Mary Parker

Mary "Punkins" Parker was born in 1918 in Fort Worth Texas. She was discovered as part of a Paramount Pictures search for beauty contest-considered one of the top 10 most beautiful girls in the country. Prior to that, Punkins had been on the radio, and was a talented dancer. She appeared in a few movies for Paramount, and later signed a contract with MGM. Some of her best work was as a dancer with her partner Billy Daniels, working both in movies and on Broadway. Although somewhat of a household name in the 30's and 40's, Mary Parker has become a relatively unknown actress and performer in recent times. Mary hated the name "Punkins" and insisted being credited as Mary Parker, yet she was often still credited as "Punkins". In her relatively short film career, Mary Parker worked with some top names in the industry, and was a close friend of Burgess Meredith among others. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1998: Before becoming an office manager Mary "Punkin" Parker was both and actress and a dancer. She was under contract to paramount and MGM studios from the late 1930s into the 1940s. She played feature roles in films with Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. During her stay in Hollywood, she dated Howard Hughes. She danced from Hollywood to New York, appearing on Broadway with her partner Billy Daniel. When Mary returned to Fort Worth, she had a weekly program, "Mary Parker Playtime," on WBAP-TV. After this, she had a dance studio on Forest Park Blvd. where she taught dancing for many years. She later became interested in the medical profession and became an office manager for a local physician.