Who is Leslie Parrish
Leslie is an American retired actress, environmental activist, writer and producer, perhaps still best known to the world as Jocelyn Jordan in the film “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), and as Ev in the film “The Giant Spider Invasion” (1975), among numerous other appearances she’s made during her active career.
https://www.facebook.com/1852dumplin/posts/pfbid02YpPssByU8CpG5YT2RUxgEvqqtoQLMjKTZqj3pppNCYvRcWXp8SpS15Z6t8ndg1ugl
What is Leslie Parrish Doing Now?
Leslie has been away from showbiz since the late ’70s, since when she’s put all her effort into preserving nature.
Her home is covered by solar panels, and she uses Tesla for transport, focusing on keeping her carbon footprint as small as possible.
She is now living a single life away from the camera, still focused on advocating strongly in favor of nature, despite being in her late ’80s. She’s also working on her autobiography.
Leslie Parrish Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Leslie was born Marjorie Hellen on 13 March 1935, in Melrose, Massachusetts, USA. Growing up, the family moved a lot, and Parrish lived in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey until finally settling in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania.
She played piano from an early age, and enrolled at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. She was deemed a talented pianist, but finance was a problem in continuing her education, so she started working as a maid and a waitress to support her studies. Moreover, she began teaching piano lessons, but it still wasn’t enough. She had to start looking for a new job, and her modeling convinced her that this was a great way for her to earn money, though she had no interest in becoming a model or actress.
Modeling Career
Leslie launched her modeling career in 1954 when she joined the Conover Agency in New York City. Her modeling career quickly developed, but she also signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood.
Acting Career Beginnings
Leslie started her acting career in the mid- ’50s. She had minor roles in such films as the Academy Award-nominated “The Virgin Queen”, starring Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth I and Richard Todd as Sir Walter Raleigh, about Raleigh’s efforts to get financing from the queen for a proposed voyage to the New World, then the sci-fi drama film “Missile to the Moon”, among others.
Rise to Prominence
Before the decade ended, she had her first starring role as Daisy Mae Scragg in the Oscar-nominated comedy film “Li’l Abner”, co-starring Stubby Kaye and Peter Palmer.
Leslie began the ’60s rather successfully, appearing in several television series, including “Perry Mason” and “The Red Skelton Hour”. In 1962 she was Jocelyn Jordan in the Oscar Award-nominated thriller-drama film “The Manchurian Candidate”, with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh as the main stars.
The following year, she appeared next to stars Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor and Gig Young in the romantic comedy film “For Love or Money”, while in 1964, she was Susan in Richard Quine’s romantic comedy film “Sex and the Single Girl”, starring Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood.
Three years later, she co-starred in the thriller-drama film “The Money Jungle”, alongside John Ericson and Lola Albright. In 1969 she was the main star in Herbert J. Leder’s thriller crime-drama film “The Candy Man”, and the same year had another starring role, this time in Burt Tropper’s action crime-drama film “The Devil’s 8”.
Later Career and Retirement
She began the ’70s with the part of Jenny Noble in the film “Brother, Cry for Me”, continued with a role in the TV series “Love, American Style”, which had begun in 1969, while in 1972, she portrayed Jana Gantry in a couple of episodes of the TV series “Cade’s Country”.
Leslie Parrish. They don't make women like her anymore. An actress who cared about much more than just being a movie star. And an IQ off the charts. Now she writes books. I'm reading "The Bridge Across Forever" again but w/ a completely different take on it all these years later. pic.twitter.com/GRKItvEQkw
— Mimi Tanner (@mimitanner) December 5, 2017
In 1975, Leslie starred in the sci-fi horror film “The Giant Spider Invasion”, co-starring Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale and Robert Easton, while in 1976, she was Kathy Logan in the horror film “Crash!”.
Leslie appeared in the film “The Astral Factor” (1978) and in the TV series “Police Story”, among several other projects, then left the acting world as she wanted to focus all her efforts on social causes, such as anti-war and civil rights movements.
Political Activism
Leslie was the first actress to protest against the Vietnam War in 1967. The same year she was one of 10,000 people who started a legal peace march in Century City, and were attacked by police. The newspapers never informed on the story, despite the thousands injured.
She was behind senator Eugene McCarthy’s presidential election campaign, and later George McGovern, but they lost both times to Richard Nixon.
Environmental Activism
Her environmental activism began in the ’50s, when she started spreading awareness of Los Angeles’s smog.
In the late ’70s, she moved to Oregon with her then-husband Richard Bach, and built a home using power 100% solar; the house had no cooling or heating systems.
Together with her husband and a couple of other activists, Leslie started an organization called “Threatened and Endangered: Little Applegate Valley” (TELAV) to protest against BLM company’s logging of forests. They created a 600-page document to preserve forests against BLM – TELAV is still active.
To speak further of her efforts, she has successfully created a 240-acre wildlife sanctuary on Orcas Island in Washington State. She saved the environment from typical development techniques, including logging. Under the name Spring Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Leslie carefully developed the ridge-top property for 17 years, creating a dozen small hidden home sites on 25% of the land, and preserved 75% of the island.
Net Worth
As of late 2022, Leslie Parrish’s net worth is estimated at $1.5 million, earned larely through her acting career.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
Leslie has two failed marriages behind her. She was married to American songwriter and actor Ric Marlow from 1955 to 1961.
In 1973 she met American writer and aviator Richard Bach, while working on the film “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” based on Bach’s book. The two married in 1981, and were together until 1999. During this time, they authored several books jointly, while she was the central element of Bach’s books “The Bridge Across Forever” and “One”.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
Leslie Parrish has red hair and blue eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 6ins (1.68m), while she weighs approximately 120lbs (55kgs), with vital statistics of 33-24-35, and bra size 38B.
