Francine Parker facts for kids

Francine Parker (December 18, 1925 – November 8, 2007) was an American film and television director. She was one of the first women to join the Directors Guild of America. Parker was best known for her documentary film, F.T.A.. This film showed the anti-war entertainers' tour, called the Free The Army tour (FTA), during the Vietnam War.

The FTA tour and its documentary featured famous people like Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. They talked openly with American soldiers. Parker's film came out in 1972. However, it was quickly removed from theaters because of strong criticism. It has been seen very rarely since then.

Early Life and Education

Francine Parker was born in New York City. Her birth name was Francine Schoenholtz. She was born on December 18, 1925. She earned her first college degree from Smith College. Later, she received a master's degree in theater directing from Yale School of Drama. Parker moved to Los Angeles in 1950.

The F.T.A. Film

Francine Parker's documentary about the Free The Army tour took many weeks of filming. She turned it into a ninety-minute movie. This film showed anti-war celebrities, such as Jane Fonda. But it also spent a lot of time showing the feelings of American soldiers who were tired of the war.

Parker filmed F.T.A. as she traveled with the tour. They visited American military bases in the eastern Pacific. Like the tour, FTA stood for Free The Army. However, many soldiers in the film and on the tour used a stronger, more direct meaning for the letters. Francine Parker, Jane Fonda, and Donald Sutherland all helped to produce the film.

Parker's film was released in 1972. This was the same week that actress Jane Fonda visited Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. But the film was taken out of theaters by American International Pictures just a few weeks later. Filmmaker David Zeiger said this happened under "questionable circumstances."

F.T.A. was shown again many years later. This happened at a Directors Guild of America screening in 2005. At that screening, director Oliver Stone said that Francine Parker believed that "calls were made from high up in Washington." She thought these calls might have come from the Nixon White House. This is why the film "just disappeared." Jane Fonda also watched the film in 2005. She said, "I must say, looking at it now, it's no wonder," that the film was pulled.

Director David Zeiger used parts of Parker's film in his own 2005 movie, Sir! No Sir!. This film explored the anti-war movement led by soldiers in the 1960s and 1970s.

F.T.A. was shown again at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam. This screening took place on November 22, 2007. Francine Parker had planned to attend. Sadly, she passed away earlier that same month.

A Pioneering Career

Francine Parker was quite unusual when she started her career. There were very few female film directors working in the industry back then. She was so unique that the producers of the early 1960s TV show What's My Line? asked her to appear. They were sure the show's panelists would never guess that a woman could be a television director. However, the show was canceled before Parker could appear.

In 1966, Parker produced a series of one-hour plays for PBS. The series was called "Jews and History." It looked at the contributions of Jewish people to the arts throughout history. A review of Jews and History in the Los Angeles Times seemed surprised. It mentioned the "odds of a female producer selling anthologized culture on television."

Parker became the eleventh woman to join the Directors Guild of America. She was accepted as a member in 1971. She taught film directing for 18 years. She taught at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She also taught acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California.

She helped start and became president of the Women for Equality in Media. As president, she led a march in 1971. This march was on the American Film Institute. It protested the lack of women in AFI programs. These programs were partly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The AFI listened to their concerns. The number of women accepted into the AFI's Center for Advance Film Studies grew. It went from zero in 1969 to seven women by 1973.

Later Life and Passing

Francine Parker passed away on November 8, 2007. She was 81 years old. She died from heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.