1.
I remember the day I found out my draft status. I was really floored and kind of staggered around in a daze. It just hadn't occurred to me that I could end up in Vietnam
Parker Stevenson
2.
The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in prep school. When I did Lifeguard, everyone was saying, You're so Southern California. It was a surprise to me
Parker Stevenson
3.
I could be happy doing something like architecture. It would involve another couple of years of graduate school, but that's what I studied in college. That's what I always wanted to do.
Parker Stevenson
4.
I'm going to go away on vacation, I'm going to try to get away from the phone, away from scripts. I think it's important to sit back and think about what you want
Parker Stevenson
5.
The Hardy Boys burned me out. I was recharging my batteries. It was time to return to work, but it was tough because my visibility was low
Parker Stevenson
6.
Good work is good work wherever it's done, in a play, a motion picture or television, and that includes commercials
Parker Stevenson
7.
You get in before sunrise and you get out after sunset and you go home, eat and collapse. While you're aware of the ratings, you aren't prepared for the response of the fans.
Parker Stevenson
8.
I do interviews because it's a chance to be myself. I sometimes wonder what I could have to say that would be of any interest. I don't have any great wisdom
Parker Stevenson
9.
California lacks a lot of the rules and restrictions the East has. Every house is a different style, different material, different color. There's a lot of craziness out there
Parker Stevenson
10.
I wanted my children to have the same exposure to the water I had. My strongest memories of Northeast Harbor are going in a small Whaler with my dad, looking for osprey
Parker Stevenson
11.
I like people who are enthused about things they do, like travel, sports, work. I like being with people who have things they're excited about.
Parker Stevenson
12.
You do show after show after show and get them done and on the air. Television devours material. We work a minimum of 12, 14 hours, and often 15, 18 hours a day.
Parker Stevenson
13.
During the time I was on The Hardy Boys, I was also watching other people's careers. I thought the next step was to be a movie star. I kept saying no to projects, and offers stopped coming in. I was no longer hot
Parker Stevenson
14.
I think the reaction to a World War II situation would be the same today as it was in 1942. Initially, people would question, but once patriotism got stirred up, the whole thing would gather momentum and we'd all pull together.
Parker Stevenson
15.
If I have a Sunday free, I'll go up the coast and spend some time on the beach. I scuba dive and swim and sail. A lot of the things I like are around the water.
Parker Stevenson
16.
I looked along the San Juan Islands and the coast of California, but I couldn't find the palette of green, granite, and dark blue that you can only find in Maine.
Parker Stevenson
17.
I used to a lot. I used to go dancing.
Parker Stevenson
18.
I made a classic mistake. I held out for something better.
Parker Stevenson
19.
I was the last one to screen test for The Hardy Boys. I'd like to play that's not as clean-cut as Frank Hardy. I play him as straight as possible
Parker Stevenson
20.
Intellectuals would be much more accepted now than in the '40s
Parker Stevenson
21.
I did a comparison of a school of architects known as the New York Five. I compared their articulation of wall surfaces, which I enjoyed very much
Parker Stevenson
22.
I almost rented a house by an architect named Schindler, but I couldn't afford it. It was a jewel
Parker Stevenson
23.
Suddenly you're surrounded by strangers who want something from you. The thing is, they don't know what they want, and you don't know what they want, unless it's an autograph, and you just sort of stand there grinning at one another
Parker Stevenson
24.
What I do is not some magical, mystical thing. I simply get up in the morning, get to work on time, say my lines, and do the best I can
Parker Stevenson
25.
In this business, you just never know from day to day. It's one reason I held off getting too involved in entertainment. I like being able to plan, I like to know what I'm going to be doing.
Parker Stevenson
26.
In 1942, everyone was ready to go and fight for the good guys. It was so simple.
Parker Stevenson
27.
If it seems like you're doing work when you're acting, then you're doing something wrong.
Parker Stevenson
28.
I'm more interested in where I'll be in five or 10 years than where I am now
Parker Stevenson
29.
I still think of myself really as a New Yorker
Parker Stevenson
30.
My interest in architecture has always been sculptural. Most of my photography is of architecture
Parker Stevenson
31.
What I hear all the time is to stop and listen. When you do a scene 30 times, and know the lines, you stop listening. The point is to listen, that's the only thing that can make it real.
Parker Stevenson
32.
Young people are forced to mature sooner now than in the '40s. I was doing things at age 14 that guys in the movie were just beginning to do at 16 and 17
Parker Stevenson
33.
I never thought of myself as being that good looking, I was an actor, people saw me on television, and then they start to think you're good looking because of that presentation. I was no better looking before the show, than after - and before the TV show I couldn't get a date to save my life. So what changed? Did I suddenly become more good looking? No. I got lucky, I got a TV show. That's what happened.
Parker Stevenson
34.
I don't know if kids still read it, I just know that for me - as a boarding school kid - the book had a lot of resonance. It was a well written book. I was honored to play a part in that movie version.
Parker Stevenson