James Parrott

James Parrott

Born: August 1, 1897
Died: May 10, 1939
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
From Wikipedia

James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase.

James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Blanche Thompson Parrott. In 1903, his father died from a heart attack, leaving the family in bad financial shape, which forced them to move in with a relative. Charley Jr. quit school, so he could go to work, in order to support his mother and brother. Eventually the call of the stage beckoned him, and Charley Jr. left home at age 16 to travel the vaudeville circuit as a singer and comedic performer. By the time James had reached his teens, he too, had quit school, and became involved with the street gangs of Baltimore.

Later, Charley's connections in the film industry helped get his younger brother established in movies, and he would appear during the 1920s in a series of relatively successful comedies for producer Hal Roach. He was billed first as "Paul Parrott," then "Jimmie Parrott." Approximately 75 comedies were produced from 1921 to 1923, with titles continuing to be released through Pathé until 1926. Frequent co-stars included Marie Mosquini, Jobyna Ralston, Eddie Baker, and Sunshine Sammy.

Parrott is probably best known as a comedy director. As "James Parrott," he specialized in the two-reel misadventures of Laurel and Hardy, including the Oscar-winning classic The Music Box, and Helpmates.

During the 1930s Parrott had acquired serious drinking and drug problems (his diet medications were really addictive amphetamines) and although still able to direct quality shorts, he had developed a reputation as unreliable. By the mid-1930s his work was spotty: Stan Laurel used him sporadically to contribute gags to the Laurel and Hardy features, and he would direct an Our Gang short in 1934, plus several acceptable entries in Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly series.

By 1937, Parrott was accepting any jobs that came his way. He could no longer be counted on to direct or write, and relied on his brother to support him financially. There was a brief marriage to Ruby Ellen McCoy in 1937, but as his various addictions worsened, so did his state of mind.

Parrott died at the age of 41 of heart failure. His brother Charley was devastated, and died 13 months later.

Movies for James Parrott...

The King
Title: The King
Character: Minor Role (uncredited)
Released: June 14, 1930
Type: Movie
The king is a juvenile dolt who tries the patience of the shrewish queen. While she's in the throne room awaiting him, he's outside playing with guns, drilling his soldiers, and dallying with the wife of a new minister. The queen catches him kissing her, her husband figures out that something fishy is going on, and the king tries his best to proceed with his plans for a night out. The queen contrives to keep him cuffed in the bedroom: king, queen, minister, and coquette end up in a game of musical beds. Will his royal highness get his night out?
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Pay the Cashier
Title: Pay the Cashier
Released: February 14, 1926
Type: Movie
The penniless tourist, "Appetite Andy" (Paul Parrott) stops by at the Hollywood Cafateria (sic) where the gullible boss (Mark Jones) welcomes him in to sample many of the soups and delicacies available to customers. After savoring many of the dishes, Andy refuses them all and attempts to leave, never intending to pay. The boss is having none of it and drags him back inside and puts him to work in the kitchen. The head chef (Charles Stevenson) is chopping food when the order comes in for chicken to be prepared. He instructs the new employee to grab a chicken (from a crate in the corner) and "prepare" it.
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Soft Pedal
Title: Soft Pedal
Character: Willing
Released: January 31, 1926
Type: Movie
An opportunistic umbrella salesman attempts to save a musician and his daughter from blackmail.
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Don't Butt In
Title: Don't Butt In
Character: The Roustabout
Released: January 17, 1926
Type: Movie
James Parrott doing all kinds of handy work.
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Between Meals
Title: Between Meals
Character: In Trouble
Released: January 3, 1926
Type: Movie
James Parrott & Ernest Morrison gets chased around a lot. Filmed in 1921 and copyrighted in 1922, but not released until 1926.
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Are Parents Pickles?
Title: Are Parents Pickles?
Character: Fire Salesman
Released: November 8, 1925
Type: Movie
James Parrott joins every lodge in town to get in good with people as he tries to sell his fire extinguishers.
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The Caretaker's Daughter
Title: The Caretaker's Daughter
Character: The Caretaker (as Jimmie Parrott)
Released: October 10, 1925
Type: Movie
The two-reel silent film comedy The Caretaker's Daughter was distributed by Pathe in 1925. Produced by the prolific Hal Roach, the film stars the great Charley Chase in a case of multiple incarnations!
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The House of Flickers
Title: The House of Flickers
Released: March 15, 1925
Type: Movie
The troubles of a movie projectionist in a newly-purchased theater are chronicled in this two-reeler starring Paul Parrot and Mildred June.
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A Deep Sea Panic
Title: A Deep Sea Panic
Released: September 28, 1924
Type: Movie
A cruel sea captain shanghais Jimmie to work on his ship, but Jimmie's girlfriend also stows away on board, disguised as a sailor.
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Sittin' Pretty
Title: Sittin' Pretty
Character: Bearded Lunatic
Released: September 27, 1924
Type: Movie
Charley Chase comedy.
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Get Busy
Title: Get Busy
Character: Taller pal
Released: April 27, 1924
Type: Movie
A couple of pals tries to stay out of trouble, without much luck.
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Join the Circus
Title: Join the Circus
Character: Trainer
Released: December 2, 1923
Type: Movie
'Snub' Pollard wants to hang himself but figures joining the circus was better idea.
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Dear Ol' Pal
Title: Dear Ol' Pal
Character: Lucian Dillgiggle
Released: November 11, 1923
Type: Movie
Two lifelong friends vie for the affection of the same woman.
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No Pets
Title: No Pets
Released: October 7, 1923
Type: Movie
James Parrott having a lot of pets destroying the place.
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Take the Air
Title: Take the Air
Character: Iron-worker
Released: September 9, 1923
Type: Movie
James Parrott, little Sammy Brooks, Baker and Jones ("the strong guy" = the drunk) are all workers on a construction-sit run by violent and exploitative boss Noah Young and it is a "building a skyscraper" comedy.
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Post No Bills
Title: Post No Bills
Character: The Bill Poster
Released: August 5, 1923
Type: Movie
Paul Parrott plays an obsessive-compulsive bill poster in this thoroughly average Hal Roach comedy from 1923. Hired to help publicize a new Gloria Snootful picture, Paul goes bonkers with glue and paper and ends up attaching promotional material to any surface within his reach, including the rear ends of a number of people, though his attempt to nail a poster to a glass window is somewhat less successful.
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The Uncovered Wagon
Title: The Uncovered Wagon
Character: Bill Bunion
Released: July 7, 1923
Type: Movie
Hal Roach short is a spoof of the 1923 Western COVERED WAGON, which was a huge hit for Paramount. In this film a group of people are heading out West to Hollywood so they pack up their "wagons" and head out where they must battle various elements including crossing a dangerous river and battling Indians. The "wagons" are actually cars with a cover on them and the Indians even ride in on bicycles so you can tell the type of humor that Roach is going for.
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The Smile Wins
Title: The Smile Wins
Released: April 8, 1923
Type: Movie
James Parrott as a very persistent book salesman.
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Shoot Straight
Title: Shoot Straight
Released: March 10, 1923
Type: Movie
SHOOT STRAIGHT - starring Paul Parrott, with Jobyna Ralston, Eddie Baker and George Rowe. A rarely-seen comedy short. Parrott is a hapless hunter in this predecessor to Tex Avery toons of the 1940s, and in a series of inventive gag sequences fails to capture squirrel, rabbit, chinchilla, bobcat, duck, and bear all in one reel.
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Tight Shoes
Title: Tight Shoes
Character: The New Clerk
Released: February 25, 1923
Type: Movie
The setting is a shoe store and the action is pretty frenetic. You get to see Paul lose the store's money, catch a shoe thief, knock down a bunch of shelves and more.
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Jailed and Bailed
Title: Jailed and Bailed
Character: Paul (as Paul Parrott)
Released: February 11, 1923
Type: Movie
A silent comedy short starring Jobyna Ralston and James Parrott.
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Paste and Paper
Title: Paste and Paper
Released: January 13, 1923
Type: Movie
Well executed but unexceptional one-reeler about a couple of incompetent paperhangers. James Parrott, brother of Charley Chase, was an equally skilled man behind the camera, later writing and directing some of Roach's best two-reelers, before he died too young, but while the gags here are well done, he never really developed much of a personality in these pieces and they are not, somehow, quite as sharp as the stuff he was co-starring in with Sid Saylor two or three years before. The extended gag with the plank of wood seesawing is typical.
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Watch Your Wife
Title: Watch Your Wife
Released: January 7, 1923
Type: Movie
A James Parrott comedy short.
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Blaze Away
Title: Blaze Away
Released: December 3, 1922
Type: Movie
Paul is practicing the art of being a cowboy. He consults a book before firing his gun, climbing onto a saddle on top of a chair and then falling off and dressing his wounds. He then gets back on his 'saddle' and fires his gun again, this time in the direction of another man who has just entered the room. Paul leaves abruptly and rides into town on a horse, and straight through a crowded saloon. A town marshal sees this as act act of bravery and rewards Paul with a sheriff's badge immediately. A fearful rival makes his mark when he lights his cigarette by tossing it into the air and shooting at it to ignite it!
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Harvest Hands
Title: Harvest Hands
Character: The Son
Released: November 19, 1922
Type: Movie
Paul, a great college athlete, is sent to his uncle's farm to be developed, but turns against the continual round of chores. And at the table he is continually elbowed aside by the huskier farmhands, until he gives up in disgust. But a last attempt to understand the intricacies of the tractor results in his demolishing the house, and the farmer's daughter aids his escape.
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Shine 'Em Up
Title: Shine 'Em Up
Character: Paul, the Hustler
Released: November 4, 1922
Type: Movie
Paul's career as a shoeshine man is interrupted when he is mistaken for an escaped convict, but after the Station Master gives him a job at the train station he proves his worth.
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The Golf Bug
Title: The Golf Bug
Character: Paul
Released: October 30, 1922
Type: Movie
The Golf Bug,1922, directed by James D. Davis, starring James "Paul" Parrott and Jobyna Ralston, is a short silent comedy film.
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Shiver and Shake
Title: Shiver and Shake
Character: The Newlywed Husband
Released: October 22, 1922
Type: Movie
A landlord is attending his new tenants' rollicking and well-attended housewarming party. As midnight arrives, a ghostly apparition appears outside the window--and our frightened hero immediately breaks out the shotgun to fend off the phantom menace.
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Face the Camera
Title: Face the Camera
Released: October 1, 1922
Type: Movie
Hapless photographer James Parrott attempts to shoot a bathing beauty pageant.
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The Landlubber
Title: The Landlubber
Released: September 9, 1922
Type: Movie
Paul Parrott comedy produced by Hal Roach.
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Touch all the Bases
Title: Touch all the Bases
Character: Paul Parrott
Released: August 13, 1922
Type: Movie
After many difficulties getting into a baseball game with his girl, Paul is pressed into service as a pinch hitter.
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Take Next Car
Title: Take Next Car
Character: Chief Engineer
Released: July 29, 1922
Type: Movie
In this 1922 Pathe-distributed, Hal Roach silent-era comedy, the owner of a local streetcar business is in danger of losing his franchise, but the streetcar operator (played by Paul Parrott) and his girl friend (who happens to be the boss's daughter; portrayed by Jobyna Ralston) try to save the day.
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The Sleuth
Title: The Sleuth
Character: Bellboy / the Sleuth
Released: July 16, 1922
Type: Movie
Paul Parrott stars as a detective in a hotel trying to recognize a fake sheik
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Big Town Ideas
Title: Big Town Ideas
Released: May 20, 1921
Type: Movie
A woman and her dog defend an innocent man.
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Don't Park Here
Title: Don't Park Here
Character: A Car Owner
Released: May 19, 1920
Type: Movie
Not one but two of Charlie Chaplin impersonators, Harry Mann and Monty Banks, a film directed by Charley Chase still under the name of Charles Parrott. They go driving around town experiencing various car theft problems.
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His First Flat Tire
Title: His First Flat Tire
Released: January 2, 1920
Type: Movie
Sid Smith plays a chauffeur to James Parrott who helps a vamp captivate his boss while foiling a bank robbery.
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Way Out West
Title: Way Out West
Released: January 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Way Out West silent comedy
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Don't Shove
Title: Don't Shove
Character: Party Guest
Released: August 31, 1919
Type: Movie
Harold and his rival fight over Bebe on her birthday, first at her home and then at a nearby skating rink.
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Count Your Change
Title: Count Your Change
Released: August 10, 1919
Type: Movie
Harold becomes the victim of a clever bulldog pup who chases him in and out of various places.
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Young Mr. Jazz
Title: Young Mr. Jazz
Character: (uncredited)
Released: April 20, 1919
Type: Movie
While running away from his girl's father, Harold's car breaks down in front of a dance hall run by crooks. Harold has to not only stay one step ahead of the girl's father, but also those trying to rob them of everything they have.
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A Sammy in Siberia
Title: A Sammy in Siberia
Character: (uncredited)
Released: April 6, 1919
Type: Movie
A bumbling American soldier saves a girl from a bunch of Cossacks.
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Hustling for Health
Title: Hustling for Health
Character: Man missing his train
Released: February 2, 1919
Type: Movie
Stan Laurel is picked up at the train depot and brought back by the husband to the family home where the wife is having a suffragette meeting. None too pleased they cause mayhem and then the neighbours are brought into it as Stan cleans up the backyard by throwing all the rubbish into their award winning garden.
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Do You Love Your Wife?
Title: Do You Love Your Wife?
Released: January 5, 1919
Type: Movie
Stan plays a janitor at a hotel dropping letters and trying to retrieve them with a vacuum, getting wet, helping a lady shoot her cheating husband and being chased by the police.
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An Auto Nut
Title: An Auto Nut
Character: The Auto Nut's Lawyer (as Paul Parrott)
Released: January 1, 1919
Type: Movie
A crooked lawyer sells his car.
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Just Rambling Along
Title: Just Rambling Along
Character: Waiter / chef assistant
Released: November 3, 1918
Type: Movie
A nervy young man follows a pretty lady into a diner to flirt with her, but winds up getting stuck with the tab.
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Bride and Gloom
Title: Bride and Gloom
Released: August 18, 1918
Type: Movie
A short film starring Harold Lloyd.
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An Ozark Romance
Title: An Ozark Romance
Released: July 6, 1918
Type: Movie
Harold visits the Ozarks, where he has some funny experiences with a mountain girl and her eccentric family.
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Fireman Save My Child
Title: Fireman Save My Child
Released: May 25, 1918
Type: Movie
In this popular two reeler where Harold runs to the rescue of a woman on a fire engine, he is seen hanging on the moving vehicle by the released water hose that forces him closer to the ground.
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Hey There
Title: Hey There
Released: April 28, 1918
Type: Movie
In this early short Harold Lloyd sneaks into a movie studio in order to locate an attractive young lady he's just met at a snack bar. He's retrieved a letter she dropped and wants to return it to her, but it's pretty clear that his interest extends beyond mere politeness. (She's the adorable young Bebe Daniels, so this is easy to understand.) The movie studio setting provides Harold with lots of opportunities to do what comedians do in comedies like this one: flirt with actresses, anger the studio brass, and dash through sets disrupting everything.
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Look Pleasant, Please
Title: Look Pleasant, Please
Character: Drunken Swell (uncredited)
Released: March 10, 1918
Type: Movie
A photo studio operator seems only interested in flirting with women. Hilarity ensues.
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Hit Him Again
Title: Hit Him Again
Released: February 17, 1918
Type: Movie
A short film starring Harold Lloyd.