Every Disney Hero Has
a Voice
Westward Ho the Wagons
Fess Parker ~ John ‘Doc’ Grayson
August 18, 1924 – March 18, 2010
In the mid-1950s, when Fess parker first donned a
coonskin cap to play the American historical character Davy Crockett for a
three-part Walt Disney television show, little did he know he was about to
become a hero to Baby Boomers across the nation.
More
than 40 years later, in 1997, Fess described the profound influence his popular
character had on young viewers. “Folks tell me over and over how much that
character shaped their lives,” he said. “I have to believe that the impact of
those programs was due as much the values inculcated in them as to their
entertainment quality.”
Fess
was catapulted to fame almost overnight after “Davy Crockett Indian fighter,” “Davy
Crockett Goes to Congress,” and “Davy Crockett at the Alamo” debuted on the “Disneyland”
television series, beginning in 1954. Even the ditty he recorded for Disney and
RCA records, “the Ballad of Davy Crockett” was on the lips of every young boy
(and girl) in America at the time, winning the actor a gold record. And when
Disneyland opened in 1955, his personal appearance on horseback, as Davy
Crockett, proved to be a huge crowd–pleaser.
Born
and Fort Worth, Texas, on August 18, 1924, Fess grew up on a farm in San
Angelo, Texas. Named after his father (“Fess” means “proud” in Old English), he
graduated from the University of Texas in 1950, where he studied law and
business administration. He then moved to Los Angeles, to pursue an acting
career and studied drama at the University of Southern California. Shortly
thereafter, he made his film debut in “Untamed Frontier,” sterling Shelley Winters.
In 1954, Walt Disney spotted the actor in a
film called “Them!” and quickly signed Fess to a Studio contract. He went on to
star in such Disney films as “Westward Ho the Wagons!” “The Great Locomotive
Chase,” “Old Yeller” and “The Light in the Forest.” He also starred in two
additional Davy Crockett television shows: “Davy Crockett’s Keelboat Race” and “Davy
Crockett and the River Pirates.” Much later, in 1978, Fess appeared in “NBC
Salutes the 25th anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney.”
After
leaving Disney, Fess donned his coonskin cap once again to play Daniel Boone.
For six years, beginning in 1964, he starred in a popular television series by
the same name and record five that’s most popular episodes.
Later,
he went on to become a successful businessman in real estate developer, Fess
owned a winery in Los Olivos, California (near Santa Barbara) where he could
often be found signing his autograph for wine and Disney lovers, alike.
Sadly,
Fess Parker died on March 18, 2010 at his home near Santa Barbara, California.
He was 85.
Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. (August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010) was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955–1956 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964 to 1970. He was also known as a wine maker and resort owner-operator.
The Fess Parker Winery is one of the wineries along the famous Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.
Early years
Fess Parker was born in Fort
Worth, Texas,
and reared on a farm in Tom Green
County near San Angelo. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in the
latter part of World War II, hoping to become a pilot. He was turned down because he
was too tall at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m). He then tried to become a radioman gunner,
but he was found too big to fit comfortably into the rear cockpit. He was
finally transferred to the Marine
Corps as a radio operator and
shipped out for the South Pacific shortly before the atom bomb ended the war.
Discharged in 1946, he enrolled in Hardin-Simmons on the GI Bill. He was stabbed in the neck by
another driver during a post-collision argument. He was an active member of the H-SU
Players Club and transferred to the University
of Texas in
1947 as a history major and continued to be active in dramatics. Parker graduated from UT in 1950 with a degree in history.
He had been initiated into the Pi
Kappa Alpha fraternity. Having
one year remaining on his GI Bill, he studied drama at the University of Southern California,
where he studied for a master's degree in theater history.
Career
Parker began his show-business career by summer 1951 when he had a
$32-a-week job as an extra in the play Mister
Roberts, although he is credited with the voice
of Leslie, the chauffeur, in the 1950 film Harvey. Within months, he was
on location with a minor part in Untamed
Frontier with Joseph Cotten and Shelley
Winters.
Parker became a contract player with Warner Brothers appearing in small roles in several
films such as Springfield
Rifle (1952), Island in the Sky, The Bounty Hunter and Battle
Cry. In 1954, he appeared as Grat
Dalton in the Jim Davis syndicated western anthology series Stories of the Century in the episode The Dalton Brothers.
Davy
Crockett
According
to Parker himself, when the Walt Disney Company was seeking an actor to play
Davy Crockett, James Arness,
thereafter cast as Marshal Matt
Dillon on CBS's Gunsmoke, was first considered
for the title role. Parker had recently graduated to a contract weekly actor,
but listened to his agent and appeared in a B
movie called Them! which required only one day's work. He
had a small scene in the movie as a pilot put into an insane asylum after
claiming his plane had been downed by giant flying insects. Arness appeared in
a larger role in the same film.
During the screening of this film, Walt Disney looked past Arness
and discovered Parker. Disney was impressed by Parker's portrayal of a man who
was unswerving in his belief in what he saw despite the forces of authority
against him. Parker was asked to drop by the Disney Studio. When he did, he
brought his guitar, met Disney, sang a song, then said goodbye. Several weeks
later Parker was informed that he had been selected over
Arness and several other actors for the role, including Buddy Ebsen who eventually played Crockett's
companion, George Russell.
Disney's
three episode version of Crockett depicted his exploits as a frontiersman,
congressman, and tragic hero of the Alamo. It has been called the first
television miniseries, though the
term had not yet been coined. Davy
Crockett (1954–55) was a
tremendous hit and led to a merchandising frenzy for coonskin caps and all
things Crockett.
Parker
became a contract star for Disney and appeared in The Great Locomotive Chase, Westward Ho, the Wagons!, Old Yeller, and The Light in the Forest. He
complained they were all basically the same role. Disney refused to loan Parker
for roles outside of that persona,
such as The Searchers and Bus
Stop.
Parker made guest appearances on many television programs, and
composed and sang. He performed the occasional role of Tom Conrad, editor of
the Diablo Courier in the syndicated western series, Annie Oakley (1954–1957), starring Gail Davis, Brad Johnson, and Jimmy Hawkins. In 1962, he starred in the title role
of the TV series Mr Smith Goes
to Washington. Parker took to the stage in 1963, in a traveling production
of Oklahoma! as 'Curly'. The movie roles he sought
were elusive.
Daniel Boone
Parker's Daniel Boone television series
portraying another historic
figure of America's frontier days
began filming in 1964. Over its six years (1964 to 1970) as one of the highest
rated shows of its time, Parker was not only the star of the series but also
the co-producer and director of five of its most popular episodes.
Ironically,
having been under contract to Disney, Parker became interested in opening a
Davy Crockett-themed amusement park. In the late 1960s, he optioned land in
northern Kentucky at the confluence of Interstate 71 and Interstate 75, with
the intention of building Frontier World. However, when the Taft Broadcasting Company of Cincinnati,
Ohio began building Kings Island Amusement Park in nearby Mason, Ohio, less than a 2-hour drive
from Parker's site, financing for Parker's venture dried up.
Turning
down the title role of McCloud,
Parker retired from the film industry in the 1970s,
after a short-lived 1974 sitcom, The Fess Parker Show.
Awards
Fess Parker was nominated for best new personality Emmy in
1954, but lost to George Gobel. He was never nominated again,
nor was his show Daniel Boone.[15]
In 2003, Parker received the Texas
Cultural Trust's "Texas Medal of Arts Award", established
only the year before.[16][17]
For his work with Disney, Parker was honored in December 2004 with
his own tribute window on a façade in the Frontierland section of Disneyland.
Fess Parker Winery
After his acting career, Parker devoted much of his time to
operating his Fess Parker Family Winery and Vineyards in Los Olivos, California. The winery is owned and operated by
Parker's family, and has produced several different types of award-winning
wines. Parker's son, Eli, is President and Director of Winemaking & Vineyard Operations while daughter, Ashley, is
Vice President of Marketing & Sales.[19]
The
Parker operation includes over 1,500 acres (610 ha) of vineyards, and a
tasting room and visitor center along the Foxen
Canyon Wine Trail. In addition to wine, the winery is known for sellingcoon
skin caps and bottle toppers,
inspired by Parker's Crockett and Boone characters, and for appearing in the
movie Sideways.
In a reminiscence of his acting days, Parkers' wine labels have a
logo of a golden coonskin cap.
Personal life
Parker married Marcella Belle Rinehart on January 18, 1960. They
had two children, Fess Elisha Parker III and Ashley Allen Rinehart...along with
11 grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Death
According to a spokesperson, Parker died of natural causes on
March 18, 2010, at his home in Santa
Ynez, California, near the Fess Parker Winery.
He
was buried with his parents at Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara,
California.
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