Corey Parker (actor)
Encyclopedia
Corey Parker is an American
actor and acting coach.
, the son of acting coach Rochelle "Rocky" Parker. A graduate of the High School of Performing Arts
, he went on to study with Uta Hagen
, Herbert Berghof
, Susan Batson
, Ivana Chubbuck
, and Lesly Kahn, and become a longtime member of both The Actor's Studio and of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
.
Parker has appeared in movies including Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
and How I Got Into College
. He has appeared on television shows such as thirtysomething, Eddie Dodd, Blue Skies, The Love Boat
and Encino Woman, and co-starred with Tea Leoni
in the 1992-93 Fox sitcom Flying Blind. He later had a recurring role in Will and Grace.
His TV movies include The Lost Language of Cranes
for the BBC
, Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Courage with Sophia Loren
, A Mother's Prayer
with Linda Hamilton
and Destiny, The Elizabeth Taylor Story.
Parker is also an acting coach who has worked with Sean Combs
, Naomi Campbell
and Tyrese
. As of the mid-2000s, he lives in Memphis, Tennessee
.
Known for both his film and television work, Corey Parker has been in the public eye since he landed his first commercial role at the age of four. Determined to become a professional actor, he was accepted at New York's High School of the Performing Arts at age 13. In 1980, the young actor made his stage debut at the New Dramatist Theatre's production of "Red Storm Flower". Parker later left a full scholarship at New York University in order to pursue acting professionally. He debuted in features in Michael Winner's thriller "Scream for Help" (1984) and, by age 20, the dark-haired actor had been invited to join the prestigious Actors Studio. In 1988, Parker gave a breakthrough performance as Epstein in the film adaptation of Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" starring Matthew Broderick. The following year he had starring turns in two college-themed comedies, the cartoonish "How I Got Into College" and a "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" take-off "Big Man on Campus". In both, Parker played variations on his signature role, an endearing nervous wreck.
A familiar face on the small screen as well, Parker made his TV debut in "Don't Touch", a 1985 "ABC Afterschool Special". This was followed by a part in the 1986 CBS docudrama "Courage" starring Sophia Loren as a mother who joins the war on drugs and becomes a decorated DEA agent after finding that her son (played by Parker) was an addict. The next year, he appeared in another CBS docudrama, the miniseries "At Mother's Request". From 1989 to 1990 Parker was featured in the recurring role of Lee Owens, the young housepainter boyfriend of Melanie Mayron's Melissa Steadman, in the ABC drama "thirtysomething". He moved on to series regular on the short-lived legal drama "Eddie Dodd" (ABC, 1991) with Treat Williams as an unconventional defense lawyer. The following year, the actor starred in the Fox comedy series "Flying Blind", playing anxious New Yorker Neil Barash, his characterization often compared (both favorably and unfavorably) to a young Woody Allen. The series, with a supporting cast including Tea Leoni and Clea Lewis, lasted for only one season, but reran on cable's TV Land six years later. No stranger to short-lived series, he starred in yet another in 1994, this time playing a partner in a back-to-nature catalog company on ABC's "Blue Skies". In 1992, Parker had an impressive turn in the acclaimed drama "The Lost Language of Cranes", shown on PBS' "Great Performances". As Elliot Abrams, a young gay man who is growing impatient with his closeted lover, Parker played a character far removed from the awkward and apologetic types for which he is known. More true to form was his turn as writer Eugene Jerome, trying along with his brother Stan (Jonathan Silverman) to break into the big time in the ABC TV-movie "Neil Simon's Broadway Bound", co-starring Anne Bancroft and Jerry Orbach. He also was a credible Eddie Fisher in the miniseries "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" (NBC, 1995). Parker returned to regular series work in UPN's "The Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998–99), as seasick ship doctor John Morgan.
*
* Born:
July 8, 1965 in New York City, New York, USA
* Job Titles:
Actor
Family
* Mother: Rocky Parker.
* Sister: Noelle Parker.
* Son: Charlie Valentin Parker. born c. 1989
* Baker b. 1997
* Spouse: Angela
Education
* New York University, New York, New York,
Milestones
* 1969 Landed first commercial at age four (date approximate)
* 1980 Had first stage role in Red Storm Flower at the New Dramatists Theatre (NYC)
* 1984 Feature film debut, Scream For Help
* 1985 At age 20, was invited to join the Actors Studio (date approximate)
* 1985 TV acting debut, Don t Touch , an ABC Afterschool Special
* 1986 Played Sophia Loren s son in the CBS TV docudrama Courage
* 1987 Starred in the CBS TV miniseries At Mother s Request
* 1988 Had featured role as Epstein in the film adaptation of Neil Simon s Biloxi Blues
* 1989 Starred as a SAT-fearing high school student in the comedy How I Got into College and an undergraduate befriended by a hunchback in the comedy Big Man on Campus
* 1991 Featured in the short-lived ABC series Eddie Dodd
* 1992 Appeared in PBS Great Performances presentation of The Lost Language of Cranes
* 1992 Played budding comedy writer Eugene Jerome in the ABC TV-movie adaptation Neil Simon s Broadway Bound
* 1992 Starred on Fox s comedy series Flying Blind
* 1994 Starred in ABC s short-lived series Blue Skies
* 1995 Played Eddie Fisher in the biopic Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (NBC)
* 1996 Appeared in the TV-movies Encino Woman (ABC) and Mr. and Mrs. Loving (Showtime)
* Co-starred in the UPN series The Love Boat: The Next Wave
* Had a recurring role on ABC s drama thirtysomething as the younger love interest to Melanie Mayron s Melissa
* Raised in Woodstock, New York
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and acting coach.
Biography
Corey Parker was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of acting coach Rochelle "Rocky" Parker. A graduate of the High School of Performing Arts
High School of Performing Arts
The High School of Performing Arts, more formally known as The School of Performing Arts: A Division of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, informally known as "PA", was a public alternative high school in New York, New York, USA that existed from 1948 through...
, he went on to study with Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
, Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof was an Austrian American actor, director and acting coach. He co-founded HB Studio in New York City with his wife Uta Hagen in 1945...
, Susan Batson
Susan Batson
Susan Batson is an American producer, actress, author, and acting coach. Susan's mother, Ruth Batson, was a noted civil rights activist.-As an actress:* Running Out of Time in Hollywood * Everyone's Depressed .... Annette...
, Ivana Chubbuck
Ivana Chubbuck
Ivana Chubbuck is an acting coach and author and is the founder and director of the Ivana Chubbuck Studio. Her students included Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Terrence Howard, Elizabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Djimon Honsou, America Ferrera, Eva Mendes, Kate Bosworth, Ian Somerhalder, April Bowlby and...
, and Lesly Kahn, and become a longtime member of both The Actor's Studio and of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is a membership-based, developmental theatre located in New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.-Overview:...
.
Parker has appeared in movies including Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is a 1985 slasher film. It was released on March 22, 1985. It is the fifth film in the Friday the 13th film series...
and How I Got Into College
How I Got Into College
How I Got Into College is a 1989 romantic comedy film directed by Savage Steve Holland.-Plot:The story follows a girl named Jessica and her attempt to get into Ramsey College, a fictional college in Pennsylvania, and Marlon, a boy who tries to get into Ramsey to pursue Jessica, whom he is in love...
. He has appeared on television shows such as thirtysomething, Eddie Dodd, Blue Skies, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
and Encino Woman, and co-starred with Tea Leoni
Téa Leoni
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
in the 1992-93 Fox sitcom Flying Blind. He later had a recurring role in Will and Grace.
His TV movies include The Lost Language of Cranes
The Lost Language of Cranes (film)
The Lost Language of Cranes is a 1991 British television film. Made by the BBC for their Screen Two series; it is an adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by David Leavitt....
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Courage with Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, A Mother's Prayer
A Mother's Prayer
A Mother's Prayer is a 1995 film made for the USA Network starring Linda Hamilton, in a Golden Globe-nominated performance, as a woman who learns she has contracted the AIDS virus and must make future plans for the care of her only son. The film, which counts Kate Nelligan, S. Epatha Merkerson and...
with Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
and Destiny, The Elizabeth Taylor Story.
Parker is also an acting coach who has worked with Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
, Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
and Tyrese
Tyrese
Tyrese Darnell Gibson , also known simply as Tyrese, is an American R&B singer, rapper, actor, author, former fashion model and MTV VJ. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several Hollywood releases.-Early life:Gibson was born in Los Angeles, California,...
. As of the mid-2000s, he lives in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
Known for both his film and television work, Corey Parker has been in the public eye since he landed his first commercial role at the age of four. Determined to become a professional actor, he was accepted at New York's High School of the Performing Arts at age 13. In 1980, the young actor made his stage debut at the New Dramatist Theatre's production of "Red Storm Flower". Parker later left a full scholarship at New York University in order to pursue acting professionally. He debuted in features in Michael Winner's thriller "Scream for Help" (1984) and, by age 20, the dark-haired actor had been invited to join the prestigious Actors Studio. In 1988, Parker gave a breakthrough performance as Epstein in the film adaptation of Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" starring Matthew Broderick. The following year he had starring turns in two college-themed comedies, the cartoonish "How I Got Into College" and a "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" take-off "Big Man on Campus". In both, Parker played variations on his signature role, an endearing nervous wreck.
A familiar face on the small screen as well, Parker made his TV debut in "Don't Touch", a 1985 "ABC Afterschool Special". This was followed by a part in the 1986 CBS docudrama "Courage" starring Sophia Loren as a mother who joins the war on drugs and becomes a decorated DEA agent after finding that her son (played by Parker) was an addict. The next year, he appeared in another CBS docudrama, the miniseries "At Mother's Request". From 1989 to 1990 Parker was featured in the recurring role of Lee Owens, the young housepainter boyfriend of Melanie Mayron's Melissa Steadman, in the ABC drama "thirtysomething". He moved on to series regular on the short-lived legal drama "Eddie Dodd" (ABC, 1991) with Treat Williams as an unconventional defense lawyer. The following year, the actor starred in the Fox comedy series "Flying Blind", playing anxious New Yorker Neil Barash, his characterization often compared (both favorably and unfavorably) to a young Woody Allen. The series, with a supporting cast including Tea Leoni and Clea Lewis, lasted for only one season, but reran on cable's TV Land six years later. No stranger to short-lived series, he starred in yet another in 1994, this time playing a partner in a back-to-nature catalog company on ABC's "Blue Skies". In 1992, Parker had an impressive turn in the acclaimed drama "The Lost Language of Cranes", shown on PBS' "Great Performances". As Elliot Abrams, a young gay man who is growing impatient with his closeted lover, Parker played a character far removed from the awkward and apologetic types for which he is known. More true to form was his turn as writer Eugene Jerome, trying along with his brother Stan (Jonathan Silverman) to break into the big time in the ABC TV-movie "Neil Simon's Broadway Bound", co-starring Anne Bancroft and Jerry Orbach. He also was a credible Eddie Fisher in the miniseries "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" (NBC, 1995). Parker returned to regular series work in UPN's "The Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998–99), as seasick ship doctor John Morgan.
*
* Born:
July 8, 1965 in New York City, New York, USA
* Job Titles:
Actor
Family
* Mother: Rocky Parker.
* Sister: Noelle Parker.
* Son: Charlie Valentin Parker. born c. 1989
* Baker b. 1997
* Spouse: Angela
Education
* New York University, New York, New York,
Milestones
* 1969 Landed first commercial at age four (date approximate)
* 1980 Had first stage role in Red Storm Flower at the New Dramatists Theatre (NYC)
* 1984 Feature film debut, Scream For Help
* 1985 At age 20, was invited to join the Actors Studio (date approximate)
* 1985 TV acting debut, Don t Touch , an ABC Afterschool Special
* 1986 Played Sophia Loren s son in the CBS TV docudrama Courage
* 1987 Starred in the CBS TV miniseries At Mother s Request
* 1988 Had featured role as Epstein in the film adaptation of Neil Simon s Biloxi Blues
* 1989 Starred as a SAT-fearing high school student in the comedy How I Got into College and an undergraduate befriended by a hunchback in the comedy Big Man on Campus
* 1991 Featured in the short-lived ABC series Eddie Dodd
* 1992 Appeared in PBS Great Performances presentation of The Lost Language of Cranes
* 1992 Played budding comedy writer Eugene Jerome in the ABC TV-movie adaptation Neil Simon s Broadway Bound
* 1992 Starred on Fox s comedy series Flying Blind
* 1994 Starred in ABC s short-lived series Blue Skies
* 1995 Played Eddie Fisher in the biopic Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (NBC)
* 1996 Appeared in the TV-movies Encino Woman (ABC) and Mr. and Mrs. Loving (Showtime)
* Co-starred in the UPN series The Love Boat: The Next Wave
* Had a recurring role on ABC s drama thirtysomething as the younger love interest to Melanie Mayron s Melissa
* Raised in Woodstock, New York