Lara Parker's Biography
The Lara Parker Fan Site was created to celebrate the work of this beautiful, fascinating and compelling actress, best known for her enduring portrayal of the witch, Angelique in the groundbreaking daytime TV drama Dark Shadows that ran from 1966-1971.
Lara Parker was born in Knoxville, TN and grew up in Memphis.
Lara Parker was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and grew up in Memphis. She was named Mary Lamar Rickey and called Lamar after her great grandfather L.Q.C. Lamar, a revered Southern statesman and a Supreme Court Justice following the Civil War whose political courage was lauded in a chapter in John F. Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize winning book “Profiles in Courage”.
After graduating from Central High School, Lara attended Vassar College on a scholarship where she studied philosophy, completing her B.A. at Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) in Memphis. Lara then attended graduate school at the University of Iowa and completed coursework for a master’s degree in speech and drama. Lara began acting at age 9, winning parts in theatre productions in her local area. Her passion for acting never abated even after getting married and having two children.
While writing her thesis in drama at the University of Iowa, Lara played five lead roles in six weeks at the Millbrook Playhouse in Loch Haven, PA. Still yearning to fulfill her lifelong dream of acting, Lara put her thesis on hold in 1967 to try her luck in acting in New York city. The second week in the city, she was cast as the witch, Angelique in Dark Shadows, a groundbreaking daytime television serial which was to become an enduring cult classic.
During the run of the show from 1966-1971, Lara appeared as a guest on Johnny Carson, NYPD, several TV commercials, starred in the Broadway production of “Woman Is My Idea" and starred in two Off-Broadway Productions, “Lulu” and “A Gun Play”. She also two major motion pictures, "Hi Mom" and "Night of Dark Shadows"'
Following the cancellation of Dark Shadows, Lara moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1972 where she guest starred in over 50 prime time television productions spanning almost 20 years. These included, Kung Fu, Night Stalker, Hawaii 5-0, Police Woman, Remington Steele, Kojak, Switch, SWAT, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Incredible Hulk, Alice, Doctor's Hospital and Quincy. She appeared in several TV movies and pilots such as: The Chadwick Family, Desperate Voyage, Stranded, My Darling Daughter's Wedding Anniversart The Lazarus Syndrome.
Lara’s film career included substantial roles in Hi Mom! (’70) with Robert Di Nero, Night of Dark Shadows ‘(71) with David Selby, Save the Tiger (’73) with Jack Lemmon, Race with the Devil (’75) with Peter Fonda & Warren Oates, and Foxfire Light (’82) with Leslie Nielsen & Tippi Hedren.
By the 1990’s, Lara’s career passions began to shift into that of writing. Soon, she was pursued by Harper Collins Publishing and Dan Curtis Productions (Creator and Director of Dark Shadows) to write a backstory of her Dark Shadows character, "Angelique". Lara agreed. The book was published in 1998 under the title of Angelique’s Descent. Following the success of the first book, Lara wrote a series of novels expanding the legacy of the television classic. The Salem Branch (’06), Wolf Moon Rising (’13) and Heiress of Collinwood (’16). During this time, Lara earned a master’s degree in creative writing at Antioch University Los Angeles in 2004. She has also written and published several short stories, screenplays and has contributed to numerous non-fiction books.
Following the publication of her books, Ms Parker embarked on cross-country book tours to publicize her books on several talk shows, more than fifty radio shows and performed dozens of readings at libraries and bookstores. She also recorded audio versions of her first three boo/
In 1999, Ms Parker founded Old Canyon Press to publish Bugs & Critters, I Have Known", an illustrated collection of poetry for children written by her mother, Ann Heiskell Rickey and illustrated by her mother's sister, Ardeane Heiskell Smith which won several chidren's book awards and mentions. In 2006, Lara recorded the audio version of the book to popular acclaim.
More recently, Lara reprised the role of "Angelique" in several audio stories based on the Dark Shadows series published by Big Finish Productions (‘07- ‘17). Additionally, she joined a few former cast members in several films by Hollinsworth Productions (‘13- ‘23) playing various roles. As recently as the last couple of years, she has participated in several virtual presentations and interviews including a virtual Dark Shadows cast version of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
For nearly 50 years, Lara has attended annual festivals and Dark Shadows events where she has been wildly received by enthusiastic Dark Shadows fans. As a major draw for the festivals, Lara remained revered as one of the most well-beloved actresses and characters in the entire Dark Shadows universe and fandom.
Lara Parker passed away at her home in Topanga California on October 12, 2023 at the age of 84. She leaves behind a loving husband, Jim Hawkins, daughter Caiti, two sons & their wives, Rick & Miranda, Andy & Cecelia, a grandson, Wesley, her Austrailan Shepherd, Pearl and thousands of heartbroken friends and fans.
Lara Parker: October 27, 1938-October 12, 2023.
LARA'S MORE PERSONAL LIFE TO COME
