Fess Parker, TV Frontiersman, Dies

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Washington Post

A nation doffs its coonskin caps to Fess Parker, who starred on the TV series "Davy Crockett" and "Daniel Boone" in the 1950s and 1960s and who died today at his home in the Santa Ynez Valley, calif., according to his managers. He was 85.

Mr. Parker, a native Texas, left show business for a career in business and real estate in the 1970s. He opened mobile home parks and a luxury hotel in California and started Fess Parker Winery. . .

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2010/03/fess-parker-tv-frontiersman-di.html

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First Peter Graves, now this. Another Boomer icon goes to that frontier in the sky.

[HereSince1628]

1. daniel boone was a MAN. YES, a BIG MAN!!!

Sorry to read that, my youth (ha ha!)is turning to ashes and dust.

[graywarrior]

2. Only 85?

Christ, seems like he should have been 125.

[bondwooley]

21. No disrespect intended, but I'm amazed he wasn't older, too.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Those were good times.

[dhill926]

4. excellent wine maker as well..........n/t

[Richard D]

5. king of the wild frontier . . .

[Kingofalldems]

6. Davey-- Davey Crockett

King of the wild frontier
RIP

[swilton]

23. 'Make sure you're right, then go ahead'

Too bad this has been lost -

[WCGreen]

7. He was a good man and brought up a lot of issues in his

Daniel Boone show such as racism with regard to Native Americans and African Americans.

Hard to do when the whole premise of your show is to settle Native AMerican land and turn it over the White Europeans.

[No Elephants]

11. With all due respect to Parker, that would have been the writers, not the actors.

[Ex Lurker]

15. IMDB shows him with director and producer credits for Daniel Boone, along with the acting

so he had a considerable amount of influence over the direction of the program.

[swilton]

24. I was thinking that in Davy Crocket he spoke for

Native rights as well

[No Elephants]

50. He was not producer of that show, though. See also Reply 49.

[No Elephants]

49. wiki doesn't show him as one of the four producers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone_(TV_series)


:shrug:


If he were producer and director, though, he would indeed have had a lot of influence over the content of the show in those capacities.

On edit: Okay, Fess Parker's wiki says he co-produced and diredted five of the episodes. (There were 165 episodes in all.)

Between Disney, Parker and Ebsen, all right wingers, my money is still on someone other than any of them. Just sayin'.

[era veteran]

19. No, The Native Americans were too smart to live in Kentucky.

[proteus_lives]

37. emulating the real Davy Crockett. Who was bitterly opposed to the Indian Removal Act.

"Hard to do when the whole premise of your show is to settle Native AMerican land and turn it over the White Europeans."

They weren't Europeans. They were Americans too.

[KansDem]

8. I'll always remember his role in "Them!"

About the giant ants...


...which led to his work in "Davy Crockett" and "Daniel Boone."

How ironic...Peter Graves recently passed away. He was the brother of James Arness who starred in "Them!" (see photo above).

[Ex Lurker]

14. sorry, misposted n/t

[Lautremont]

16. I see.

[frylock]

18. one of my all-time favorite sci-fi movies..

bought the DVD a couple years a go.

[IndianaGreen]

20. James Arness was also the alien in Howard Hawks' The Thing

a film far superior to John Carpenter's remake.

[KansDem]

27. That's right!

And I agree, "far superior to John Carpenter's remake." :puke:

An afterthought: Didn't the director (of the original) want to create an atmosphere similar to "Philadelphia Story" with several conversations going on at once? It seems when I watch "Them!" I'm amused at the short and staccato-like delivery of some of the lines...

[IndianaGreen]

44. Howard Hawks was noted for writing dialogue as he filmed scenes

Women were always strong characters in his films, and this was clear in The Thing and in Them. The women scientists in those two films were not tripping and screaming and acting hysterical.

[proteus_lives]

40. Whatever!

John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the finest sci-fi/horror movies of all time.

I loved the original but Carpenter's remake was gold and it captured the theme and feel of Campbell's original short story much better.

[IndianaGreen]

43. The gore was Carpenter's doing, it wasn't in 'Who Goes There?'

Carpenter turned the movie into a slasher flick.

[proteus_lives]

47. Slasher flick? I disagree.

Monster flick, yes. But with an original monster-which is difficult in the horror genre. Plus the feeling and tone of isolation and paranoia has rarely been equaled.

[proteus_lives]

38. I love that movie.

A sci-fi classic.

[icee]

45. I remember Davy Crockett well. My hero in those days. No

heroes anymore.

[daggahead]

9. Man, they're dropping like flies ... n/t

[Omaha Steve]

10. So sorry to hear this

I have his autographed photo from "Westward Ho the Wagons" tucked away for safe keeping. I also have the 45 Jingle Jangle from the film in my collection.

Marta's favorite is Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race. Mine is probably Old Yeller or The Great Locomotive Chase.

OS :-(

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. Aww...I had a huge crush on him when I was a kid...

:cry:

[CTyankee]

46. I did too! As I recall he was from Brownwood, TX which is where I used to spend

a few weeks every summer with my beloved aunt Tine and uncle Tim. I remember trying to find the house he had lived in...supposedly in my aunt and uncle's neighborhood, but Brownwood wasn't a great big town back in the 50s...

[RushIsRot]

13. RIP Davy 'n Dan'l. Keep your powder dry.

[MineralMan]

17. I met him once in his hotel in Santa Barbara. He was in the bar.

I told him I like his wine and his roles. He bought my wife and me a bottle of wine to have with our dinner. Nice guy.

[utopian]

28. I had a similar experience

I waited on him at a Holiday Inn. I thought he was Gregory Peck. He was really tall. I didn't know it was Fess until he signed his check (which I still have).

He was a good tipper.

[proteus_lives]

41. Six foot Six.

Big guy.

[radhika]

22. Weird: Been singing the Davy Crockett theme for days!

Out of the blue, no discernable reason. Kept running through my mind, actually reconstructed many of the verses. Now I get it...

[timtom]

31. Similarly, I've been thinking about him in the past couple of weeks

I've been watching a bunch of 30's musicals with Buddy Ebsen. Made me think of Davy Crockett, too.

[aquart]

25. Oh, my brave Davy. RIP, Mr. Parker.

[LuckyLib]

26. We wore coonskin caps when we were kids. And played Davy Crockett

til it got dark outside. Those were our action heroes. No 3-D or aliens for us!

[Auggie]

29. Actor, winemaker, and long-time friend of Ronald Reagan

On edit: Some political background...

Parker was a longtime friend of Ronald Reagan, whose Western White House was not far from the Parker vineyards. Reagan sent Parker to Australia in 1985 to represent him during an event, and when Parker returned he was asked by White House aide Michael Deaver if he was interested in being ambassador to that country.

"In the end, I decided I'd better take myself out of it. But I was flattered," Parker said.

Parker also once considered a U.S. Senate bid, challenging Alan Cranston (D-CA). But Nevada Sen. Paul Laxalt said it would be a rough campaign, and a key dissenter lived under the same roof.

"My wife was not in favor," Parker said. "I'm so happy with what evolved."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/18/entertainment/e131632D24.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0iZFEbh1C

[BumRushDaShow]

30. Oh geez.... R.I.P.

I used to watch his shows as a kid!! :cry:

Rest in peace,

[tabasco]

32. I really enjoyed Daniel Boone as a kid.

RIP, Mr. Parker.

[warm regards]

33. Black and white...a long time ago, I guess.

RIP

[unkachuck]

34. he might have been....

....born on a mountain-top in Tennessee, but he died in a valley in Californy....sorry, Mr. Parker, RIP....

....who the hell would name their kid Fess?

[Strelnikov_]

36. go back 85 years . .

and it probably made sense.

[Strelnikov_]

35. ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrLx-Jqm980&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kweL_RUXXU4

[Guilded Lilly]

39. Oh no...another hero :(

I hate this part of growing up.

Goddess Bless You, Mr. Parker and hold you eternally in her arms.

[proteus_lives]

42. RIP Mr. Parker.

You really were the King of the Wild Frontier.

And you've gone ahead of us. I hope to shake your hand one day.

[creeker]

48. May he rest in peace--A symbol of a time

When we were kids-- times seemed much simpler-- the time of the "Good guys versus bad"