1 week Ago By Mike Barnes
Judith Parker Harris, the president and CEO of Worldwide Entertainment Corp., the home of the 1958 sci-fi classic The Blob that featured Steve McQueen in his big-screen debut, has died. She was 74.
Parker Harris died March 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis, a publicist announced. The Blob , directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
at Paramount, revolved around an oozing, amoeba-like alien that crashes on Earth in a meteorite, then grows as it sucks up people and menaces a small town in Pennsylvania. The movie, made for just $110,000 and produced by Parker Harris’ future husband, Jack H. Harris , went on to gross more than $3 million.
The Blob spawned a 1972 sequel — directed by Larry Hagman — and, a year after she wed Harris, a big-budget 1988 reboot that was helmed by Chuck Russell and released by TriStar Pictures. There’s another Blob film in the works, to be written and directed by David Brucker for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Parker Harris helped land a licensing deal with Bally’s for the manufacture of Blob -themed slot machines for casinos, and in 1991, she and her husband produced Blobermouth , a send-up of the original. She also presided over other films in WEC’s 30-strong library of features, which include 4D Man (1959), Paradisio (1962), Astro Zombies (1968), Equinox (1970) and Kill the Shogun (1975). She was involved in the development of several new film projects at the time of her death.
While in her early 20s, Parker Harris kicked off her career as a commercial producer and director. After working as an on-camera spokesperson for a national retail chain and making more than 3,000 commercials for such clients as Shell Oil and Sears, she moved from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Soon after arriving, she launched an advertising agency with clients in health care, film promotion, beauty and travel.
Parker Harris received the Crystal Award from Women in Film, where she was instrumental in the development of its Public Service Announcement Productions. And she won a Clio Award for her work in advertising. She wrote several books, served as president of the L.
A. chapter of the National Speakers Association and was a founding member of GreenLight Women, a community of women over 40 who promote diverse perspectives in media and entertainment. She also established Health Esteem International, a company inspired by her battle with M.
S. She coached individuals to discover their own solutions to their health issues. Survivors include her sister-in-law, Barbara.
Her husband died in 2017. She also was predeceased by her brother, James. A memorial celebration is being organized.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation ..
