Chan Parker

Chan Woods
Born	Beverly Delores Berg 29 June 1925 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	9 September 1999 (aged 74) Étampes, France
Spouse	Charlie Parker; Phil Woods
Children	5

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Chan Woods (born Beverly Delores Berg,^[1] also known as Chan Richardson; 29 June 1925 – 9 September 1999),^[2] was a common-law wife of jazz musician Charlie Parker. She later married musician Phil Woods.

She was born in New York City to an inter-religious couple; her father, a producer of vaudeville shows, was Jewish, while her mother, a dancer in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic, was not. Adopting the name "Chan Richardson," Parker became a nightclub dancer.^[3] An early jazz enthusiast, she was romantically connected in the 1940s and early 1950s with jazz musicians Johnny Bothwell and later Don Lanphere.^[4]

Chan met Charlie Parker in the 1940s, but their friendship was not romantic until around 1950. Chan and Charlie lived together in a common law relationship on New York's Lower East Side for the last five years of Charlie's life, from 1950 to 1955. However, Charlie had not formally terminated a prior marriage. Chan already had one child, her daughter Kim, at the time they established their household; together, Chan and Charlie had two more children, Baird and Pree. Although they never legally wed, Chan took Charlie's surname, as did all the children. Their relationship was dealt a severe blow with the 1953 death of their 2-1/2 year old daughter, Pree, from pneumonia related to a congenital heart defect.^[5]