RIP Frank Parker (ex-Grandpa Shawn, DAYS)

[Khan]

https://deadline.com/2018/09/frank-parker-dead-days-of-our-lives-grandpa-shawn-brady-general-hospital-1202471297/

[Sindacco]

I'm glad DAYS gave him a good exit when he could still perform. He looked fragile at the 50th anniversary party a couple of years ago. May he RIP.

[YRfan23]

So sad! 

RIP! 

[DRW50]

Sad to hear this. When I started reading TV magazines from the '50s I was surprised to see him on covers, and in various articles. That made me 'get' just what a long and successful career he had. He was very charming as Shawn, yet also willing to play some of the harder side of the character in his conflicts with Victor or his kids. A good actor and may he rest in peace.

[JAS0N47]

(DRW50...that's a different Frank Parker (a singer) that people would confuse him with online in more recent years. Frank didn't get into the business until the 1960's. He was only a teen in the 1950's.)

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell, Frank...Thanks for all the years as Grandpa Shawn...I'll miss the twinkle in your eye, the Irish brogue, and the fun and commitment you brought to each and every scene.

 

[DRW50]

 

Oh. Sorry about that. 

[JAS0N47]

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[slick jones]

 

FRANK PARKER

 

NEVER TOO YOUNG      Unknown Role    Unknown Year

ONE LIFE TO LIVE        Unknown Role       Unknown Year

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS   Unknown Role Unknown Year

GENERAL HOSPITAL    Paddy Kelly      1980

DAYS OF OUR LIVES      Grandpa Shawn Brady   1983-84; 1985-89, 1990-2008

 

 

Rest in Peace, Grandpa Shawn

[Roman]

very sad to see this. what a fine artist. ma he rest well and peacefully.

[Gray Bunny]

Aw, sad to hear. I was always surprised how there wasn't an "outcry," so to speak, when he left but I'm guessing he wished to retire and/or had health issues? Either way, he will be missed. 

 

BTW: Anyone know if John Clarke (ex-Mickey) is doing alright? 

[YRfan23]

I’m wondering too....it always seemed like it was hard to understand him and he stuttered a lot when left the show, and that was in 2004.

[Sindacco]

It has been reported that Frank Parker retired from DAYS in 2008 but Ken Corday mentioned in his book about letting FP go.

 

I know some fans love to whine when soaps fire older vets but on DAYS they actually do it too little. Shawn Brady is one of the few older characters that had a good exit. Most of the older ones stick around way too long until they can't work anymore and then their characters die off-screen. Very lackluster.

[AArredondo02]

Did you know that Grandpa Brady almost became a Horton? In 1965, Frank Parker auditioned for the Bill Horton role, but Edward Mallory, who was also Parker's pal, was chosen for the part. Twenty years later, Frank got the opportunity to be on DOOL, playing Shawn Brady, Sr.

[JAS0N47]

FRANK PARKER: IN HIS OWN WORDS: A LOOK BACK AT HIS TIME ON "DAYS OF OUR LIVES"...

 

Frank Parker (Grandpa Shawn), who passed away earlier this month at the age of 79, rarely gave interviews. Here's a look back at some of the few interviews he did during his time on "Days":

 

"When Days first went on the air [in 1965], I read for the part of Bill Horton. Betty and Ted [Corday] were at the readings at Rene Valenti's office at the old Screen Gems. I went in and I read for it, and they said 'Really good, but I think you might be a bit too young.' [Parker was 26 at the time]. Parker then suggested someone else for the role, the man who would eventually get the job: "There is a buddy of mine out here from Pittsburgh. He is a really good actor: Ed Mallory." (from "Days of Our Lives: A Complete History of the Long-Running Soap Opera, by Maureen Russell)

 

In 1986's Everything You Want to Know About Days of Our Lives, Parker had this say about playing Shawn and his time at "Days": "I love the character. They write so well for him, they really do. It is just a lot of fun to play. It is not a chore at all. This place is like going to a party every day. There's a great cast here. One of the best companies I've ever worked with. Talent all the way around...Drake [Hogestyn, John] and I have a great rapport together. Deidre [Hall, Marlena] is without saying. She is the lady that keeps my head up on the show. I couldn't learn my lines without her. Patsy Pease [Kimberly] is amazing. A very talented girl."

 

Parker summed up what he thought about Shawn Brady in 1992's The Wonderful World of Days of Our Lives: He is just a simple man. His family is the forefront of everything that he believes in. The Irish are like that...Family and church, basic beliefs. Nothing fancy, that's just the way you do it." And from 1987's Everything You Want to Know About Days of Our Lives, Parker had this to say: "It will never be lonely at the Brady house! Shawn and Caroline are two caring, loving people and they'll never be at a loss for friends and family." 

 

Asked what his favorite scene was, Parker said this in 1995's "Days of Our Lives: The Complete Family Album" by Lorraine Zenka: "Every scene with my daughters Kimberly and Kayla was always special to me. Even when it's your make-believe kid, you can't help but feel the fear, love, and it's as real in your scene as it would be in your real life. It broke my heart and often brought me to tears to watch Kimberly going through blindness and split personalities."

 

When Parker was asked in 1992's The Wonderful World of Days of Our Lives if he ever felt like he and Peggy McCay (Caroline) were really married, he responded: "There is no way that woman I could ever be married! I have the utmost respect for her. I admire her talent and she is one of the greatest women I have ever known in my life. Married? We could never be, we'd fight all the time. Peg is Peg and she has her causes and things. She is marvelous and so much fun to work with."

 

Parker had this to say about the older generation: "I grew up with my grandparents. I can't imagine a world without older people. It would be like looking at a flower garden with one color flower in it. You could only smell one and what a sin that would be if that was the only flower. That's not the way the world was designed."

[Gray Bunny]

 

Aw that's sweet.