Parker Fennelly

Parker W. Fennelly (October 22, 1891 – January 22, 1988) was an American character actor born and raised in Northeast Harbor, Maine, the son of gardener Nathan Fennelly and Estelle Dolliver Fennelly. He studied classical acting in Boston, where he trained under performing arts educator Leland T. Powers and participated in Chautauqua readings as a member of the Toy Theater company. His early professional work took him on the road: in 1915 and 1916 he toured the Midland Chautauqua Circuit with the Maud Scheerer Shakespeare Players, and in 1919 he traveled and performed with the Jack X. Lewis Stock Company. It was during this period of stock company work, in 1918 in Moline, Illinois, that he met Catherine Deane, whom he married that same year. Together they had two daughters, Mary and Jane, and a son, John.

Between 1921 and 1923, Fennelly and his wife Catherine formed the Parker Fennelly Duo, presenting short plays, readings, and impersonations. His Broadway career spanned more than three decades, from 1924 to 1955, encompassing a wide range of roles and responsibilities. His performing credits on Broadway included Mr. Pitt (1924), The Small Timers (1925), Florida Girl (1925), Babbling Brookes (1927), Black Velvet (1927), The County Chairman (1936), Yours, A. Lincoln (1942), the drama Our Town (1944), the comedy Happily Ever After (1945), Live Life Again (1945), Loco (1946), and The Southwest Corner (1955). Beyond performing, he directed Technique (1931), supplied source material for Fulton of Oak Falls (1937), and wrote Cuckoos on the Hearth (1941).

Fennelly became particularly associated with the persona of the crusty New England Yankee, a characterization he brought to radio, television, and film. In the early years of radio he and Arthur Allen played Yankee codgers on The Stebbins Boys of Bucksport Point and Snow Village Sketches. He reached a wide national audience as Titus Moody on the Allen's Alley segment of Fred Allen's radio program, where his character's signature greeting was "Howdy, Bub." In 1960, he recorded Moody Speaking, a series of one-minute and five-minute vignettes produced by Banner Radio Company for distribution to local stations.

On television, Fennelly made numerous appearances on live programs in the early 1950s, including Lux Video Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse, and Studio One. In 1956 he guest-starred on Father Knows Best as a housepainter, and in 1960 he appeared in an unsold pilot, The Trouble with Richard, starring Dick Van Dyke, which aired on the anthology series New Comedy Showcase. From 1970 to 1971 he played Mr. Purdy on the CBS series Headmaster. He also became a familiar television presence as the Pepperidge Farm spokesman from 1956 to 1977, delivering the slogan "Pepperidge Farm remembers" in his New England accent before the role passed to Charles C. Welch.

His film work included ten features. He portrayed the millionaire in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955) and replaced Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle in The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm, the final entry in the Ma and Pa Kettle series. His later film appearances included Angel in My Pocket (1969) and Universal's How to Frame a Figg (1971), starring Don Knotts. Fennelly also made children's recordings, including "Ride 'Em Cowboy (I and II)" in 1950 and "Hunters of the Sea" in 1953.

Fennelly died on January 22, 1988, at his home in Peekskill, New York, at the age of 96. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, four grandsons, and one great-grandson. His widow, Catherine Fennelly (1892–1988), died five months later at the age of 95. Both are interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.