Lara Parker was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Memphis. She was named Mary Lamar Rickey and was always called Lamar by her family. Lamar is a family name, that of her great, great grandfather, L.Q.C. Lamar, who was a revered Southern statesman and a supreme court justice after the Civil War.
The summer she was writing her thesis, she acted at the Millbrook Playhouse in Loch Haven, Pennsylvania, where she played five leads in six weeks. She decided to try her luck in New York City, and the second week she was there she was cast as Angelique on Dark Shadows, a show which has become a cult classic. (Click here to read more about Dark Shadows.) While she was in New York, she appeared in a Broadway play, Woman Is My Idea, and two off-Broadway productions: Lulu and A Gun Play. Lara moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and began working in nighttime television. She guest starred in numerous shows including Hawaii 5-0, Doctor's Hospital, Switch, Kung Fu, The Incredible Hulk, Remington Steele, and Galactica 1980. She also appeared in several movies of the week and pilots, such as The Lazarus Syndrome, People Like Us, and Desperate Voyage; and she was on the soap opera Capitol. She appeared in the Equity Waver production of Pinter's The Lover. (Click here to read more about her acting credits.) Lara is married to Jim Hawkins, a contractor and builder, and she has three children: Rick, Andy, and Caitlin. Rick Parker is a successful record producer (www.rickparkerproductions.com); Andy is a contractor; and Caitlin is studying documentary filmmaking. Lara turned some of her creative energies toward writing about years ago, and now has written two novels, a collection of short stories, several screenplays, and has contributed to several non-fiction books. (Click here for more information about her writing.) In 1998, Lara's first novel was published by HarperCollins. Angelique's Descent fleshed out details about the early life of her most famous character -- and was extremely popular with critics and fans.  In the summer of 2006, Tor Books released the sequel, Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch, helping expand the legacy of this TV classic. The story centers around the star-crossed first romance of David Collins, a teenaged character from the TV series. His girlfriend is a troubled young woman who has flashbacks to a previous life, when she was persecuted at the Salem witch trials. And in a new twist on the classic vampire story, Barnabas has been cured, but he's not exactly thrilled to be human again. He finds himself aging and vulnerable, just when a new vampire threatens his loved ones. With an exciting twist ending, The Salem Branch is a thrilling adventure for Dark Shadows fans--and with its well-researched, intriguing look at the Salem witch trials, it's a fascinating read even for those who've never heard of Barnabas and company. The book is currently available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and in bookstores nation-wide. In 2004, Lara earned her Master's Degree in Creative Writing, and she now teaches at a college in Los Angeles. In 2006, she was invited to New York University, where she did a two-day workshop titled "Heart of Horror," discussing the process of horror writing. Lara is a special guest at each Dark Shadows Festival annual fan event. You can find out more at DarkShadowsFestival.com. Lara and her husband live in a house they designed and built on a mountaintop in the Santa Monica mountains. -- Craig Hamrick, author, Barnabas & Company: the Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows |
Lara attended Central High School and won a scholarship to
Vassar College where she began a major in Philosophy which she
completed at Southwestern at Memphis (now called Rhodes College),
receiving her B.A. She attended graduate school at the University
of Iowa and completed all course work on a Masters in Speech
and Drama.