Corey Parker, the actor who spent four decades building one of the most quietly impressive careers in Hollywood, has died.
He was 60 years old.
TMZ confirmed the news Saturday, reporting that Parker’s aunt Emily Parker told them he passed away Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee after a battle with cancer.
His own website had revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with incurable stage 4 prostate cancer, with metastases in his bones.
Parker’s death closes the chapter on a career that began when he was four years old and touched nearly every corner of the entertainment industry.
Parker appeared in film, television, theater, and ultimately the training rooms where he shaped the next generation of performers.
What Was Corey Parker In?
Corey Parker was born July 8, 1965 in New York City, the son of actress Rochelle “Rocky” Parker.
He did not stumble into acting, he was born into it and committed to it with unusual seriousness from childhood.
He landed his first commercial at age four.
By 13 he had been accepted to New York’s High School of Performing Arts, the same institution that shaped a generation of American entertainers.
He turned down a full scholarship to New York University to pursue acting professionally full time.
By age 20, an extraordinary achievement, he had been invited to join the prestigious Actors Studio, becoming one of its youngest lifetime members.
He was also a longtime member of the Ensemble Studio Theater. These were not honorary positions.
Parker trained with some of the most demanding teachers in the craft, studying under Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof, Susan Batson, Ivana Chubbuck, and Lesly Kahn. He performed onstage at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989.
This was a man who took the work seriously from the very beginning.
Friday The 13th, Biloxi Blues, And A Career Built On Character Acting
Parker’s film career launched in 1984 with a debut in the thriller Scream for Help.
Two years later he played Pete in Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, the horror franchise entry that introduced him to a wide mainstream audience.
He followed that with a small but memorable part in the Kim Basinger romantic drama 9½ Weeks.
But it was 1988 that gave Parker his most critically acclaimed film role. Director Mike Nichols cast him as Epstein in the Universal film adaptation of Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues, starring alongside Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken.
Parker’s portrayal of the scrappy, wisecracking soldier was singled out by reviewers, and the film remains one of the most respected comedies of the decade.
The following year he starred in the comedy How I Got Into College and Big Man on Campus. He also appeared in White Palace opposite Susan Sarandon.
He worked with some of the biggest names in the business across these years, Walken, Broderick, Basinger, and even Sarandon.
Flying Blind, Thirtysomething, And The TV Years
Television became Parker’s primary home through the late 1980s and 1990s, and his range there was considerable.
From 1989 to 1990, he appeared in a recurring role on ABC’s critically acclaimed drama Thirtysomething, playing Lee Owens, the young housepainter boyfriend of Melanie Mayron’s Melissa Steadman.
He followed that with a series regular role on the short-lived legal drama Eddie Dodd on ABC alongside Treat Williams.
In 1992 came the role that defined him for many television viewers. Parker starred as Neil Barash, an anxious, awkward college graduate navigating real life for the first time, in Fox’s romantic comedy Flying Blind opposite Téa Leoni.
His performance was frequently compared to a young Woody Allen, both as a compliment and occasionally as a criticism.
The show lasted one season but built a devoted following and later reran on TV Land.
The cast around him included Lisa Kudrow, Peter Boyle, Andy Dick, and Noah Emmerich.
In 1992 he also delivered what many considered his most daring performance, playing Elliot Abrams, a young gay man growing impatient with his closeted lover, in the PBS Great Performances presentation The Lost Language of Cranes, a BBC co-production filmed in London.
It was a role entirely unlike the anxious everyman characters he was known for, and he was praised for it.
He went on to appear in NBC’s Broadway Bound with Anne Bancroft, Hume Cronyn, and Jerry Orbach.
He starred in Blue Skies on ABC. He appeared in Aaron Spelling’s Love Boat: The Next Wave as ship’s doctor John Morgan.
He had television movie credits including Courage with Sophia Loren and Destiny: The Liz Taylor Story for CBS.
Will And Grace: His Best Work
A generation of viewers came to know Parker through Will & Grace, the landmark NBC sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2006.
He appeared as Josh, one of Grace’s recurring boyfriends, in five episodes of the series.
It was a supporting role but one that kept him visible to millions of viewers each week during the show’s peak years.
Parker is often cited as the first recurring guest actor on Will & Grace, a distinction that speaks to how early the show’s creators recognized what he could bring to the series.
Parker As The Coach Who Shaped Others
In his later years Parker channeled everything he had learned into teaching. He worked as an acting coach on the CMT series Sun Records and on Ms. Marvel for Marvel Studios.
According to his biography at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, his private coaching clients included Sean Combs, Naomi Campbell, and Tyrese, a list that reflects the breadth of his reputation in the industry.
He also appeared on ABC’s Nashville with Connie Britton, and continued taking roles in independent films whose work was shown at Cannes, Berlin, London, and Slamdance.
A Creative Family And A Life In Memphis
Parker grew up in a deeply creative household. His mother Rocky, who passed away in 2014, was an actress herself.
His sister Noelle was also an actor. Rocky Parker was notably married to Patrick Dempsey in the late 1980s and early 1990s, making Dempsey Parker’s stepfather during those years.
In the early years of the 21st century, Parker settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where he lived until his death.
He had been married twice, first to actress Linda Kerridge, which ended in divorce in 1992, and later to Angela Parker.
In 2024 he publicly disclosed his diagnosis of incurable stage 4 prostate cancer with bone metastases. He died Thursday at 60.
He started acting at four years old. He never really stopped.
