Parrish was a prolific screen star as well as fierce environmental and antiwar advocate.

Leslie Parrish, Batman and The Manchurian Candidate actress, dies at 90

Parrish was a prolific screen star as well as fierce environmental and antiwar advocate.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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August 23, 2026 5:10 p.m. ET

Leslie Parrish in the 1960s. Credit:

- Leslie Parrish, a prolific star of films like *The Manchurian Candidate *and series like *Batman*, died at 90.

- In just two decades in Hollywood, Parrish racked up credits in iconic projects like Jerry Lewis’ *Three on a Couch*, Richard Quine’s *Sex and the Single Girl*, and shows like *Perry Mason *and *Star Trek*.

- Parrish was also a tireless antiwar and environmental advocate, fighting against the Vietnam War with the Jeanette Rankin Brigade.

Leslie Parrish, the prolific actress’ whose two-decade run in Hollywood saw her land scene-stealing roles in films like *The Manchurian Candidate *and series like *Batman*, has died. She was 90.

Parrish was living in Washington state when she died in 2025. Erica Berdan, Parrish’s stepdaughter during her 18-year marriage to author Richard Bach, confirmed her death to *The Hollywood Reporter* on Sunday.

Beyond appearing in some of the most influential projects of her time, from *Perry Mason *and *Star Trek *to Jerry Lewis’ *Three on a Couch*, Parrish was a tireless antiwar and environmental activist, whose fierce advocacy led to lasting real-world changes.

Leslie Parrish and Vic Morrow in ‘Portrait of a Mobster’.

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** did not immediately hear back from Berdan for comment.

Parrish was born Marjorie Hellen in the Boston suburb of Melrose, Mass., on March 18, 1935. Though she started out as a model, she was discovered by a scout from Twentieth Century Fox, who promptly signed her to a contract under her new star name and sent her packing to Hollywood.

She hit the ground running, appearing in tiny roles at least five films in 1955, from the peachy-keen romance *A Man Called Peter*, starring Jean Peters, to the beloved dance-spectacular *Daddy Long Legs*, starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron.

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Parrish would work steadily through the late 1970s, racking up an enormous number of credits on TV during its first boom. She appeared in Western and adventure series whose titles have largely faded from the cultural memory, including *The Rough Riders *and *Bat Masterson*. But Parrish also appeared in memorable roles in series that would go on to define the era, including *Perry Mason*, *Star Trek,* *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.*, and *Batman*, on which she played the villainous henchwoman of Mr. Freeze, Glacia Glaze.

On film, Parrish’s career heated up as the ‘50s gave way to the swinging ‘60s, appearing in boundary-pushing comedies like Jerry Lewis’ *Three on a Couch* and Richard Quine’s *Sex and the Single Girl*, which costarred Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. She is perhaps best known for portraying Laurence Harvey’s fiancée, Jocelyn Jordan, in John Frankenheimer’s groundbreaking 1962 adaptation of *The Manchurian Candidate*.

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Even before she quit Hollywood, Parrish began devoting her life to antiwar and environmental activism. She agitated alongside the famed Jeannette Rankin Brigade for an end to the Vietnam War and campaigned for years for Tom Bradley, Los Angeles’ first Black city councilman, to become its first Black mayor. Bradley eventually won the 1973 election, and she was tapped as one of the activists on his Blue Ribbon Commission.

After turning in her last performance in the 1978 made-for-TV movie *No Margin for Error*, Parrish went all in on environmentalism, co-founding with Bach the Spring Hill Wildlife Sanctuary on Mt. Woolard on Washington’s Orcas Island.

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