Michael Parks

Michael Parks
Parks as Jim Bronson (1969)
Born	Harry Samuel Parks (1940-04-24) April 24, 1940 Corona, California U.S.
Occupation	Actor

Michael Parks (born Harry Samuel Parks; April 24, 1940) is an American actor and singer.^[1][2] He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came Bronson.

Personal life

Parks was born Harry Samuel Parks in Corona, California, the son of a truck driver father.^[3] He drifted from job to job during his teenage years. He was married at the age of 15.^[4]

Career

Parks appeared opposite Bette Davis as Cal Leonard in the 1963 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of Constant Doyle." He gained recognition in the role of Adam in John Huston's The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) featuring his concealed frontal nudity. Swedish actress Ulla Bergryd portrayed his wife, Eve. Bergryd, who hails from Stockholm, dropped from sight shortly thereafter and was not seen in the movies again, except in Apollo Goes on Holiday two years later. In 1961, Parks portrayed the nephew of series character George MacMichael (Andy Clyde) on the ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan.

His other early roles included an appearance in two NBC series, the legal drama Sam Benedict, in the role of Larry Wilcox in the 1962 episode entitled "Too Many Strangers", and the medical drama The Eleventh Hour, as Mark Reynolds in the 1963 segment, "Pressure Breakdown." He also appeared in The China Lake Murders and Stranger by Night, having portrayed a police officer in both. Parks was the star of the television series Then Came Bronson from 1969 to 1970. He sang the theme song for the show, "Long Lonesome Highway," which became a #20 Billboard Hot 100 and #41 Hot Country Songs hit.^[5] Albums he recorded under MGM Records (the label of the studio which produced the series) include Closing The Gap (1969), Long Lonesome Highway (1970), and Blue. He also had various 45 rpm records of songs included on these albums.

He subsequently played Philip Colby during the second season (1986–1987) of ABC's Dynasty spin-off series The Colbys. He appeared as Irish mob boss Tommy O'Shea in Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994), French-Canadian drug runner Jean Renault in the ABC television series Twin Peaks, Doctor Banyard in Deceiver (1997), Texas Ranger Earl McGraw in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), which was written by Tarantino and directed by Rodriguez, and then took a leading role as Ambrose Bierce in its straight-to-video prequel From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000). He also played two roles in Tarantino's Kill Bill, reprising Earl McGraw in Vol. 1, and playing Esteban Vihaio in Vol. 2. He has most recently reprised the role of Earl McGraw in both segments of the Tarantino/Rodriguez film Grindhouse.

His son, James Parks, is also an actor. He has played the son of his father's character, Earl McGraw, four times: Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, Death Proof and Planet Terror.

In July 2010, at the San Diego Comic Con, filmmaker Kevin Smith announced that Parks had been cast as the villain (Pastor Abin Cooper), in his upcoming horror film Red State. Smith later announced on his podcast "Plus One" that Parks had recorded an album during Red State's production, after Smith and producer Jon Gordon noticed his singing talent during filming. The album, titled The Red State Sessions, was released August 15, 2011, as a download from the film's website.

Filmography

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode "The Cadaver" (1958)
• The Law and Mr. Jones, episode "One by One" (1961)
• Straightaway, episode "Pledge a Nightmare" (1961)
• Target: The Corruptors, episode "Nobody Gets Hurt" (June 1, 1962)
• Stoney Burke, episode "The Mob Riders" (1962)
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, episode "Diagnosis: Danger" (1963)
• The Greatest Show on Earth, episode "The Hanging Man" (1963)]
• Perry Mason, episode "The Case of the Constant Doyle" (1963)
• Arrest and Trial, episode "We May Be Better Strangers" (December 1, 1963)
• Channing (1963–1964) with Jason Evers; two ABC-TV episodes as Dante Donati
• Route 66, episode "Cries of Persons Close to One" (January 31, 1964)
• Wild Seed (1965) starring Michael Parks and Celia Kaye
• Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965) (as Bus Riley) with Ann-Margret, Kim Darby, Jocelyn Brando, Larry Storch, David Carradine
• The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) as Adam
• The Idol (1966) as Marco, with Jennifer Jones and John Leyton
• The Happening (1967)
• Stranger on the Run as Vincent McKay (1967)
• Then Came Bronson as Jim Bronson (1969–70) (26 episodes)
• Between Friends (1973)
• Last Hard Men (1976)
• Escape from Bogen County (1977)
• The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977) as Robert F. Kennedy
• Love and the Midnight Auto Supply (1978) as Duke
• Rainbow, film with Andrea McCardle and Rue McClanahan, (1978)
• North Sea Hijack (1979) as Harold Shulman
• Savannah Smiles (1982) as Lt Savage
• Hard Country (1981) as Royce
• The Return of Josey Wales, (1986) as Josey Wales
• The Equalizer, episode "Nocturne," 1986
• The Equalizer, episode "Target Of Choice," 1988
• The China Lake Murders, as Officer Donnelly (1990)
• Twin Peaks, as Jean Renault in 5 episodes (1990–1991)
• The Hitman (1991) as Ronny "Del" Delany
• Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) as Tommy O'Shea
• Walker Texas Ranger (Season 3 Episode 19, 1996), as played Caleb Hooks
• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw
• Niagara, Niagara (1997) as Walter
• Deceiver (1997) as Doctor Banyard
• Wicked (1998) as Detective Boland
• From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000) as Ambrose Bierce
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) as Earl McGraw
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) as Esteban Vihaio
• The Listening (2006)
• Grindhouse (segments Planet Terror/Death Proof) (2007) as Earl McGraw
• El Muerto (2007) as Sheriff Stone
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) as Henry Craig
• Noble Things (2007) as Pete Collins
• Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010) as Fritz Tremor
• Red State (2011) as Pastor Abin Cooper
• Argo (2012) as Jack Kirby
• Django Unchained (2012)
• We Are What We Are (2013)
• Tusk (2014) as Mr.Howe

Album discography

• 1969 - Closing The Gap (MGM)
• 1970 - Long Lonesome Highway (MGM)
• 1970 - Blue (MGM)
• 1970 - Lost & Found (Verve)
• 1971 - Best Of Michael Parks (MGM)
• 1981 - You Don't Know Me (First American)
• 1998 - Coolin' Soup (Listen)
• 2011 - The Red State Sessions (SModcast)

References

External links

• Michael Parks at the Internet Movie Database