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| | "There have been several turning points in my life, but the most important one came the day I stepped before the cameras as Davy Crockett. The way I look at things, a man's life story isn't his alone, but it belongs to a lot of people who have influenced him and done things for him that he can never repay." Fess Parker mini-bio: A former college athlete at the University of Texas, Fess studied Drama in the early fifties and debuted in 'Springfield Rifle' (1952). He made only a handful of movies until he was signed by Walt Disney to star in the Davy Crockett series. When Walt was looking for an actor to play the part of Davy, he screened the Sci-fi movie 'Them!' (1954) with James Arness. When he saw Fess in a scene, he chose him over Arness and Fess became an instant celebrity when 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier' debuted in 1955. His appeal with children was enormous with the coon-skinned hat and the hit song "Davey Crockett". But the craze ended almost as fast as it started in 1956, and Fess was typecast. Fess appeared in other Disney movies dealing with the early years of Davey and also in non-Crockett parts such as 'Old Yeller' (1957). By 1959, unable to achieve the success that he had gained as Crockett, his career had leveled off. He made guest appearances on a number of television shows, but his attempted return to television in the series "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1962) was not successful. Unable to procure the rights to play Crockett from Disney, Fess tried the frontiersman role once again with the TV series "Daniel Boone" (1964). He played this role for six years and the fact that he had a beautiful red-headed wife in a color series did not hurt him at all. After "Daniel Boone", Fess retired from the screen and went into real estate, which was profitable. He was later forced to sue his Daniel Boone producers over the profits generated by the series.
"I guess you could call me plain. I don't go in for show. There isn't anything I want too much, except to be a good actor." | VITAL STATS | | Eye color: | | Height: 6'5 | | Nickname(s): | | Notable feature(s):Grin,hight | | Education: Graduate of The University of Texas at Austin - BA '50 | | Family: Marcella Rinehart (1960 - present) 2 children Fess Elisha III and Ashley Allen Rinehart. | | Resides in: Los Olivos,CA,USA | | Religious affiliations: | | Political affiliation: | | Personal interests/hobbies:wine,food | | Charities/Causes: | Other: Owns and operates a winery:
Fess Parker Winery P.O. Box 908 6200 Foxen Canyon Rd.
Los Olivos, CA 93441-9999
(800) 841-1104 | | |
