Fess Parker

Birth: Aug. 16, 1924
Fort Worth Tarrant County Texas, USA
Death: Mar. 18, 2010
Actor. Born Fess Elisha Parker, Junior in Fort Worth Texas, the son of Fess Parker, Senior, at twenty he joined the US Navy but was deemed too tall at almost six and a half feet to qualify as a pilot. Upon discharge, he attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene where he played college football before transferring to the University of Texas, Austin, earning a BA in history. After a move to USC, he picked up a voice role as the driver in the now classic film "Harvey." He didn't appear in another film for two years, but then was in three separate films in 1952 and another four in 1953, most of which were uncredited. In 1954 he appeared in feature films such as "Them!" and "Battlecry" as well as branching out, appearing in almost a dozen television series including one of his twin signature roles, that of Davy Crockett, for which he returned for seven episodes of "The Wonderful World of Disney" over the next two years. He signed a contract with Disney appearing in films such as "The Great Locomotive Chase," in 1956 and "Old Yeller" in 1957. Apparently jealous of their wildly popular star, Disney refused to loan him out to other studios so as not to tarnish his persona. By 1959, his popularity had leveled off, and he found that he was unable to regain the success he had has Crockett. He made guest appearances on a number of television series such as "Death Valley Days" and "General Electric Theatre." He attempted another series of his own, starring in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1963 for only one season. In 1964 he returned to the frontier in the second of his signature roles, Daniel Boone, in a series of the same name which ran for six seasons. In 1974, after a failed television series, "The Fess Parker Show," he retired from the screen and with an eye for real estate development, he built his first resort hotel, Fess Parker's Double Tree Resort, in Santa Barbara in 1986. In 1987, he established Fess Parker's Winery and Vineyard winning several awards for producing fine wines. He was named a Disney Legend in 1991 and in 2003, he received the Texas Cultural Trust's Texas Medal of Arts. He and his wife of 50 years, Marcella, raised two children Write your opinion here...