Albert Parker

Biography

Born in Brooklyn, actor/director Albert Parker spent much of his childhood in England, where his father worked as a business representative. In his late teens, Parker decided upon a theatrical career. He began his film career at Hollywood's Triangle Studios in 1916 as a stock actor in Douglas Fairbanks films; before long, Parker was a Fairbanks director and occasional scripter. While he maintained his professional relationship with Fairbanks well into the 1920s (he helmed Fairbanks' classic swashbuckler The Black Pirate), he also worked with several other major stars, including Clara Kimball Young and Gloria Swanson. One of his best-known directorial efforts was Sherlock Holmes (1922), which, at Parker's personal recommendation, starred John Barrymore as the Great Detective. Briefly retiring from directing when sound came in, Parker signed on as a talent scout for Fox Studios. In 1936, he returned to England, where after directing a brace of murder mysteries he became one of Britain's top talent agents. At the time of his death, Albert Parker was assisting film historian-preservationist Kevin Brownlow in the restoration of the recently rediscovered Sherlock Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi