Birth Name: Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr.
Birthdate: June
4, 1952
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Current Residence: Los Angeles, California
Marital
Status: Divorced from actress Kirstie Alley (Married December 22, 1983-December 1997)
Hair/Eyes: Brown/Transparent
Crystal Blue
Height/weight: 6 feet tall/N/A
Heritage: American/decent
N/A
Education: College/Studied architecture at Princeton.
Parents: Mother
who acted in commercials/Father a retired investment advisor
Children: 2 adopted children; 1
son, William True (September 28, 1992); 1 daughter, Lillie Price (June 15, 1994)
Siblings: 1
brother, Hutch Parker
Showbusiness start: His mother who had acted in commercials, took him
to a filming session. The result was two small television appearances.
Hobbies/Interests: The
Church of Scientology; Classical Music; Environmental Issues; Classical Music; Sports
Parker Stevenson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyvania. He had no intention
of becoming an actor. His mother, was an actress who had done numerous television commercials. When Parker was five
years old, his mother took him to a filming session. The result was two small television appearances. His father
was an investment advisor and had his doubts concerning the whole business. Parker appeared in a few high school play productions
at Brooks School. He had no plans of becoming an actor.
Parker did Sara Lee Cheesecake commercials at 15. He went on to
do over 120 commercials which included Blockbuster, Macintosh, Bluecross Blue Shield and Sylvania. He also
did voice-over narrations.
Parker placed his energies into other activities. He rowed with the Brooks
School crew in the Princess Elizabeth Cup Race at the prestigious Henley Regatta. He graduated from Brooks School
in North Andover, Massachusetts in 1971. Later at Princeton, he rowed with the freshman lightweight crew team
which won the 1971-1972 eastern sprint races.
When Parker became a member of the Screen Actor's Guild, he found that he could not
use the name Richard Parker because another actor alread had that name registered. He couldn't use Richard Stevenson for the
same reason. He finally settled on Parker Stevenson. He got his start in movies and TV guest appearances.
Parker won fame as Frank Hardy in the Hardy Boy Mysteries/ABC
in 1979 at 25 even though he preferred playing a character his own age rather than a teenager. After the series ended,
he went on to other numerous TV guest appearances and TV movies. His stage appearances included the comedy, Ring Round
the Moon at the Studio Theatre Playhouse in 1987 where he portrayed twins, winning great reviews and Answers
at the Burt Reynolds Theatre in Florida.
With his career well-established, he met aspiring actress Kirstie Alley.
Even though they were complete opposites, the couple dated anyway and then married on December 22, 1983. She was a smoker
and he was a non-smoker, she liked rap and Parker preferred classical music. Parker poured orange juice on his cereal
rather than milk. She was an animal lover and took it way too far in keeping a zoo-full of animals on their elaborate
Encino estate, which included 50 dogs, cats, possum, geese and other animals. The couple employed a full-time animal
caretaker to feed and maintain them. Sparing no expense, they maintained several homes. They spent most of their married lives
at their Encino residence. At the Encino estate alone they maintained a house staff which included an estate manager,
1-2 chefs, 2 full-time housekeepers, live in security, 2 nannies for the children.
Parker set his own acting career aside to help Kirstie with hers. Later,
Kirstie had success as an actress. The couple lived an extravagant lifestyle and had managed a full staff. They enjoyed private
tennis lession, personal trainers and almost nightly masseuses. Money was no object. They generally traveled in private jets
and luxury busses.
They adopted two children, William True and Lillie Price in 1992. They decided
to expose their children to the best that life could offer. When the couple was in New York, they would go directly
from the airport to FAO Schwartz. The management would keep a staff and store opened after hours exclusively for them so
that they could shop with privacy for the children. They spared no expense usually shelling out $15,000 per shopping
trip.
They spoiled each other with expensive gifts. Entertaining their friends
was no different. They flew them by private jets to Oregon. They made sure that guests even had cars equipped with every convenience
at their hand. And they were well known for their children's parties, especially the annual Halloween and Easter extravaganzas.
The six hour parties usually had 200 guests, a 150 piece marching band and six calalrymen on horseback shooting blanks from
guns to commence the festivities. The price tag was generally between $20,000 to $25,000 each. Other past parties included
petting zoos and animals. Santa Claus to the Stars was flown in on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
In 1989, Parker had a starring role as Craig Pomeroy in the pilot movie
Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier and on the Baywatch series during its first season. The show was cancelled
after one season on NBC. Producers did not want to abandon the series and as a result after Douglas Schwartz bought the
rights back for $10, the show was back on the air in syndication and became the most watched show around the world. Parker came
back as his original character in a recurring role in Baywatch's 8th and 9th seasons. In 1992, he stood behind the camera to direct episodes of Baywatch, Melrose Place, and other shows.
After 14 years of marriage, suddenly Kirstie, 47 wanted a divorce to
date actor James Wilder, 34 years old, who like Parker was a Melrose Place star. He and Kirstie had met on the set of a movie
filmed in Nevada. Parker and Kirstie were estranged for more than a year before they each filed separate divorce complaints
in 1997. The couple was forced to air their dirty laundry in public when the Church of Scientology, where they practiced religion,
could not help them settle their differences. The divorce was very much publicized. The divorce and settlement was bitter.
By September, she, the children and their brood of animals had
moved into James Wilder's Hollywood Hills home. The couple filed for divorce in late 1996 and then filed for divorce
a few months later stating irreconcilable differences. After their separation, Parker's wife sold the Encino residence in
March 1997. He only had learned of the deal after it was done. She explained that it was to generate cash for settlement of
financial issues between them.
Parker sought custody of their two children and an overwhelming settlement to keep him
and the children in the lifestyle in which they were accustomed. IIn the end, Parker
did not get the $75,000 a month he initially demanded and custody of the children, but settled for a share of the couple's
assets, which included their 21-bedroom mansion in Maine. Parker and his former wife got joint custody of the children. They
each got to spend extended periods of time with William and Lillie in Los Angeles, where they both maintained homes.
On the positive side, Parker was now free to concentrate on his own career.
He was also able to come back in the 8th and 9th seasons to direct four episodes of Baywatch as well as
appear in his recurring role that he originated in the 1st season as Craig Pomeroy.
