All the World's a Stooge.
In the late 1930s, Parnell was a member of the cast of Grouch Club on NBC.
In May 1949, Parnell appeared on Broadway for the first and only time, in the play Mr. Adam, which ran for only five performances.
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Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Parnell was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent eight months in the Arctic in 1929, looking for gold in that area's wastelands. He also worked as a telegrapher.
Parnell spent his early years as a concert violinist. He performed on the Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits until 1930, when he relocated to Detroit, Michigan, to narrate and act in commercial and industrial films. A 1923 newspaper article described an upcoming Lyceum performance of "Emory Parnell, the one man band," saying that Parnell "plays an accordion, the snare drum and base [sic] drum, all at the same time."
During part of the Chautauqua years, Parnell had a family act that included his wife. In 1970, she recalled, "[w]e covered every state as well as Canada, Alaska and New Zealand." The Parnells resumed the act during the Korean War, doing "three to six programs a week in Army camps."
Seeking better opportunities in Hollywood, Parnell and his wife moved to Los Angeles, California, where, helped by his red-faced Irish look of frustration, he immediately began to appear in films in roles such as policemen, doormen, landlords, and small town businessmen. One of his first films was Doctor Rhythm (1938).
Although his appearances were often in "B" films (playing storekeeper Billy Reed in several of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies), he also performed in "A" films, including portraying a Paramount studio executive who sang about avoiding libel suits to open 1941's Louisiana Purchase. Parnell was also part of writer-director Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors in the 1940s, appearing in five of Sturges's films, including The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, where he played the mean-spirited Mr. Tuerck, the chief antagonist of Constable Kockenlocker (played by William Demarest). He also appeared as grumpy socialite Ajax Bullion in the Three Stooges short subject All the World's a Stooge.
In the late 1930s, Parnell was a member of the cast of Grouch Club on NBC.
In May 1949, Parnell appeared on Broadway for the first and only time, in the play Mr. Adam, which ran for only five performances.
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