RIP Lara Parker

 

Lara Parker, Angelique on Cult Favorite 'Dark Shadows,' Dies at 84 

Extra

October 16, 2023

 

Lara Parker, beloved by fans of TV's "Dark Shadows" for her performance as Angelique on the original series and in a movie, has died at 84.

Friends announced her October 12 death on Facebook.

Her "Dark Shadows" co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott wrote, "I have sad news... my beautiful, beloved friend Lara Parker passed away Thursday, October 12. I'm heartbroken, as all of us are who knew and loved her. She graced our lives with her beauty and talent, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives. Family meant more than anything to Lara, and they have wanted these few days since her passing to themselves. Rest in peace, my cherished friend."

She went on, "We met as 'Josette' and 'Angelique' on Dark Shadows... that's how many knew us, but we knew each other as friends and confidantes. For more than 50 years, our lives were intertwined through our mutual love of literature, writing and acting. While getting on with the ordinary stuff of life, we sought each other out for encouragement, support and a trusted sounding board. We could not have been more unalike, and therein lay the magic of our enduring friendship. My thoughts are with her family in this sad time of grief and remembrance."

Parker was born Mary Lamar Rickey in Knoxville, Tennessee, on October 27, 1938. She was raised in Memphis.

She made her TV debut on "Dark Shadows," the innovative Gothic soap about the lives of the rich Collins clan. Drenched in the supernatural, it was a series like no other, with Parker's Angelique Bouchard Collins used to show how the central character, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), became a vampire. Her popularity kept Parker coming back for more.

She reprised her role in the second feature based on the series, "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971).

She worked on Broadway in 1968's "Woman Is My Idea," and acted with Robert De Niro in the early Brian De Palma film "Hi, Mom!" (1970). She had a prominent role in the film "Save the Tiger" (1973) opposite Jack Lemmon, and also appeared in "Race with the Devil" (1975) with Peter Fonda.

Some of her other memorable TV work includes an appearance on "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (1975), the miniseries "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (1977), and the short-lived series "Jessica Novak" (1981).

In 1977, Parker appeared in the pilot episode of "The Incredible Hulk" as David Banner's wife Laura, who tragically burns to death after an accident that is part of Banner's Hulk origin story.

Later in life, Parker, a regular at autograph shows, returned to Angelique, publishing four "Dark Shadows" novels (1998-2016), reading some of their audiobook recordings, and cameoing in 2012's film adaptation of "Dark Shadows," which starred Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer. Eva Green played Angelique in the Tim Burton-directed critical disappointment.

Though not playing Angelique, she was reunited with some "Dark Shadows" co-stars in two "Doctor Mabuse" films (2013 & 2014), and gave her final performances on the TV show "Theatre Fantastique" (2014) and in the short film "The Job Interview" (2016).

Parker is survived by her second husband, Jim Hawkins, to whom she had been wed for more than 40 years, their daughter, and her two sons from her first marriage, to artist Tom Parker.

PARKER, Lara (Mary Lamar Rickey)

Born: 10/27/1938, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A.

Died: 10/12/2023, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

 

Lara Parker’s western – actress:

Kung Fu (TV) – 1972 (Amy Allender)