August 16, 1924
On this day, Fess Parker, the actor who had America’s kids wearing coon skin caps and their parents humming his theme song, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
Portraying two legendary frontiersmen, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, Parker (right, circa mid-50s) became a major star overnight,
Starting out as a city kid, he spent his childhood on a farm near San Angelo. A World War II veteran, his six-foot-six frame disqualified him from becoming a Navy pilot. He couldn’t fit into the gunner’s tiny compartment either, so he wound up as a Marine radio man.
He returned to Texas after his discharge in 1946 and attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene on the GI Bill. It was where he discovered acting, becoming active in the school’s H-SU Players Club. His interest in drama continued when he transferred to the University of Texas in 1947 as a history major. He graduated from Texas U in 1950 but with a year left on his GI Bill, he studied drama at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Parker began acting professionally in 1952 with a modest $32-a-week bit part in the stage play “Mr. Roberts” but quickly became a contract player at Warner Brothers.
It was a small scene in ”Them!”a 1954 science fiction B movie, that brought Parker to the attention of Walt Disney. Disney was actually considering fellow cast member James Arness for the lead in Davy Crockett when he spotted the tall Texan.
No doubt Arness (right) didn’t mourn the loss of the part for long. In 1955 he was tapped to play Matt Dillon in the CBS series, “Gunsmoke.” It ran for 20 seasons and 635 episodes, making it the longest running television action drama in history.
The first three episodes of “Davy Crockett,” are considered by many to be the birth of the miniseries. The episodes depicted Crockett’s adventures on the frontier, his time in Congress and his heroic death at the Alamo. Besides making him an icon, it fueled a merchandise frenzy in coon-skin caps, Davy Crockett comic books and dozens of trading cards.
In addition, the series theme song, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,”topped the charts for 16 weeks. Three album versions, first recorded by Bill Hayes, 
second by Parker himself and third by Tennessee Ernie Ford, accounted for more than 10 million copies sold.
While at Disney Parker starred in a number of Westerns including “Westward Ho, The Wagons,” “Old Yeller,” “The Jayhawkers” and “Alias Jesse James” but often complained his roles varied little. It was reported that he desperately wanted to be cast opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 movie “Bus Stop,” but Disney refused to loan his buckskin gold mine to other studios.
From 1964 until 1970 Parker portrayed Daniel Boone in the series of the 
same name produced by 20th Century Fox Television. It was one of the highest rated shows of its time but failed to have the same impact as the Disney miniseries.
Parker next starred in short-lived series in 1974 after turning down the title role in television’s “McCloud.” It went to the Arness “Gunsmoke” sidekick, Dennis Weaver (right),
After retiring from show business, the actor invested in California wine country real estate and eventually became a vintner, operating a 1,500-acre 
vineyard on California’s Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.
Parker and his wife of 50 years, Marcella Belle Rinehart (right), and their two children built the Fess Parker Winery in Los Olivos into an award-winning label. The vineyard is still operated by the Parker family today.
A major supporter of the Republican party, Parker was a close friend of fellow actor, President Ronald Reagan, and reportedly once considered running for the senate in Nevada.
Parker died March 18, 2010 at his home in Santa Ynez, California. at age 86. He is buried in Santa Barbara not far from his vineyard.
Seven years before his death, he was honored by his home state, receiving the Texas Cultural Trust’s “Texas Medal of Arts Award” in 2003.
Fess Parker Family Winery and Vineyard, 6200 Foxen Canyon Rd, Los Olivos, California, was founded by Parker in 1989 and is still run by Parker’s son and daughter. A new winery, completed in 1994, inspired by an Australian sheep station, includes a tasting room, knotty pine bar surrounded by an extensive exhibit of the late actor’s memorabilia from TV 
and movies. The vineyard’s award-winning wines are also available on line, ranging in price from about $15 to $80. For more information, go to fessparker.com, call (805) 688-1545 / toll-free (800) 841-1104 or e-mail info@fessparker.com .
© Text Only – 2018 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain or fair use.