Walt Disney would not let Parker out of his contract, so he had to turn down a part in The Searchers (1956).
Appeared as an uncredited extra in Man on a Tightrope (1953). He is seen for a few seconds near the end of the movie as a U.S. GI sitting in a jeep guarding the border.
At the time he was famous in France for his Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone roles, French distributors found they had to rename him - on posters, in TV programmers...etc. - for the French audience/ Public, into "Fier" Parker. One must know that "fesse(s)", in French, means "buttocks, bottom", whereas "fier" means "proud" ; a more becoming name for someone embodying American "Heroes"...
Best remembered by the public as Disney's Davy Crockett.
Discovered by Adolphe Menjou who was a guest artist at the University of Texas while Fess was a student. Menjou helped him with formal introductions when he first got to Hollywood.
Fess Parker had eleven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Graduate of The University of Texas at Austin - BA '50
Has two children, Fess Elisha III (Fess Parker) and Ashley Allen Rinehart.
He was a major supporter of the Republican Party and once considered running for the senate in Nevada. He was a close friend of President Ronald Reagan, who in 1985 asked him to become his ambassador to Australia.
Interviewed about the beginnings of his career and his "Davy Crockett" experiences in the book "Wild Wild Westerners" by Tom Weaver (BearManor, 2012).
Longtime friend of Ronald Reagan.
Parker talks about the beginnings of his career and the movie Them! (1954) in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland, 2010) by Tom Weaver.
Parker was named a Disney Legend in 1991.
Passed away on his wife's 82nd birthday.
Played college football at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX in the 1940s before transferring to the University of Texas-Austin.
Retired from Hollywood in 1973; among his successful California businesses are an ocean-front resort in Santa Barbara; a 21-room inn in Los Olivos; and an award-winning winery.
Song "King of the Wild Frontier" was Number 1 on the "Hit Parade" for 16 weeks. Parker was paid $150. (source: interview with Fess Parker in the SF Chronicle, "Datebook" ("Pink") section, November 12, 2006).
To one generation of television fans he will always be Davy Crockett. To the next generation he will be the one and only Daniel Boone.
Wanted to be cast opposite Marilyn Monroe in "Bus Stop" but could not overcome Walt Disney's disapproval.