Leslie Parrish

Leslie Parrish (born Melrose, Massachusetts) first chose music as a career attending the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music at age 14. She had no interest in modeling or acting but at 19, as her tuition and teachers became more expensive, she had to take a year off to work full time to save money. Her mother convinced her she could earn more and save more if she worked as a model. While working for The Conover Model Agency in New York City, she was soon put under contract to NBC-TV and then under contract to 20th Century Fox and MGM Pictures, both in Hollywood. Her first starring role was as Daisy Mae in "Li'l Abner". Her favorite roles were in "The Manchurian Candidate", "Star Trek" and "The Big Valley". She continued to work in films for 25 years as she was earning enough to help her family, but deliberately avoided major stardom as she knew that it was not the life she wanted. She had become active in the civil rights, anti-war, environmental movements and politics - all based in Hollywood - where she stayed until 1977. (Offical Website : http://www.leslieparrish.net/)