Lew Parker

Intro

Lew Parker was an American stage and television actor best remembered as Ann Marie's father in That Girl. His familiar sitcom role came after a substantial Broadway career that included musical comedy and the newspaper play The Front Page. He also carried his stage role in Are You with It? into the 1948 film adaptation. Those credits place the television father within a longer history of live performance, rather than treating That Girl as the beginning of his career. His work continued on Broadway into the year of his death in 1972.

Career snapshot

Born in Brooklyn, Parker came from a theatrical family and worked under both Lew and Lewis Parker. The Broadway record begins with Rainbow in 1928, followed by Spring Is Here and Heads Up in 1929. In Girl Crazy in 1930, the database lists him as both performer and stage manager. These early credits show him participating in the practical as well as performing work of musical theatre. Later television audiences would see a veteran of that environment, with years of ensemble work behind his comic reactions and dialogue.

The entry point

Parker played Goldie in the Broadway production of Are You with It?, which opened in 1945. The American Film Institute specifically records that he reprised the character in the 1948 screen version. Directed by Jack Hively and produced by Robert Arthur for Universal-International, the film featured Donald O'Connor, Olga San Juan and Martha Stewart. The adaptation is therefore a direct bridge between Parker's stage and film careers. It also provides a useful distinction between the original theatre production and a later film sharing its title and one of its performers.

Screen identity and style

His stage roles were not confined to one kind of musical sidekick. Playbill records Hildy Johnson in the 1946 revival of The Front Page, Dinky in Ankles Aweigh in 1955 and Fred Campbell in Mr. Wonderful. The Ankles Aweigh production record places him alongside Betty and Jane Kean in a show with music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Dan Shapiro and a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis. These named roles and productions make the stage chronology more concrete than a general description of him as a comic actor.

Collaborations and patterns

That Girl began in 1966 with Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie, an aspiring actress trying to establish herself in New York. Parker played her father, commonly credited as Lew Marie, while Rosemary DeCamp played her mother Helen. Ted Bessell played Donald Hollinger. The parents' concern for Ann helped create situations around her effort to live independently, take temporary jobs and pursue acting. Parker's recurring part gave the family side of the series a recognisable presence without displacing Ann as its centre. The gallery's ABC press photographs document that specific production relationship.

Era reflection

Television work also included appearances with Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, as well as variety programmes associated with Jackie Gleason and Steve Allen. Apple TV's career account records those appearances alongside That Girl. Parker returned to Broadway as Senex in the 1972 revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a credit listed by both IBDB and Playbill. He died in New York on October 27 of that year. His final period thus still included theatre work as well as the television performances by which many viewers remember him.

Legacy and rediscovery

Two distinct ABC Television publicity photographs form the gallery: a 1969 portrait of Parker and a 1968 scene with Marlo Thomas. In the latter he holds a hanger while Ann stands beside him, preserving the interaction between the characters rather than presenting an unrelated portrait as a scene. Both images retain their archive dates and public-domain source records. They offer a focused visual companion to the That Girl years, while the biography and selected credits point back to the earlier musical and dramatic stage work that preceded his television recognition.

Selected screen roles

• Are You with It?: Goldie — 1945 Broadway / 1948 film
• The Front Page: Hildy Johnson — 1946 Broadway revival
• Ankles Aweigh: Dinky — 1955 Broadway
• That Girl: Lew Marie — From 1966
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Senex — 1972 Broadway revival

A career in pictures

Two distinct ABC Television publicity photographs from That Girl, dated 1969 and 1968.

That Girl publicity portrait (1969)

Lew Marie

ABC Television press photograph dated 1969.

That Girl scene with Marlo Thomas (1968)

Lew Marie

ABC Television photograph dated 1968; Parker, left, with Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie.

Rewatch notes

• Reprised his Broadway role in the film Are You with It?
• Played Ann Marie's father in That Girl.
• Played Senex in the 1972 Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.