These days, Lara Parker primarily considers herself a college instructor and author, but during the '70s and '80s she racked up an impressive list of acting credits, including appearances on many TV classics such as Hawaii Five-0, Kung Fu, Alice, and The Rockford Files.

Lara's starring role on the cult classic soap opera Dark Shadows (1967-71), as the beautiful,vengeful witch Angelique, secured her position as a pop culture icon. In 2004, when TV Guide ranked DS in the Top 24 Cult Classics, the magazine's editors ran a photo of Lara and Jonathan Frid (Barnabas).

On stage and screen her costars have included Hollywood Golden Age greats like Joan Bennett and Robert Young; classic TV stars including Lee Majors and Jack Klugman; and Oscar and Emmy winners such as Jack Lemmon and E.G. Marshall.

For more details about the TV series and movies in which Lara has appeared, check out her credits pages on The Internet Movie Database: Click Here -- and on TV.com: Click Here.

--Craig Hamrick, Dark Shadows Online

Hi, Mom!
(Jeannie Mitchell, 1970), directed by Brian De Palma, also starring Robert DeNiro, Charles Durning

Deniro plays an urban terrorist/filmmaker. He bombs apartment buildings and makes "Peeping Tom" style movies. Leonard Maltin gives this one ***1/2 stars.

Night of Dark Shadows
(Angelique, 1971), also starring David Selby, Kate Jackson, John Karlen, Nancy Barrett, Grayson Hall

Angelique haunts an elegant mansion, causing marital discord between Quentin and Tracy (Selby, Jackson). Based on the hit TV soap (see below).

Save the Tiger
(Margo, 1973), also starring Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Thayer David

This critically acclaimed film documents two days in the life of a sleazy dress manufacturer (Lemmon) who provides hookers for his clients and hires an arsonist (David) to burn down his own factory. Lara played a classy madam. Lemmon won an Oscar for this performance, and Lara has some great scenes with him.

Race With the Devil
(Kelly March, 1975), also starring Peter Fonda, Loretta Swit, Warren Oats

Two women and their husbands vacationing in a motor home stumble across a Satanic ritual, then are pursued by evil-doers. (Parker and Fonda played one set of spouses.)

Note: Lara's audio commentary is featured on the 2005 DVD release.

Foxfire Light
(Rachel Parmelee, 1982), also starring Leslie Nielsen, Tippi Hedren

Joanna (Faye Grant) vacations in the Ozarks and falls for rugged Linc (Barry Van Dyke). Meanwhile, Uncle Reese (Nielsen) courts shy widow Rachel (Parker). Of course, romance ensues for all.

Dark Shadows (Angelique, 1967-71)
Debuting in 1966, Dark Shadows was a fairly typical soap opera at first, though it did have a Gothic tone; the main character was a governess in a spooky mansion. Ratings were dismal until the show headed in a supernatural direction, with ghosts showing up occasionally to save the day.

Eventually a new character became the focus of the show: a vampire named Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). The vampire became immensely popular, garnering some of the highest ratings ever for a daytime drama -- and inspiring an unending amount of merchandising, like books, records, games, puzzles, etc.

When the storyline spiraled back into the 1700s to explain how Barnabas became a blood-sucker, the search was on for an actress to play Angelique, the mysterious witch who loved, lost, and cursed the philandering playboy.

Lara won that plum role, and it catapulted her to a level of stardom few actors achieve. Fans still meet at annual conventions to celebrate their love for the show, and episodes are available on VHS and DVD. In recent years, Lara has written two books based on Dark Shadows.

Click here to read about Lara's experiences on the show. Click here to read about DS collectibles featuring Lara's image. Click here to read about Lara's DS books.

A New Day in Eden (Laura, 1982-83)
This primetime soap opera aired on Showtime, with Lara in the role of a 40something family matriarch with a lovely young daughter. Since it aired on cable, the themes were a little more "grown up" than those on other soaps at the time.

A New Day in Eden was produced (and sometimes directed) by daytime diva Susan Flannery (Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives). Also in the cast were Anne Lockhart and Jack Wagner, in his first major role.

SoapTalk 15 July 2002

P.S.I. Luv U playing "Nurse" in episode: "What's Up, Bugsy?" November 1991

Highway to Heaven playing "Margo Stevens" in episode: "Playing for Keeps" November 1987

Remington Steele playing "Lila Colbert" in episode: "Steele Threads" December 1983

Manimal in episode: "Manimal" September 1983

The Fall Guy playing "Attractive Lady" in episode: "The Fall Guy: Part 1" November 1981

Galactica 1980 playing "Shirley" in episode: "The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 1" April 1980

Hagen in episode: "Trauma" April 1980

Mrs. Columbo (aka Kate Loves a Mystery) in episode: "Love, on Instant Replay" March 1980

Hawaii Five-O playing "Angie Walker" in episode: "A Bird in Hand..." March 1980

Barnaby Jones playing "Christine Lennox" in episode: "The Price of Anger" January 1980

The Lazarus Syndrome playing "Denice" in episode: "The Lazarus Syndrome" (Pilot) September 1979

Sword of Justice in episode: "Blackjack" January 1979

Quincy playing "Angie Wilson" in episode: "Double Death" March 1978

Baretta in episode: "The Stone Conspiracy" February 1978

Hawaii Five-O playing "Julie Kincaid Trahune" in episode: "The Big Aloha " January 1978

Switch playing "Tonya Mason" in episode: "Go for Broke" December 1977

Quincy playing "Angela, Desscasa's Secretary" in episode: "Sullied Be Thy Name" December 1977

Alice playing "Mrs. Randolph" in episode: "Sex Education" November 1976

Kojak playing "Jenny Villers" in episode: "Out of the Shadows" October 1976

City of Angels in episode: "The House on Orange Grove Avenue" March 1976

Switch playing "Esther Kelly" in episode: "The Case of the Purloined Case" March 1976

Doctors' Hospital in episode: "And Hear a Sudden Cry" January 1976

Emergency! in episode: "One of Those Days" November 1975

Mobile One in episode: "The Informant" September 1975

S.W.A.T. playing "Susan" in episode: "The Steel-Plated Security Blanket" May 1975

Kolchak: The Night Stalker playing "Madelaine" in episode: "The Trevi Collection" January 1975

Police Woman playing "Charlene" in episode: "Sidewinder" January 1975

The Rockford Files playing "Diana Lewis" in episode: "Sleight of Hand" January 1975

Lucas Tanner playing "Dr. Bruner" in episode: "Bonus Baby" January 1975

The Six Million Dollar Man playing "Andrea Collins" in episode: "The Deadly Replay" November 1974

Kojak playing "Maria Cranston" in episode: "Dark Sunday"December 1973

Medical Center playing "Paula" in episode: "The Guilty" September 1973

Kung Fu playing "Amy Allender" in episode: "King of the Mountain" October 1972

N.Y.P.D. in episode: "The Love Hustle" December 1968

People Like Us (1990, mini-series)

China Lake Murders (Helene Harrion, 1990) also starring Tom Skerritt, Lauren Tewes

Rooster (Janet, 1982) also starring Paul Williams

Once Upon A Family (Maggie Conway, 1980) also starring Barry Bostwick, Nancy Marchand, Marcia Strassman

Man struggles to hold his family together after Mom leaves.

Desperate Voyage (Grace Dortlund, 1980) also starring Christopher Plummer, Cliff Potts

A modern-day pirate (Christopher Plummer) hijacks yachts and kills their passengers. Lara played one of his victims who fights back.

"We were supposed to be out at sea," Lara says, but we shot it all in Catalina, on a gorgeous sailboat. My character g ot tied up and kept in a bunk and raped. Christopher Plummer's character had a sidekcik who was mentally deterioraing..supposed to be a little crazy. He was left alone in a cabin with me...."

"Filming it was kind of fun, because we were out on boats all the time. They had a crew boat, and we filmed aboard a beautiful wooden sailboat that belonged to the director. He had actually sailed that boat from England to America."

The Lazarus Syndrome (Denice, 1979) also starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Peggy McCay

Lara guest-starred in this successful pilot, about a cardiologist with a god complex (aka the Lazarus Syndrome), played by Gossett. The resulting series only lasted about a month (without Lara).

Sex and the Single Parent (1979) directed by Jackie Cooper, also starring Mike Farrell and Susan St. James

The Incredible Hulk (Laura Banner, 1977, pilot)

In sun-drenched, romantic scenes, Lara played the lovely, loving wife of Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby). The fantasy-like sequence ended with a car accident and resulting fire from which Banner could not save his wife. Her death propelled him to study the science of strength -- and eventually he ingested a drug that turned him into, you guessed it, The Incredible Hulk! The pilot was successful, launching a series that aired from 1978 to '82.)

Washington: Behind Closed Doors (Wanda Elliot, 1977), also starring David Selby, Thayer David (two of Lara's costars from Dark Shadows)

Jason Robards plays a thinly veiled version of Richard Nixon (President Richard Monckton) in this miniseries based on a book by John Ehrlichman, a Nixon staffer.

The Solitary Man (Lisa Tobin, 1979) also starring Michelle Pfeiffer (in one of her first roles), Carrie Snodgress, Earl Holliman

The Chadwick Family (Eileen Chadwick Hawthorne, 1974) also starring Fred MacMurray

Tear-jerking melodrama about the trials and tribulations of a family.

Adventures of the Queen (Barbara, 1975), written by Irwin Allen

A madman hijacks and threatens to blow up the luxury ocean liner S.S. Queen.

All My Darling Daughters' Anniversary (Charlotte, 1973), also starring Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, Raymond Massey, Judy Strangis, Sharon Gless

Sequel to the previous year's hit TV movie, All My Darling Daughters (which Lara was not in). The daughters reunite to marry off dear old Dad (Young).

STAGE

Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood (Angelique, 2003, Brooklyn NY)

Done in the style of a "radio play" -- basically a staged reading with sound effects, this performance starred a hand full of original DS cast members, bringing the story into present day. Lara obviously had fun as the evil witch driving the action -- possessing the mistress of Collinwood (Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard) and squaring off against reformed werewolf Quentin Collins (David Selby). It was performed at a Dark Shadows Festival and later recorded in a studio for release on CD.

The Ninety-Day Mistress (Leona,1978, Jacksonville, Florida)

A Gun Play (Lita, 1972, New York City)

Lulu (Lulu, 1969, New York City)

Woman is My Idea (Emily Wendridge, 1968, Broadway)

Lion in Winter (Alais, Atlanta)

Star Spangled Girl (Sophie, Michigan)

Come Blow Your Horn (Connie, Memphis)

Othello (Bianca, Memphis)

Roberta (Sophie, Memphis)

A Scrap of Paper (Suzanne)

Caprices of Marianne (Marianne)

Legend of Lovers (Euridice)

Bury the Dead (Joan Levy)

Puntilla and His Hired Man (Eva)

The Master Builder (Hilda)

The Cherry Orchard (Anya)

No Exit (Estelle)

The Lark (Joan)

Le Malentendu (Maria)

The Flies (Electra)

Pygmalion (Clara)

Guys and Dolls (chorus)

Alice in Wonderland (Cheshire Cat)

STOCK:

Pennsylvania: The Glass Menagerie, Philadelphia Story (Tracy), Never Too Late (Edith), Dark of the Moon (Barbara Allen), Take Her She's Mine (Mother), See How They Run (Penelope)

Missouri: The Importance of Being Earnest (Gwendolyn), The Admirable Crichton (Mary), She Stoops to Conquer (Neville), The Imaginary Invalid (Angelique), The Lady's Not for Burning (Jennet), Antigone (Antigone)

Wisconsin: Period of Adjustment (Isabel), Wonderful Town (Eileen), All the Way Home (Mary), A Shot in the Dark (Josepha), A Taste of Honey (Jo), The Mouse Trap (Mollie)