Biography
In her second feature, the high profile but trashy "Valley of the Dolls" (1967), she was cast as an aspiring actress with roots in New England, a role that was not much of a stretch from her TV persona. In its day, the film was widely dismissed by critics, but by the 1990s it enjoyed popularity as a camp classic. While never a major screen presence, Parkins acquitted herself in a handful of roles in horror films, including "Asylum" (1972) and …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Began appearing in guest spots on TV shows like "Dr. Kildare" and "Leave It to Beaver" | ||
| Co-starred as Betty Anderson in the TV serial "Peyton Place" (ABC), the first soap opera to become a major hit in primetime, airing up to three times per week | ||
| Guest-starred as Lucy Wanamaker on the CBS drama "Picket Fences" during the 1995-1996 season | ||
| Returned to series TV as member of the ensemble for "Scenes of the Crime" (CBS) | ||
1961 | Made feature debut in "20,000 Eyes" | |
1967 | Co-starred in "Valley of the Dolls", an embarrassing adaptation of the Jacqueline Susann novel | |
1971 | Appeared in the chiller "The Mephisto Waltz" | |
1971 | Played a traumatized rape victim in ABC movie "A Taste of Evil", starring Barbara Stanwyck | |
1974 | Portrayed title role in "Christina", a murky thriller shot in Canada | |
1975 | Acted the part of Leonie in the PBS series "Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill" (shown as part of "Great Performances") | |
1976 | Acted in acclaimed minseries adaptation of Taylor Caldwell's novel "Captains and Kings" | |
1976 | Played Lee Marvin's daughter in "Shout at the Devil" | |
1977 | Starred in the syndicated miniseries "Testimony of Two Men", also adapted from a Taylor Caldwell novel | |
1978 | Portrayed Anna Held in NBC movie "Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women" | |
1980 | Appeared in "Bear Island", a poor screen adaptation of one of Alistair MacLean's best novels; film barely released | |
1981 | Acted in ABC miniseries "The Manions of America", which introduced Irish actor Pierce Brosnan to American audiences | |
1981 | Last feature film to date, "Breakfast in Paris" | |
1984 | Appeared in the TV-movies "To Catch a King" (HBO), playing the Dutchess of Windsor, and "The Calendar Girl Murders" (ABC) | |
1985 | Reprised her role as Betty Harrington Cord in the NBC movie "Peyton Place: The Next Generation" | |
1986 | Acted in NBC's "Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun", the second of the Perry Mason reunion movies | |
1989 | Guest-starred in an episode of "Murder She Wrote" (CBS) | |
Awards
1966 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continued Performance By an Actress In a in Peyton Place |