Michael Parks

Michael Parks (born Harry Samuel Parks; April 24, 1940 – May 9, 2017) was an American singer and actor. He appeared in many films and made frequent television appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series Then Came Bronson, but was probably best known for his work in his later years with filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith. Parks was born in Corona, California. He drifted from job to job during his teenage years, including picking fruit, digging ditches, driving trucks, and fighting forest fires. Parks married five times. His first marriage in 1956 at age 16 to Louise Johnson lasted until 1958 and produced a daughter. His second marriage in 1964 to actress Jan Moriarty lasted only a few months, ending with her apparent suicide from an overdose. His third marriage in 1968 to Carolyn Kay Carson produced a son, James. His fourth marriage to Alston Fenci, whom he married in 1987, ended in divorce in 1996. In 1997 he married Oriana. The union lasted until his death. In 1961, Parks portrayed the nephew of the character George MacMichael on the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys. In a Wagon Train episode airing April 10, 1963, Parks was Hamish Browne, episode titled "The Heather and Hamish Story". He appeared with Bette Davis as Cal Leonard in the 1963 Perry Mason episode "The Case of Constant Doyle", and gained recognition in the role of Adam in John Huston's The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966). Parks was the star of the series Then Came Bronson from 1969 to 1970, in which he rode an iconic red Harley-Davidson Sportster, as he drifted from town to town. He sang "Wayfarin’ Stranger", a duet with pilot episode co-star Bonnie Bedelia, and later the theme song for the show, "Long Lonesome Highway", which became a No. 20 Billboard Hot 100 and No. 41 Hot Country Songs hit. "Long Lonesome Highway" also peaked at number 84 in Australia. Parks recorded five albums under MGM Records (the label of the studio which produced the series) that charted including Closing The Gap (1969), Long Lonesome Highway (1970), and Blue. After disputes with the producers of Bronson, Parks said he was informally blacklisted in Hollywood. Parks admitted he could be "difficult on the set" and also said he objected to producers wanting to make the series more violent. After the cancellation of Bronson, Parks didn't work in a major Hollywood production for several years, but he had regular small roles in independent or Canadian features throughout the 1970s, such as Between Friends (1973), although director Donald Shebib had trouble dealing with Parks, describing him as a "terrific actor in a lot of ways, but weird" while also accusing him of anti-Semitism.