Julie Parrish

Parrish was born Ruby Joyce Wilbar on October 21, 1940, in Middlesboro, Kentucky, to William Robert "Bob" Wilbar and Gladys Wilbar (née Gladys Marie Webb). She had five younger siblings, sisters Barbara, Janice, and Liza, and brothers James and Robert. Julie was of English descent.^[1] After graduating from high school in Tecumseh, Michigan she began attending the Patricia Stevens Modeling School,^[2] and studied at the University of Toledo.^[3]

Parrish first appeared as an actress in the Jerry Lewis movies It's Only Money (1962)^[4] and The Nutty Professor (1963),^[5] and in a small role in Harlow (1965). After some guest appearances on television series, and roles in films such as Winter A-Go-Go (1965)^[3] and Fireball 500 (1966), she co-starred with Elvis Presley in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966).^[5] Her later film credits included roles in The Doberman Gang (1972) and The Devil and Max Devlin (1981), as well TV movies such as The Time Machine (1978) and The Last Fling (1987).^[6]

Parrish also made guest appearances in many television series such as Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke (“The Warden” in 1964), My Three Sons, Family Affair, Star Trek, Bonanza, Murder, She Wrote, Capitol and Beverly Hills, 90210. She had lead roles on several television soap operas and was the female lead in the short-lived 1967 CBS Television sitcom, Good Morning World.^[5]

Parrish's theater credits include Absence of a Cello and Memo. In Los Angeles, she received an L.A. Drama Critics Award for her portrayal of Maggie in Arthur Miller's After the Fall.^[7]

Parrish later earned an undergraduate degree in Chemical Dependencies Counseling, and worked at the Haven Hills Shelter for Battered Women.^[8]

After a 10-year battle with ovarian cancer, she died of complications from the disease in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 62, on October 1, 2003.^[9][10]