Fess Elisha Parker, Jr.

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. net worth is $20 Million. Also know about Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. Wiki Biography

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was born on the 16th August 1924, in Fort Worth, Texas and died on the 18th March, 2010 in Santa Ynez, California, USA. He was an actor and winemaker as well as resort owner. He is probably best known for creating the image of Davy Crockett in the television series under the same name (1955 – 1956). Fess Parker had been active in the entertainment industry from 1950 to 2007. His winery, named The Fess Parker Winery, belongs to the group of the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.

How much was the net worth of Fess Parker? Reportedly, at the time of his death his wealth was as much as $20 million.

To begin with, Fess Parker grew-up near San Angelo, where his father had a farm, then during World War II Parker served in the USA Navy. In 1950, he graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor’s degree in Art History. Then he moved to California and studied drama at the University of Southern California, with the aim of acquiring a Master of Arts degree in Theatre Studies.

In the early 1950s Parker played his first roles in movies, including “Harvey”(1950) by Henry Koster, “No Room for the Groom”(1952) and “Take Me to Town” (1953) both by Douglas Sirk, “The Kid from Left Field” (1953) by Harmon Jones, “Dragonfly Squadron”(1954) by Lesley Selander as well as many other films. He was under contract with the Walt Disney Studios and became known for his roles in the Disney TV series “Davy Crockett” (1954-1956), and the films developed from it – “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier” (1955) and “Davy Crockett and the River Pirates” (1956). Moreover, Walt Disney made him the star of the feature films “The Great Locomotive Chase” (1956), “Old Yeller” (1957) and “The Light in the Forest” (1958). The Walt Disney Company appointed him as a Disney Legend in 1991. In the television series “Daniel Boone” (1964 – 1970) Parker played the historical figure of the pioneer and adventurer, of which he directed several episodes, and also worked as the producer. Overall, acting increased the total size of Fess Parker’s net worth considerably.

However, it must be said that Parker had some other engagements, too. In the 1970s, Fess Parker withdrew from the film business and became a real estate agent and hotelier. From the late 1980s, he worked in California as a winemaker at the family-owned wineries in Los Olivos in Santa Ynez Valley, producing several award winning wines. In reference to his film role of Davy Crockett, he chose as the logo of the company a golden raccoon hat. Parker was a long time friend of Ronald Reagan, whose property was near Parker’s wineries. He represented Reagan in an official mission in Australia in 1985.

Finally, in the personal life of the actor and winemaker, Parker married Marcella Belle Rinehart in 1960, and the couple had two children. He died from natural causes at home in Santa Ynez, California at the age of 85. According to his wishes, Parker rests at the Santa Barbara Cemetery in California, USA.

IMDB Wikipedia “Daniel Boone” (1964 – 1970) “Davy Crockett” (1954-1956) “Dragonfly Squadron”(1954) “No Room for the Groom” (1953) “Old Yeller” (1957) and “The Light in the Forest” (1958) “The Great Locomotive Chase” (1956) “The Kid from Left “Harvey”(1950) $20 million 1924-08-16 2010-03-18 52) American Ashley Allen Rinehart Disney Legend (1991) Douglas Sirk Fess Elisha Parker III Fess Parker Fess Parker Net Worth Fort Worth Harmon Jones Henry Koster Lesley Selander Marcella Belle Rinehart Miscellaneous Crew Take Me to Town (1953) Texas University of Southern California USA

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. Quick Info

Full Name Fess Parker
Net Worth $20 Million
Date Of Birth 16th August 1924, in Fort Worth, Texas
Died 18th March, 2010 in Santa Ynez, California, USA
Height 1.96 m
Profession Film and television actor
Education USA Navy, University of Texas, University of Southern California
Nationality American
Spouse Marcella Belle Rinehart (1960-2010)
Children Ashley Allen Rinehart, Fess Elisha Parker III
IMDB www.imdb.com/name/nm0662240
Awards Texas Cultural Trust’s “Texas Medal of Arts Award” (2003), Honored the “tribute window on a façade” in the Frontierland section of Disneyland
Nominations Disney Legend (1991), Emmy Award for Best new personality (1954)
Movies 52), “Take Me to Town” (1953), “The Kid from Left “Harvey”(1950), “No Room for the Groom” (1953), “Dragonfly Squadron”(1954), “The Great Locomotive Chase” (1956), “Old Yeller” (1957), “The Light in the Forest” (1958)
TV Shows “Davy Crockett” (1954-1956), “Daniel Boone” (1964 – 1970)

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. Quotes

  • I left the business after 22 years. It was time to leave Hollywood. I came along at a time when I’m starting out with Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Sterling Hayden and Gregory Peck. Who needed a guy running around in a coonskin cap?
  • 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.
  • 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 Elisha Parker, Jr. Important Facts

  • Acting mentor and friend of Darby Hinton.
  • In order for Buddy Ebsen to offer him dance lessons, he exchanged guitar lessons with Parker.
  • Owns and operates a winery: Fess Parker Winery P.O. Box 908 6200 Foxen Canyon Rd. Los Olivos, CA 93441-9999 (800) 841-1104 [1997]
  • Attended the funeral of longtime best friend, Buddy Ebsen, when the actor passed away in 2003.
  • Best remembered by the public for his starring role as the title character in Daniel Boone (1964).
  • Met Buddy Ebsen when the two were under contract at Disney in 1954.
  • Was the only actor to appear in every episode of Daniel Boone (1964).
  • Interviewed about the beginnings of his career and his “Davy Crockett” experiences in the book “Wild Wild Westerners” by Tom Weaver (BearManor, 2012).
  • Fess Parker had eleven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
  • Wanted to be cast opposite Marilyn Monroe in “Bus Stop” but could not overcome Walt Disney’s disapproval.
  • 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.
  • Longtime friend of Ronald Reagan.
  • Passed away on his wife’s 82nd birthday.
  • 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.
  • Has two children, Fess Elisha III (Fess Parker) and Ashley Allen Rinehart.
  • 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.
  • Best remembered by the public as Disney’s Davy Crockett.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • Walt Disney would not let Parker out of his contract, so he had to turn down a part in The Searchers (1956).
  • 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”…
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Parker was named a Disney Legend in 1991.
  • Played college football at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX in the 1940s before transferring to the University of Texas-Austin.
  • Graduate of The University of Texas at Austin – BA ’50

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. Filmography

Title Year Status Character Role
The Fess Parker Show 1974 TV Short Fess Hamilton Actor
Climb an Angry Mountain 1972 TV Movie Sheriff Elisha Cooper Actor
Daniel Boone 1964-1970 TV Series Daniel Boone Actor
The Red Skelton Hour 1970 TV Series Davy Crockett Actor
Smoky 1966 Clint Barkley Actor
Daniel Boone: Frontier Trail Rider 1966 Daniel Boone Actor
Burke’s Law 1964 TV Series Herman Sitwell Actor
Destry 1964 TV Series Clarence Jones Actor
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 1963 TV Series Sheriff Ben Wister Actor
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1962-1963 TV Series Sen. Eugene Smith / Senator Eugene Smith Actor
Hell Is for Heroes 1962 Sgt. Pike Actor
Death Valley Days 1954-1962 TV Series Reverend Joel Todd / Curt Morrison Actor
General Electric Theater 1960 TV Series Jonathan West Actor
The Jayhawkers! 1959 Cam Bleeker Actor
Alias Jesse James 1959 Davy Crockett (uncredited) Actor
The Hangman 1959 Sheriff Buck Weston Actor
Schlitz Playhouse 1958 TV Series Actor
The Light in the Forest 1958 Del Hardy Actor
Playhouse 90 1958 TV Series Pvt. Linus Powell Actor
Old Yeller 1957 Jim Coates Actor
Westward Ho, the Wagons! 1956 John ‘Doc’ Grayson Actor
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color 1954-1956 TV Series Davy Crockett / John ‘Doc’ Grayson Actor
The Great Locomotive Chase 1956 James J. Andrews Actor
City Detective 1955 TV Series Tony Actor
Battle Cry 1955 Pvt. Speedy Actor
The Bounty Hunter 1954 Wild Cowboy at Finale (uncredited) Actor
My Little Margie 1954 TV Series The All American Actor
Them! 1954 Alan Crotty Actor
Annie Oakley 1954 TV Series Les Clinton – The Texas Sandman / Tom Conrad – Newspaper Publisher Actor
Dragonfly Squadron 1954 Texas Lieutenant (uncredited) Actor
Stories of the Century 1954 TV Series Grat Dalton Actor
Dragnet 1954 TV Series Officer Harkness Actor
Thunder Over the Plains 1953 Kirby Actor
Island in the Sky 1953 Fitch’s Co-Pilot (uncredited) Actor
The Kid from Left Field 1953 McDougal Actor
Take Me to Town 1953 Long John (uncredited) Actor
Man on a Tightrope 1953 Checkpoint Soldier (uncredited) Actor
Springfield Rifle 1952 Jim Randolph (uncredited) Actor
Untamed Frontier 1952 Clem McCloud Actor
No Room for the Groom 1952 Cousin Ben (uncredited) Actor
Harvey 1950 Leslie–Chauffeur (voice, uncredited) Actor
Mr. Robot 2016 TV Series performer – 1 episode Soundtrack
The Disney Family Album 1985 TV Series documentary performer – 1 episode Soundtrack
Back to the Future 1985 performer: “THE BALLAD OF DAVY CROCKETT” 1954 Soundtrack
Daniel Boone 1964-1970 TV Series performer – 4 episodes Soundtrack
The Danny Kaye Show 1965 TV Series performer – 1 episode Soundtrack
Westward Ho, the Wagons! 1956 lyrics: “I’m Lonely My Darlin'” / performer: “The Ballad of John Colter”, “Wringle Wrangle” Soundtrack
The Great Locomotive Chase 1956 performer: “Dixie”, “Tenting On The Old Camp Ground”, “Pappy Was A Railroad Man”, “Roll Jordan Roll”, “A Rebel I Will I Be Until I Died” Soundtrack
Dateline: Disneyland 1955 TV Special documentary performer: “Bang! Went Old Betsy” Soundtrack
Daniel Boone 1968-1970 TV Series 5 episodes Director
Daniel Boone 1968 TV Series producer – 1 episode Producer
‘Old Yeller’: Remembering a Classic 2002 Video documentary short special thanks Thanks
A Conversation with Fess Parker 2001 Video documentary short thanks Thanks
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth 2001 TV Movie documentary grateful acknowledgment Thanks
Pioneers of Television 2011 TV Mini-Series documentary Himself / Daniel Boone from Daniel Boone Self
James May’s Road Trip 2007 TV Series documentary Himself Self
Directed by Norman Foster 2006 Video documentary short Himself Self
CBS News Sunday Morning 2005 TV Series documentary Himself Self
Alamo Mania 2004 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
‘Old Yeller’: Remembering a Classic 2002 Video documentary short Himself Self
A Conversation with Fess Parker 2001 Video documentary short Himself Self
Disney Through the Decades 2001 Video documentary short Host – 1950’s Self
The De la Peña Diary 2000 Video documentary Himself Self
Best Doggone Dog in the West: The Making of Walt Disney’s ‘Old Yeller’ 1997 Video documentary short Himself – Host Self
The Wonderful World of Disney: 40 Years of Television Magic 1994 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
The Disney Family Album 1985 TV Series documentary Himself / Davy Crockett Self
All-Star Party for ‘Dutch’ Reagan 1985 TV Special Himself Self
NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney 1978 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
Hollywood’s Talking 1973 TV Series Himself Self
The Dean Martin Show 1969-1972 TV Series Himself Self
The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World 1971 TV Movie documentary Himself Self
The Andy Williams Show 1971 TV Series Himself Self
Della 1969 TV Series Himself Self
Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters 1969 TV Series Himself Self
The Joey Bishop Show 1969 TV Series Himself Self
Today 1964-1969 TV Series Himself Self
The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show 1968 TV Series Himself Self
The Jonathan Winters Show 1968 TV Series Himself – Guest Self
The London Palladium Show 1966 TV Series Himself Self
The Danny Kaye Show 1965 TV Series Himself Self
What’s This Song? 1964-1965 TV Series Himself – Guest / Himself Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 1964 TV Series Himself Self
Here’s Hollywood 1961 TV Series Himself Self
Startime 1959 TV Series Himself Self
The Juke Box Jury 1956-1959 TV Series Himself Self
The 31st Annual Academy Awards 1959 TV Special Himself – Audience Member Self
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color 1954-1957 TV Series Himself / James J Andrews Self
The Ed Sullivan Show 1956-1957 TV Series Himself Self
Disneyland, U.S.A. 1956 Documentary short Himself – as Davy Crockett Self
The George Gobel Show 1956 TV Series Himself Self
The Tin Pan Alley Show 1956 TV Series Himself Self
The 28th Annual Academy Awards 1956 TV Special Himself – Audience Member Self
Dateline: Disneyland 1955 TV Special documentary Himself Self
The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards 2010 TV Special Himself – Memorial Tribute Archive Footage
Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years 2005 Documentary short Himself / Davy Crockett (uncredited) Archive Footage
Biography 1994 TV Series documentary Davy Crockett in ‘Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier’ Archive Footage
Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah 1986 Video short Davy Crockett Archive Footage
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color 1961-1980 TV Series Jim Coates / Del Hardy / James J. Andrews / … Archive Footage
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 1956 Davy Crockett Archive Footage
Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier 1955 Davy Crockett Archive Footage

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie Category
1986 Golden Boot Golden Boot Awards Won
1986 Golden Boot Golden Boot Awards Nominated