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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: August 2, 1964
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Mary-Louise Parker was already a theater star and had even embarked upon a promising film career by the time she got lured to TV. After having made a handful of television movies, Parker was signed up for a guest-starring role on The West Wing. Playing Amy Gardner, a Democratic lobbyist supporting feminist issues, Parker made an immediate impact. Amy and Josh’s scenes with each other were electric from the start.
Amy appeared on 23 episodes of The West Wing, though it feels like it should’ve been more. She was a fantastic friendly-antagonist for the White House in general and Josh specifically. And if a season 8 had ever happened, the fact that she got added to the Santos campaign at the last minute could’ve been brilliant.
But Parker wasn’t able to stay with The West Wing, probably for several reasons, but specifically because she got offered the role of Harper Pitt in the Mike Nichols-directed Angels in America miniseries for HBO. It was a good call, since that production was the perfect synthesis of Mary-Louise’s theatrical chops and her newfound affinity for TV.
After Angels came a starring role on Showtime’s Weeds, which forever cemented Parker as a TV actress who could more than hold her own carrying her show. She perfected her brand of ambiguous, appealing, ambitious woman and played it to perfection. Even when the show was slogging through its slumps, Parker remained a highlight.
So happy birthday, Mary-Louise Parker. Here’s to waiting for the next TV triumph.
