Harriet Parsons

Harriet Oettinger Parsons (1906–1983) was an American film producer, actress, director, and magazine writer. She's notable for being one of only three female producers active in the U.S. from 1943 to 1955. Her mother was famed gossip columnist Louella Parsons.

Beginnings

Harriet was born in 1906, the daughter of Louella Parsons and her first husband, John Dement Parsons. Harriet attended Wellesley College, graduating around 1929.

Journalism

She started working as writer for Photoplay in the 1920s. She wrote for The Los Angeles Examiner from 1935 through 1943, had a syndicated column for Hearst, and had her own radio show, Hollywood Highlights. In the mid-1930s, she began directing and producing a series called Meet the Stars, a series of shorts in which she commented on the goings-on of Hollywood A-listers, which soon led to a change in careers...

Producer career

During World War II, after directing a number of shorts, she was hired at RKO as a feature film producer. When Howard Hughes took over, Parsons was one of the only producers he kept on. She worked at RKO for 12 years, although the experience was a frustrating one: The studio often reassigned stories she'd chosen to other producers.

Personal life

In 1931, she and actor Edward Woods announced their engagement; it was broken off by 1932. She married playwright King Kennedy in September 1939; the pair separated in 1944. Parsons sued him for divorce in March 1945, citing cruelty. Parsons adopted a daughter, Evelyn Farney, who would become a dancer.

Death

She died in 1983 at the age of 79 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was survived by her daughter, Evelyn.

• Susan Slept Here (1954)
• Clash by Night (1952)
• Never a Dull Moment (1950)
• I Remember Mama (1948)
• Night Song (1947)
• The Enchanted Cottage (1945)