Willard Parker

Acting

Willard Parker

Born — Died

1912-02-06 — 1996-12-04

Place of birth

New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

49 titles

Willard Parker (born Worster Van Eps, February 5, 1912 – December 4, 1996) was an American film and television actor. He was a leading man under contract to Columbia Pictures in the 1940s and starred in the TV series Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955–58).

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 6 titles

The Earth Dies Screaming poster
6.2

A crack test pilot lands to find the planet has been devastated by unknown forces. There are a few survivors, so he organizes them in a plan to ward off control by a group of killer robots.

The Earth Dies Screaming

1964

Waco poster
6.7

Preacher Sam Stone and his new beautiful wife Jill stand by the grave of Sheriff Billy Kelly, who died trying to bring law-and-order to Emporia, Wyoming. Among the mourners are businessman George Gates, mayor Ned West and his daughter Patricia. The mayor rejects Gates' suggestion that he release gunfighter Waco from jail to clean up the town. When Patricia is attacked by a cowboy after leaving her boyfriend Scotty Moore, the mayor finally decides it is time accept the governor;s offer of amnesty for Waco. Jill Stone's first reaction, when learning that Waco has been released, is to leave town before Waco finds out that she, his former fiancée, has married the town preacher while Waco was in jail. Town boss Joe Gore is not overjoyed, either, but Ike and Pete Jenner eagerly await the chance to shoot Waco for the death of their brother. Written by Les Adams

Waco

1966

Walk Tall poster
5.7

To keep peace, an Army captain (Willard Parker) hunts for an outlaw-gang leader (Kent Taylor) who is raiding Indians.

Walk Tall

1960

The High Powered Rifle poster
7.5

A private detective (Willard Parker) falls for the girlfriend (Allison Hayes) of a racketeer whom he believes has targeted him for death.

The High Powered Rifle

1960

Young Jesse James poster
4.8

When Missouri farm boy Jesse James witnesses the lynching of his father by the Yankees, he forsakes his family's homestead to find his brother Frank, a soldier in Quantrill's Raiders, a renegade band of Confederates. Bent on revenge, Jesse begs to join the raiders.

Young Jesse James

1960

Air Patrol poster
4.3

L.A. detective Sgt. Castle and his two partners investigate the theft of a valuable Fragonard painting by a thief who pilots a helicopter.

Air Patrol

1962

1950s · 15 titles

Kiss Me Kate poster
6.5

A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.

Kiss Me Kate

1953

The Great Jesse James Raid poster
6.0

The famed outlaw is talked into saddling up for one more bank robbery.

The Great Jesse James Raid

1953

The Vanquished poster
4.9

A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.

The Vanquished

1953

Apache Drums poster
6.3

A gambler is thrown out of a western town, but returns when the town is suddenly threatened by a band of marauding Apaches.

Apache Drums

1951

The Secret Fury poster
5.5

The wedding of Ellen and David is halted by a stranger who insists that the bride is already married to someone else. Though the flabbergasted Ellen denies the charge, the interloper produces enough evidence that his accusation must be investigated. Ellen and David travel to the small coastal town where her first wedding allegedly occurred. There, they meet a number of individuals whose stories make Ellen question her own sanity.

The Secret Fury

1950

Caribbean poster
6.3

Francis Barclay, a former member of the British Admiralty, who was captured in the early 1700s, and sold into slavery, by Andrew McAllister, and forced into piracy, enlists the aid of Dick Lindsay, to help him invade MacAllister's fortified island. The latter falls in love with MacAllister's daughter,Christine.

Caribbean

1952

Hunt the Man Down poster
6.3

A lawyer uncovers secrets behind a 12-year-old murder case.

Hunt the Man Down

1950

Naked Gun poster
6.5

Don Pablo Salazar steals a fortune in jewels from an Indian tribe and an Aztec medicine man puts a curse on the jewels until they are returned. Years later, an American insurance man promises to deliver the Salazar fortune to the rightful heir...

Naked Gun

1956

Sangaree poster
6.8

Lamas plays an indentured servant who rises to power in Georgia shortly after the Revolutionary War.

Sangaree

1953

My True Story poster
6.6

Ann Martin is serving time as a jewel thief. Paroled and determined to stay clean, she quickly finds out that her freedom was bought by an old, vicious boss that has picked her for a job.

My True Story

1951

Lure of the Swamp poster
7.0

Simon Lute ekes out a modest living chartering his skiff to tourists and guiding them through the labyrinthine bayou.

Lure of the Swamp

1957

Lone Texan poster
7.0

After the Civil War, a Texan who served in the Union army comes back home to find himself ostracized by his neighbors for having fought against the Confederacy. On top of that, he finds that his younger brother is now the sheriff, and is ruling the town with an iron hand.

Lone Texan

1959

Emergency Wedding poster
6.0

Dr. Helen Hunt is a physician married to millionaire Peter Judson Kirk Jr., who is jealous his wife is spending too much time with her male patients. He makes a fool of himself trying to prove her guilt.

Emergency Wedding

1950

David Harding, Counterspy poster
6.4

A Counterspy in the US military is killed under suspicious circumstances. His friend, Jerry Baldwin, a Navy Commander, is assigned to replace him and stop a saboteur in a torpedo factory.

David Harding, Counterspy

1950

The Bandit Queen poster
4.2

Zara Montalve, half Spanish and half America, returns to her native California in time to see her parents murdered for their hacienda and gold by Sheriff Jim Harding and his gang. Posing as Lola Belmont, an American visiting from Detroit, teams up with Joaquin Murietta, posing as Carlos Del Rio, to form a Robin-Hood type band that takes vengeance on the gang and restores stolen gold to its rightful owners, aided by militia leader Dan Hinsdale.

The Bandit Queen

1950

1940s · 11 titles

Calamity Jane and Sam Bass poster
6.1

Drifter Sam Bass shows up in Denton, Texas (soon to host a great horse race) looking for work. Before long, he attracts the attention of pretty storekeeper Katherine Egan (the sheriff's sister) and that wild frontiers woman, Calamity Jane. Circumstances make Sam richer by a very fast race horse. But his seemingly good luck with horses and women leads him to disaster. Will he be forced into a life of crime?

Calamity Jane and Sam Bass

1949

The Mating of Millie poster
6.9

Self-sufficient in life and successful in business, prim and proper Millie McGonigle wants just one more thing, a child. When she asks to adopt orphan Tommy Bassett, but learns that she will first have to have a husband, Millie turns to a recently fired bus driver, Doug Andrews. Though he has no interest in marriage, Doug offers to help Millie find a husband by transforming her into a beautiful and exciting woman, one who catches the eye of two eligible bachelors, including the orphanage's president.

The Mating of Millie

1948

Renegades poster
5.8

The daughter of a prominent citizen marries an outlaw's son.

Renegades

1946

You Gotta Stay Happy poster
6.8

Indecisive heiress Dee Dee Dillwood is pushed into marrying her sixth fiancée, but unable to face the wedding night, she flees into the adjacent hotel room of commercial pilot Marvin Payne, who just wants to sleep. She then persuades him to take her to California.

You Gotta Stay Happy

1948

The Fighting Guardsman poster
8.5

A French Baron robs Louis XVI like Robin Hood.

The Fighting Guardsman

1945

The Wreck of the Hesperus poster
7.0

The story of an ex-sea captain who uses devious means to make his salvage company a success. Based on Longfellow's famous poem.

The Wreck of the Hesperus

1948

Slightly French poster
7.5

A film director, in bad standing with his studio, tries to turn a local carnival dancer into a "French" movie star and pass her off as his big new discovery.

Slightly French

1949

One Way to Love poster
7.0

A Chicago team of radio scriptwriters must split up when he takes a job with his bride-to-be's father, and the other must write commercial jingles.

One Way to Love

1946

Relentless poster
6.4

A man wrongly accused of murder tracks the true culprit across the desert.

Relentless

1948

What a Woman poster
6.3

An author and a literary agent become involved after selling film rights to his racy book.

What a Woman

1943

Bodyhold poster
4.3

A plumber with a girlfriend turns pro wrestler for a crooked promoter.

Bodyhold

1949

1930s · 10 titles

That Certain Woman poster
5.6

A gangster's widow fights for love despite society's disapproval.

That Certain Woman

1937

A Slight Case of Murder poster
6.4

Former bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with foreclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.

A Slight Case of Murder

1938

Love Is on the Air poster
6.2

A newscaster gets demoted for exposing the town's criminal activities over the airwaves.

Love Is on the Air

1937

The Adventurous Blonde poster
5.3

The third of nine Torchy Blane movies. Angry that police detective Steve McBride (Barton MacLane) is giving preferential treatment to his reporter-fiancée, Torchy Blane (Glenda Farrell), reporters from a rival newspaper plan a fake murder with the idea that Torchy's paper will print the story and look foolish. The tables are turned when the fake murder turns out to be the genuine article.

The Adventurous Blonde

1937

Over the Goal poster
5.0

The Carlton State star quarterback is wrongly thrown in jail, almost guaranteeing a major loss as well as costing the college a donation which would save the school from closing.

Over the Goal

1937

The Devil's Saddle Legion poster
3.8

Tal is in a lot of trouble. Seems that his father has been murdered while he was in Montana and they put the blame on him. Also, he has been framed and sentenced to 10 years hard labor for another murder which he did not do. The crooks need convict labor to build the dam so they convict innocent people for a pool of cheap labor. But Karan believes that Tal, using the name Smith J. Brown, could not be a killer. Unknown to her, her step brother, Hub, is part of the gang.

The Devil's Saddle Legion

1937

Alcatraz Island poster
5.1

A man who has been railroaded into prison is framed for the murder of a fellow inmate and must prove his innocence.

Alcatraz Island

1937

The Zero Hour poster
5.3

A celebrated Broadway actress and a wealthy widowed businessman are brought together through their shared affection for a young orphan.

The Zero Hour

1939

Missing Witnesses poster
7.0

A detective and his bumbling sidekick join the crackdown on racketeering in '30s New York City.

Missing Witnesses

1937

The Invisible Menace poster
4.3

Army Private Eddie Pratt smuggles his new bride into camp in hopes of having a happy wedding night. Instead they discover a murder. Colonel Rogers of Army Intelligence arrives to take over the case. The prime suspect, Jevries, is well-known to Rogers, who sets out to get a confession from Jevries even though there are plenty of other suspects.

The Invisible Menace

1938

Series credits

M Squad poster
5.4

Lt. Frank Ballinger is a no-nonsense plain clothes cop in the elite M Squad Division. The Squad's task is to root out organised crime and corruption in America's Second City, Chicago.

M Squad

1957

Going My Way poster
5.8

Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series

Going My Way

1962

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars poster
7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars poster
7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars poster
7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars poster
7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951