Aloysius Parker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aloysius Parker
Thunderbirds character
The original puppet character
First appearance	"Trapped in the Sky" (30 September 1965)
Created by	Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Designed by	John Blundall (puppet sculptor)
Portrayed by	Ron Cook (2004 live-action film)
Voiced by	David Graham (TV series) Jon Culshaw (2021 audio series)
Information
Nickname(s)	Nosey
Occupation	Lady Penelope's butler and chauffeur International Rescue field agent
Origin	London, England

Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a super cool character from the classic British TV show Thunderbirds. He's also in the movies Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), and the live-action film from 2004. Parker is the loyal butler and chauffeur for the stylish Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. Just like Lady Penelope, he's a secret agent for International Rescue, a super-secret group that saves people around the world!

The puppet character in the TV show and first two movies was voiced by David Graham. In the 2004 live-action movie, Parker was played by Ron Cook. David Graham even came back to voice Parker in the newer series Thunderbirds Are Go!, which started in 2015.

Parker is famous for his special way of speaking. He has a Cockney accent but often tries to sound more formal. He also frequently says, "Yes, M'Lady" when Lady Penelope gives him orders.

Parker's Story

Parker works at Creighton-Ward Mansion, where he is Lady Penelope's butler. He also drives her amazing pink car, FAB 1, which is a special Rolls-Royce. Like Penelope, he is a field agent for International Rescue. Parker is from London and speaks with a strong Cockney accent. However, he often tries to speak with a more "posh" accent, especially when he says his famous line, "Yes, M'Lady."

Parker's Past

Parker used to get into trouble. He had a past where he was known for being a very skilled thief, especially good at breaking into places and opening safes. Because of his past adventures and a noticeable feature on his face, he earned the nickname "Nosey." This nickname might also mean he was a bit curious and liked to listen in on conversations, like when he secretly heard Lady Penelope talking in "Vault of Death" and Thunderbird 6.

Lady Penelope helped Parker change his life. She recruited him to help her with her secret spy missions. Parker's old connections from his past often come in handy during their missions. For example, in "The Cham-Cham", he helped Lady Penelope pretend to be a nightclub singer. It's also revealed in "The Cham-Cham" that Parker is afraid of heights, which is called vertigo. In the episode "The Man from MI.5", we see that he still sometimes feels tempted to go back to his old ways. Lady Penelope even found him with a suitcase full of tools for opening safes! He grumbled to himself about it, saying he didn't know how she expected him to keep his skills sharp.

His Unique Skills

Parker is very "old school" when it comes to opening safes. His tools include things like a brick, wrenches, and a drill. In "Vault of Death", he uses a stethoscope instead of a modern detector. He proudly said that this method was good enough for his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. This suggests that being a skilled thief might have been a family tradition, which explains where he learned his amazing abilities. In the same episode, Parker mentions knowing another skilled thief named "light-fingered Fred" from his time in prison. He claimed Fred was the only one who could truly match his skills.

A Taste for the Finer Things

In the episode "Danger at Ocean Deep", we learn that Parker has a fancy taste for expensive drinks. He cleverly managed to take a bottle of rare 1998 champagne right from under Lady Penelope's nose! He swapped it with plain tonic water, and she didn't even notice. During a ship's launch, he and his friend Stevens, who was also a chauffeur, drank the whole bottle together. Later, Penelope found Parker asleep and hiccupping. A sleepy Parker then accidentally told her about his secret champagne swap. He said he did it because it was such a good year for champagne, and it seemed a shame to let it go to waste.

Where Parker Appears

How Parker Was Created

Even though Lady Penelope and Parker were some of the first characters thought up for Thunderbirds, they weren't originally planned to be main characters. The idea for Parker came from director David Elliott. He had read a spy novel about a safecracker who accidentally became a government agent.

Parker's Voice

Parker's unique Cockney way of speaking was inspired by a wine waiter named Arthur. This waiter worked at a place called the Kings Arms, which the show's crew often visited. Series creator Gerry Anderson said that Arthur, who once worked for Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, spoke in a "warm" way, often dropping his 'h' sounds or putting them in the wrong places. This made Anderson think his voice would be perfect for Parker. So, he had David Graham, the voice actor, go to the restaurant to learn Arthur's speaking style. Anderson never told Arthur that he was the inspiration for Parker's voice, because he worried Arthur might not like the public attention.

Parker's Look

The way Parker looks was mostly based on a comedian named Ben Warriss. John Blundall, who sculpted the puppet, said he also got ideas from "typical butlers" seen in old black-and-white English comedy films. He also thought of "small-time crooks" or "barrow-boy" types who wanted to improve themselves. He even mentioned that the puppet's face was partly inspired by masks used in Japanese Noh dance-drama. Blundall wanted the character to stand out, so he designed Parker to be very unique and memorable.

Parker in the 2004 Film

In the 2004 live-action film, Parker was played by Ron Cook. In this movie, Parker still has his Cockney accent, but he doesn't try to speak "posh" anymore. Ron Cook explained that they felt his habit of trying to sound formal wasn't really important for a modern movie.

See also

In Spanish: Aloysius "Nosey" Parker para niños