James Parrott
From Wikipedia James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase. James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Blanche Thompson Parrott. In 1903, his father died from a heart attack, leaving the family in bad financial shape, which forced them to move in with a relative. Charley Jr. quit school, so he could go to work, in order to support his mother and brother. Eventually the call of the stage beckoned him, and Charley Jr. left home at age 16 to travel the vaudeville circuit as a singer and comedic performer. By the time James had reached his teens, he too, had quit school, and became involved with the street gangs of Baltimore. Later, Charley's connections in the film industry helped get his younger brother established in movies, and he would appear during the 1920s in a series of relatively successful comedies for producer Hal Roach. He was billed first as "Paul Parrott," then "Jimmie Parrott." Approximately 75 comedies were produced from 1921 to 1923, with titles continuing to be released through Pathé until 1926. Frequent co-stars included Marie Mosquini, Jobyna Ralston, Eddie Baker, and Sunshine Sammy. Parrott is probably best known as a comedy director. As "James Parrott," he specialized in the two-reel misadventures of Laurel and Hardy, including the Oscar-winning classic The Music Box, and Helpmates. During the 1930s Parrott had acquired serious drinking and drug problems (his diet medications were really addictive amphetamines) and although still able to direct quality shorts, he had developed a reputation as unreliable. By the mid-1930s his work was spotty: Stan Laurel used him sporadically to contribute gags to the Laurel and Hardy features, and he would direct an Our Gang short in 1934, plus several acceptable entries in Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly series. By 1937, Parrott was accepting any jobs that came his way. He could no longer be counted on to direct or write, and relied on his brother to support him financially. There was a brief marriage to Ruby Ellen McCoy in 1937, but as his various addictions worsened, so did his state of mind. Parrott died at the age of 41 of heart failure. His brother Charley was devastated, and died 13 months later.
80 directing credits · 60 acting credits
Directing · 80
The Music Box
1932
Pardon Us
1931
Hog Wild
1930
Two Tars
1928
County Hospital
1932
Below Zero
1930
Blotto
1930
The Chimp
1932
Fluttering Hearts
1927
Another Fine Mess
1930
Night Owls
1930
Should Married Men Go Home?
1928
Perfect Day
1929
Brats
1930
Twice Two
1933
The Hoose-Gow
1929
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
1930
They Go Boom!
1929
On the Front Page
1926
The Night Life
1930
The Tin Man
1935
Skip the Maloo!
1931
There Ain't No Santa Claus
1926
Haunted at Midnight
1931
Their Purple Moment
1928
Hinter Schloss und Riegel
1932
Messing Around
1931
One of the Smiths
1931
The Pickaninny
1921
Mr. Bride
1932
Should Sailors Marry?
1925
Shivering and Shaking
1930
Helpmates
1932
Sing Sister Sing
1935
Habeas Corpus
1928
Benny, from Panama
1934
Rough Seas
1931
Thieves
1930
Now I'll Tell One
1927
Washee Ironee
1934
Many Scrappy Returns
1927
Young Ironsides
1932
All for Nothing
1928
The Sting of Stings
1927
The 'Fraidy Cat
1924
The Pip from Pittsburg
1931
The Panic Is On
1931
Do Your Stuff
1935
Galloping Ghosts
1928
Chasing Husbands
1928
Opened by Mistake
1934
Radiomanía
1930
What a Bozo!
1931
Mixed Nuts
1934
The Lighter That Failed
1927
The lady from Chicago
1931
Night of Goblins
1930
Love's Detour
1924
Girl Grief
1932
A Duke for a Day
1934
Assistant Wives
1927
A One Mama Man
1927
Treasure Blues
1935
What Women Did for Me
1927
Us
1927
Bigger and Better Blondes
1927
Don't Forget
1924
Laurel & Hardy - Highlights
2002
Hard Knocks
1924
The Misses Stooge
1935
Are Brunettes Safe?
1927
Powder and Smoke
1924
Stewed, Fried and Boiled
1929
Lesson No. 1
1929
Forgotten Sweeties
1927
Just a Minute
1924
Now We'll Tell One
1932
Ruby Lips
1929
Never the Dames Shall Meet
1927
Furnace Trouble
1929
Acting · 60
Hustling for Health
1919
A Gasoline Wedding
1918
Beat It
1918
The King
1930
Don't Shove
1919
Just Rambling Along
1918
Hey There
1918
Young Mr. Jazz
1919
Fireman Save My Child
1918
The Lamb
1918
Touch all the Bases
1922
Bone Dry
1922
Jailed and Bailed
1923
Between Meals
1926
A Sammy in Siberia
1919
Post No Bills
1923
The Parrott Chase
2009
The House of Flickers
1925
Pay the Cashier
1926
Blaze Away
1922
Here Come the Girls
1918
Count Your Change
1919
Hit Him Again
1918
The Landlubber
1922
Dear Ol' Pal
1923
A Deep Sea Panic
1924
Take the Air
1923
Sittin' Pretty
1924
Shoot Straight
1923
Get Busy
1924
Let's Go
1918
Watch Your Wife
1923
Shine 'Em Up
1922
Pipe the Whiskers
1918
Do You Love Your Wife?
1919
Soft Pedal
1926
Shiver and Shake
1922
An Ozark Romance
1918
Don't Park Here
1919
Tight Shoes
1923
Bride and Gloom
1918
The Sleuth
1922
The Uncovered Wagon
1923
Face the Camera
1922
An Auto Nut
1919
Way Out West
1920
It's a Wild Life
1918
Join the Circus
1923
Take Next Car
1922
The Caretaker's Daughter
1925
Look Pleasant, Please
1918
Big Town Ideas
1921
No Pets
1923
Are Parents Pickles?
1925
Harvest Hands
1922
Don't Butt In
1926
Paste and Paper
1923
The Golf Bug
1922
The Smile Wins
1923
His First Flat Tire
1920