[3] Born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta to immigrant parents from the United Kingdom, Parry worked as a tinsmith and a sign designer, while pursuing interests in theatre as a hobby, in the 1920s and 1930s.
[4] He first entered the film industry during World War II when a rapid staffing expansion at his then-employer, Neon Products of Western Canada, necessitated the production of industrial training films.
In 1944 he left Neon Products to join the fledgling Vancouver Motion Pictures as a production manager, but declined to transfer to Toronto when that company moved; instead, he purchased VMP's now-vacant studio and established his first production company, Trans-Canada Films.
[5] The company made a few theatrical films, most notably the documentaries Prelude to Kitimat and The Tall Country, but specialized primarily in instructional and informational documentary films for government and corporate clients; however, nearly all of the next generation of British Columbia filmmakers, who were able to start making feature films, got their first experience in the film industry working for Parry Productions.
[1] Parry was also one of the founders of the British Columbia Motion Picture Association and Telefilm Canada.