Leslie Parrish, the actress who starred as Daisy Mae in the 1959 musical Li’l Abner and played Jocelyn Jordan in The Manchurian Candidate, has died at 90.
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Parrish lived in Washington state and died late in 2025. Erica Berdan, a daughter of her second husband, author Richard Bach, told The Hollywood Reporter of the news.
Parrish built a busy screen career during the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films and television programs that included Portrait of a Mobster, For Love or Money, Three on a Couch, Sex and the Single Girl, and The Devil’s 8.
She also made memorable television appearances. In 1967, she played Lt. Carolyn Palamas in the Star Trek episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” and portrayed Glacia Glaze, an associate of Mr. Freeze, on Batman. Her other television credits included Perry Mason, Bat Masterson, The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, and Mannix.
Leslie Parrish Was Initially A Model Before Being Scouted
Born Marjorie Hellen on March 18, 1935, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Parrish initially studied piano before moving to New York in 1953. She worked as a model for the Conover Agency and caught the attention of a Twentieth Century Fox scout.
Fox signed her in 1954 and gave her the professional name Leslie Parrish. She appeared in several films the following year, including A Man Called Peter, Daddy Long Legs, and The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing. She later worked under contract at MGM.
Parrish landed one of her most recognizable roles when she played Daisy Mae in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Li’l Abner. She starred opposite Peter Palmer, who played the title character.
Three years later, she appeared in John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate. Parrish played Jocelyn Jordan, the daughter of a liberal senator and the girlfriend of Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw. Parrish later called the role her favorite.
After leaving acting in 1978, Parrish devoted much of her time to political activism and environmental conservation. She opposed the Vietnam War, supported Tom Bradley’s campaigns for Los Angeles mayor and helped advance efforts to protect natural land.