Nancy Parsons - Coach Balbricker

 

Nancy Anne Parsons was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on January 17, 1942.  She was one of three children to parents Charles and Mary Margaret.

During her high school years, Parsons was a member of the drama department, where she earned the praise of both faculty and students alike.  Upon graduation in 1960, she accepted a full scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse and was off to California.  After she completed her studies there however, she soon met her husband and spent the next decade raising a family.

She returned to acting in 1974, making her mark on the Los Angeles stage scene.  Her first screen credit was the 1977 film American Raspberry, also known as Prime Time.  This blogger has never heard of it, and after viewing the trailer on YouTube, you'll understand why.

In 1980, Parsons was cast in a schlocky, low-budget horror film called Motel Hell, where as the tagline suggests, "it takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters."  In other words, while guests check into this hotel, they never check out.

Her claim to fame however, is the role of coach Beulah Balbricker in the Porky's films of the early 1980s, a trilogy this blogger has always deemed to be overrated.  When the series ended in 1985, she continued acting in Hollywood, most notably in the 1989 hit Steel Magnolias.  She also appeared on such notable TV series as Charlie's Angels, Family Ties, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, seemingly typecast as a nurse.

Nancy Parsons died of congestive heart failure on January 5, 2001, two weeks shy of her 59th birthday.  She was laid to rest at Viroqua Cemetery, near her hometown of La Crosse.

The two inscriptions read "we love you mom" and "mother of Elizabeth & Margaret."

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Parsons appeared in the 1985 Motley Crue video Smokin in the Boys Room.  See if you can spot her on YouTube.
  
  
• Daughters Elizabeth and Margaret both tried their hand in Hollywood as well, with limited success.  Margaret's only credit is the Lingerie Football League (?).  Elizabeth fared slightly better, appearing with her mom in the sequel Porky's Revenge.  Today, they are both retired from acting.
  
  
• To date, Porky's is the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in the United States and Canada.  It was also a video game for the Atari 2600.  You can't make this stuff up.