Helen Parrish

Remembering lovely Helen Parrish what would have been her 100th birthday (March 12, 1923). Parrish started in movies at the age of 2, getting her first part playing Babe Ruth's daughter in the silent film "Babe Comes Home" in 1927. She was featured in the "Our Gang" comedy shorts and in her teens made herself known as a kid sister. During this time she also starred opposite Deanna Durbin in several of her films, playing a jealous, spiteful rival. Their first film together, "Mad About Music" (1938), worked so well that they soon formed a sort of Shirley Temple / Jane Withers team in a couple of other movie confections for Universal, including "First Love" (1939) and "It Started With Eve" (1941). Her other films include "When a Feller Needs a Friend" (1932), "A Dog of Flanders" (1935), "Little Tough Guy" (1938), "I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now" (1940), "Too Many Blondes" (1941), "X Marks the Spot" (1942) and "The Wolf Hunters" (1949). By her mid-20s Parrish had left motion pictures and turned to television, co-hosting "Hour Glass," the first U.S. network variety show in 1946-47. Her brother Robert Parrish was a minor child actor who earned respect as a film editor and director and her other sister Beverly died suddenly at the age of 11 after filming only one movie. Her first husband was screenwriter Charles Lang and her second TV producer John Guedel, who survived her. Her untimely death from cancer in 1959 (aged only 34), prevented her from showing her true potential as an actress. For her contribution to motion pictures, Parrish has a star at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.

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