Obituaries

July 7, 1935 – December 4, 2022 Richard “Rocky” Harry Parkhurst passed away on December 4th, 2022 at the age of 87, in his hometown of Santa Monica, California. He is survived by his current wife of 30 years Christie Parkhurst, his previous wife of 24 years Barbara Parkhurst and their three children (Micheal, Rachael, Veronica), seven grandchildren (Bradford, Jessica, Rachael, Benjamin, Sarah, Cassidy, and James), and three great grandchildren (Joy, Micah, Arthur).

Richard started out life working on the family farm with his older brothers Jack and Bill. After high school he joined the Navy and got his electricians mate rating. It would serve him well as he later joined ABC in Hollywood and spent 37 years in different roles working his way up to become a stage manager. In the process he won two Emmy Awards for his work in both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics’. He also worked on several TV series such as Merv Griffen Show, General Hospital, All My Children, Port Charles, and Benson.

Richard and Christie both shared a great love of sports (football and basketball), their dogs, family, and travel. Richard was a wonderful stepfather to Christie’s children Brian, Kevin, and Greg. His other hobbies included building computers, operating his HAM radio, and lawn bowling. He even got a bit of acting in the movie “Blazing Saddles”.

Richard will be honored in a ceremony at Hillside Memorial Park at 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles at 2pm on Friday the 6th of January, 2023. His graveside ceremony will at Pierce Brothers in Westlake Village at 2pm on Saturday the 7th of January, 2023.