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| Tex Parker |
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born:
17 December 1892 Kansas, United States of America |
died:
10 October 1963 Los Angeles, California, United States of America (gram negative septicemia with shock, age 70) |
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American actor, cowboy, and rodeo clown/rider who performed in silent films with Harold Lloyd, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, and others. Tex's parents were Jeanette "Nettie" Dickerson and Manzo William Hunt (1866-1945); he had a sister, Hazel Belle (Hunt) Shireman (1890-1976). Various records muddy Tex's origins a bit: a military muster roll names his sister, Mrs. B. E. Shireman, which leads me to conclude, via tracking said Mrs. Shireman (his sister Hazel), that Tex Parker was born Clyde R. Hunt in December 1892 in Kansas (per the 1900 U.S. Census). His military records give his full name as Birt T. Parker (though his service record says Birtt Parker), while on later records he gives Birt Texas Parker (with his death certificate saying Birt Tex Parker); his 1924 passport application says his full name as Bert Thomas Parker, and he claims his father's name is Manzo William Parker (instead of the actual Hunt). Various records give Tex's birth year as 1890, 1891, or 1892, while he later claimed to be born in Harris County, Texas, with his World War I draft registration card specifying Deer Park, Texas. Tex was a World War I veteran, enlisting on 24 May 1917 in San Antonio, Texas, serial no. 1,500,415. He served in Troop K of the 1st Texas Cavalry until 4 August 1917, whereupon he was transferred to Battery D, 2nd Texas Field Artillery (Battery D 131st F.A.), serving there until his honorable discharge on 24 May 1918 with a Surgeon's Certificate of Disability; he was reported 12.5% disabled on date of discharge. He reached the rank of Private. After the 1920s, Tex went into business as an automobile salesman. In 1932, he married Lulu/Lula M. Schroeder (1878-1935), who widowed him three years later. By 1940 (Census), Tex is residing at the Veterans Administration Facility in the Beverly Hills Township area. On his World War II draft registration card (27 Apr 1942), he is residing at the Windsor Hotel in San Diego, California, and is unemployed; by this time, he was blind in his left eye. After his passing at Los Angeles County General Hospital, at 9:30pm on 10 October 1963 (full cause: gram negative septicemia with shock due to choledocholithiasis cholelithiasis, with portal vein thrombosis a contributory cause), Tex was buried, befitting his veteran status, at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. He is not to be confused with the sound-era Western bit/extra actor of the same name (b. Hobart Lindsay Parker, 1902-1952). |
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Real name: Clyde R. Hunt (later Birt Texas Parker) Height: 6'0" |
Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography. |
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