Francine Parker
| Francine Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 18, 1925 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 8, 2007 (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director |
Francine Parker (December 18, 1925 – November 8, 2007) was an American television and film director, who was one of the first female members of the Directors Guild of America. Parker was best known for her controversial documentary, F.T.A., which chronicled the antiwar entertainers tour, Free The Army tour (FTA), during the Vietnam War. The FTA tour and its documentary featured anti-Vietnam War celebrities Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland interacting very frankly with American soldiers. Parker's film, which was released in 1972, was pulled from theaters within weeks of its release due to heavy criticism. It has been rarely viewed since 1972.
Francine Parker was born in New York City as Francine Schoenholtz on December 18, 1925. She received her bachelor's degree from Smith College and her master's degree in theater directing from Yale School of Drama. Parker first arrived in Los Angeles in 1950.
Francine Parker's documentary of the Free The Army tour condensed weeks worth of footage and traveling into a ninety-minute film. This film did feature anti-war celebrities, such as Jane Fonda, but much of the screen time was also devoted to the reactions disillusioned American servicemen. Parker filmed F.T.A. as she traveled with the tour onto American military bases in the eastern Pacific. Like the tour, FTA stood for Free The Army, though the thousands of soldiers featured in the film and the tour often used profanities when repeating the title. The film was co-produced by Francine Parker, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland.
Parker's film debuted in 1972, the same week that actress Jane Fonda visited Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. However, the film was pulled from theaters by American International Pictures just weeks later under what fellow filmmaker David Zeiger called "questionable circumstances."
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