Harriet Parsons

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
Born
Harriet Oettinger Parsons

August 23, 1906
Burlington, Iowa, US
DiedJanuary 2, 1983 (aged 76)
Santa Monica, California, US
EducationWellesley College
OccupationFilm producer, actress, and director
Spouse(s)
King Kennedy
​
​
(m. 1939; div. 1946)​
ChildrenEvelyn Farney (adopted)
Parent(s)John Dement Parsons
Louella Oettinger

Biography
Louella Parsons and her daughter Harriet Parsons, 1959

Beginnings

Harriet was born in 1906 in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of Louella Parsons and her first husband, John Dement Parsons.[1]

She appeared as "Baby Parsons" in several movies, which included The Magic Wand (1912), written by her mother.[2] Harriet attended Wellesley College, graduating around 1929.[1]

Writing

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.[2][3] 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.[2] 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.

Producer career

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.[2][4][5] She produced her first feature film, Joan of Ozark, in 1942 and was then hired by RKO as a feature film producer in 1943.[2][6] When Howard Hughes took over, Parsons was one of the only producers he kept on.[7] 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.[8] 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).[3] Parsons bought a home in the Deep Well neighborhood of Palm Springs, California in 1955.[9] From 1956 to 1957 she worked for 20th Century Fox Television.[2] She also co-produced Benn Levy's play Rape of the Belt on Broadway in November 1960.[2][10]

Personal life

In 1931, she and actor Edward Woods announced their engagement; it was broken off by 1932.[1][11] She married actor and playwright King Kennedy in September 1939; the couple separated in 1944.[12][13] Parsons sued him for divorce in March 1945, citing cruelty.[14] Parsons adopted a daughter, Evelyn Farney, who would become a dancer.[8]

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.[2]

Death

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.[15] She was survived by her daughter, Evelyn.[16]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Harriet Parsons Will Wed Actor". The Dixon Evening Telegraph. March 24, 1931. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. "Obituaries". Daily Variety. January 4, 1983. p. 8.
  3. Smyth, J. E. (2018). Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190840839.
  4. "Harriet Parsons' Work Praised". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 6, 1941. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. "Newspaperwoman Gets New Contract". The Hackensack Record. September 25, 1934. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  6. Parsons, Louella (April 22, 1941). "Zanuck and RKO Will Share Maureen O'Hara's Contract". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  7. Jewell, Richard B. (2016). Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0520964242.
  8. 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.
  9. Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. pp. 247–48, 250. ISBN 978-1479328598.
  10. Harriet Parsons at the Internet Broadway Database
  11. "Reviewing 1931 in Filmdom". The New York Daily News. January 3, 1932. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  12. "Louella Parsons' Daughter Marries". The Austin American-Statesman. September 29, 1929. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  13. Hopper, Hedda (August 8, 1944). "Film Producer and Writer Separated". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  14. "Harriet Parsons Sues for Divorce". The Pittsburgh Press. March 13, 1945. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  15. Harriet Oettinger Parsons at Find a Grave
  16. "Harriet Parsons, Film Maker; Daughter of Louella Parsons". The New York Times. UPI. 1983-01-04. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
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