Hollywood Stars

The list of Hollywood celebrities Ed Parker knew and taught is long. Some he didn't teach but knew through others and had conversations with. Often the subject of the conversation would be part of a lesson he would teach at a seminar. An example was that Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music) could sing fast yet still be understood. He related that to pronunciation of motion. The method used by violin teacher Suzuki was a model for the disguised repetition in the Parker system.

 Mr. Parker would mention German-born actress Elke Sommers from time to time when he would speak of his connections in the celebrity world. She was married to Joe Hyams. Some of you know of him from his book called Zen in the Martial Arts. A story, a lesson from him really, about Ed Parker is in that book. But what Mr. Parker remarked on was that Elke liked to walk around the house naked, even when guests were present. It was amusing to see his eyebrows raise when he told the story and it was like he was letting you in on a secret. Looking at her picture, you can see why.