Milton Parsons

American actor (1904–1980)

Milton Parsons
Parsons in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
Born	Ernest Milton Parsons (1904-05-19)May 19, 1904 Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 15, 1980(1980-05-15) (aged 75) Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1939–1978

Ernest Milton Parsons^[1] (May 19, 1904 – May 15, 1980) was an American character actor.^[2]

In 1927, Parsons performed with The Strolling Players of Boston acting company.^[3] On Broadway, he portrayed James Case in Unto the Third (1933), Saul of Tarsus in The Vigil (1948), and Albert Plaschke in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (1950).^[4]

Milton Parsons signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1939 as a character actor. Bald-headed and wide-eyed, with a soft-spoken, British-accented voice (he actually hailed from Massachusetts), Parsons became typecast as morticians, coroners, mad doctors, and dangerous eccentrics, although he often played for comedy with a broad smile and bulging eyes. After one year with M-G-M, he began freelancing and worked steadily for various studios. He appeared in more than 160 films, television shows, and commercials between 1939 and 1978.

Selected filmography

When Tomorrow Comes (1939) - Mr. Henderson, the Organist (uncredited)
Dad for a Day (1939, Short) - Mr. Kincaid (uncredited)
Bad Little Angel (1939) - Minister at Station (uncredited)
Another Thin Man (1939) - Coroner (uncredited)
Judge Hardy and Son (1939) - Florist (uncredited)
Alfalfa's Double (1940, Short) - Willoughby
Edison, the Man (1940) - 'Acid' Graham
We Who Are Young (1940) - Expectant Father (uncredited)
Boom Town (1940) - Aldrich's Assistant (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940) - Parkersville Crazy Man (uncredited)
Sky Murder (1940) - Brock
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) - Arcade Photographer (uncredited)
Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940) - Mr. Lloyd
Behind the News (1940) - Eddie
Murder Among Friends (1941) - Douglass
Dead Men Tell (1941) - Gene LaFarge
Cracked Nuts (1941) - Olson (uncredited)
Hold That Ghost (1941) - Harry Hoskins (uncredited)
Dressed to Kill (1941) - Max Allaron
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) - Choir Master (uncredited)
Man at Large (1941) - Mr. Sartoris
A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942) - Rogers' Butler
Castle in the Desert (1942) - Arthur Fletcher
Roxie Hart (1942) - Announcer
The Remarkable Andrew (1942) - Purchase Agent Sam Savage
My Favorite Blonde (1942) - Mortician
The Girl from Alaska (1942) - Sanderson
Fingers at the Window (1942) - Jarvis J. Banhoff - First Axe-Murderer (uncredited)
The Great Man's Lady (1942) - Foreman (uncredited)
Mokey (1942) - Mr. Larkspur (uncredited)
Whispering Ghosts (1942) - Dr. Walter Bascomb
The Man in the Trunk (1942) - Doctor Pluma
Who Done It? (1942) - Coroner (uncredited)
The Hidden Hand (1942) - John Channing
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942) - Radio Announcer (John's 4th Wife) (uncredited)
Over My Dead Body (1942) - George Lawrin
Holy Matrimony (1943) - Clerk (uncredited)
Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) - Madison (uncredited)
Rationing (1944) - Hank
The Hitler Gang (1944) - Judge / Teacher (uncredited)
Gambler's Choice (1944) - John Anderson (uncredited)
Cry of the Werewolf (1944) - Adamson
Murder in the Blue Room (1944) - Chauffeur (uncredited)
Lost in a Harem (1944) - Crystal Gazer
The Great John L. (1945) - Health Restaurant Waiter (uncredited)
Murder, He Says (1945) - Hardy Sympathizer (uncredited)
Anchors Aweigh (1945) - Man with Beard (uncredited)
Dick Tracy (1945) - Deathridge - the Undertaker
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) - Medcraft - Mortician (uncredited)
Dark Alibi (1946) - Johnson
Bowery Bombshell (1946) - Prof. Schnackenberger
Rendezvous with Annie (1946) - Expectant Father (uncredited)
Margie (1946) - Jefferson (uncredited)
Rolling Home (1946) - Charlie Kane
The Verdict (1946) - Robertson, Undertaker (uncredited)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) - Higby
The Mighty McGurk (1947) - Ryan, the Undertaker (uncredited)
Fall Guy (1947) - Unnamed Patient (uncredited)
Calcutta (1947) - Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Blaze of Noon (1947) - Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
The Crimson Key (1947) - Hackett / Huntley G. Harlow (uncredited)
They Won't Believe Me (1947) - Court Clerk (uncredited)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947) - Mr. Fennabeck (uncredited)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) - Butler Tyler
Gas House Kids in Hollywood (1947) - Prof. Gately Crawford
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) - Dr. A. Tomic
Bury Me Dead (1947) - Waters, the Butler
That Hagen Girl (1947) - Al - Station Agent (uncredited)
The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947) - You Know Who
The Judge Steps Out (1948) - Superior Court Judge (uncredited)
The Cobra Strikes (1948) - Mr. Weems, Mortician
Smart Woman (1948) - Witness (uncredited)
Secret Service Investigator (1948) - Miller
Shanghai Chest (1948) - Mr. Grail - Undertaker
The Walls of Jericho (1948) - Joe (uncredited)
Big Jack (1949) - Robbed Schoolmaster (uncredited)
Outcasts of the Trail (1949) - Elias Dunkenscold
White Heat (1949) - Willie Rolf (uncredited)
Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) - Tony - Dishwasher (uncredited)
Dancing in the Dark (1949) - Crossman's Butler (uncredited)
The Capture (1950) - Thin Man
The Jackpot (1950) - Piano Player (uncredited)
Somebody Loves Me (1952) - Doctor (uncredited)
Last of the Comanches (1953) - Satterlee the Prophet
Down Three Dark Streets (1954) - Hogarth (uncredited)
Rogue Cop (1954) - Tucker - Interrogated 'Creep' (uncredited)
How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) - Mr. X - Bald Barber
The King's Thief (1955) - Adam Urich
Diane (1956) - Suitor (uncredited)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956) - Broadcasting Manager (uncredited)
The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) - Lewis Clark Dobbs (uncredited)
Bells Are Ringing (1960) - Pedestrian Next to Barney Lampwick (uncredited)
Elmer Gantry (1960) - Revivalist (uncredited)
The Silent Call (1961) - Mohammed
The Two Little Bears (1961) - Dr. Fredricks
Rawhide (1961) – Williams in S3:E28, "Incident of the Blackstorms"
The Notorious Landlady (1962) - Mysterious Man (uncredited)
The Music Man (1962) - Farmer - Iowa Stubborn (uncredited)
The Haunted Palace (1963) - Jabez Hutchinson
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1964) - Caretaker
Marnie (1964) - Bald Man (uncredited)
The Scorpio Letters (1967) - Mr. Atkinson
2000 Years Later (1969) - Man wearing Bowler Hat in TV Control Room
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1970, TV Series) - Reverend Farley
The Brady Bunch (1972, “Power of the Press”) - Mr. Price
Dirty O'Neil (1974) - Police Chief

References

^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 576. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
^ Hal Erickson (2014). "Milton Parsons". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
^ "Players score hit with fine program". The North Adams Transcript. Massachusetts, North Adams. July 16, 1927. p. 9. Retrieved June 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Milton Parsons". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.