Walt Disney Art Classics Convention 2004 - Part 1
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Hodgkins then brought up the beloved series Daniel Boone. It ran from 1964 to 1970, whereas Davy Crockett ran for only five hour long episodes. “We were struggling the first year,�? said Parker. “It was supposed to be the further adventures of Davy Crockett.�? Walt Disney, however, did not want to add to the five original episodes. So NBC changed the character to Daniel Boone. And, noted Parker ruefully, “I was the first actor put into the Witness Protection Program!�?
Fess Parker and Patricia Blair starred in Daniel Boone for six years.
After a slow start, the series took off after Ed Ames’ memorable appearance on Johnny Carson’s program. Ames played Mingo, the Oxford educated American Indian. On the Tonight Show he did a tomahawk throwing exhibition that went awry, and, as Parker said, “It called a lot of attention to our show.�? (The famous blooper, which Carson ran at every retrospective, involved a tomahawk that struck an outlined silhouette in a rather strategic spot. It was the longest recorded laugh in the history of the program.)
After Daniel Boone ended its six year run, Warner Brothers put Parker under contract for three years. He recalled that he was given a big office, a secretary, and all the perks. Finally came the time to meet the executives, who assured him they had a “great idea�? for a new series. He met them in a plush conference room, where they told him he would play a modern day sheriff operating in New Mexico. Parker looked the assembled group in the eye and said scornfully, “I have three friends who have already done that series.�? Climb an Angry Mountain would become, officially, Fess Parker’s final foray into episodic television. His children were growing up, and he retreated to Santa Barbara to spend more time with them.
Fess Parker has lived in Santa Barbara since 1958. He said he was warned back then, “You can’t live in Santa Barbara and work in Hollywood.�? But he decided to stay put there anyway.
The interview then turned to the subject of wine. “In 1988 I was 65 and unemployed,�? explained Parker. In the 1970s he had looked around Napa Valley. He was involved with the Fess Parker Doubletree Hotel at that time (he still retains a business interest), but by the 80s he noticed that some of his neighbors were “making nice wine.�? So he suggested to his 26 year old son that they could start a little father-son enterprise. And, he said, “It’s been a 15 year learning experience.�?
Hodgkins took the opportunity to ask, “Fess, can you get us a good rack rate?�? Fess laughed that he wasn’t sure about that, but that Hodgkins was welcome to come up to Santa Barbara and see. He added that there were eleven wineries in the area when they started out, and around seventy today. He went into details on the geography of Santa Barbara’s canyons, and how they created an ideal temperate setting for premium wine grapes.
Hodgkins proudly asserted that the class session had “gone from Music to History to Chemistry to Geography.�? He then showed a slide of the Walt Disney Classics Collection sculpture of Daniel Boone, noting that it would be “life sized if it was Alan Ladd!�?
The WDCC piece King of the Wild Frontier
The session concluded with a look at Fess Parker’s presentation of his reproduction “Ol’ Betsy�? rifle to the Alamo Museum. Parker lauded the women who had worked to save the historic Alamo from demolition. Learning that fundraising efforts were underway, he offered to come any time to give a speech. He was deeply honored, he said, when he was asked to address a gathering of the descendents of the defenders of the Alamo on the 168th Anniversary of its fall.
Parker noted that eleven films have been made about the Alamo since 1917. He added that for all the actors who have appeared in these depictions, it is a special honor to portray the events. He stated he was pleased to present his special rifle to the Alamo.
He also mentioned that the Smithsonian had requested his coonskin cap for their permanent collection. He offered an entire costume, but they were more interested in the cap. He then added that he wasn’t certain it was the exact cap he wore in the original series, as he had two that were very much alike.
There was a little time left in the session, so questions were taken from the audience. The first asked if Fess Parker had received a lot of fan mail. He said he still got a lot. He found it interesting that many viewers’ children and grandchildren were seeing the series for the first time.
Asked what his best or favorite wine was, Parker noted that the winery sold more Chardonnay than any other variety. He mentioned that 1992 and 1994 had been particularly good years, and that in 1996 they were accorded one of the top wines in the world. “Even if it’s not true,�? he added modestly, “it’s good.�?
With time running out, Hodgkins asked if Fess Parker had any final thoughts. The silver haired performer surveyed the crowd and said, “I think that your interest in the subjects we’ve talked about naturally leads you into American history.�? He mentioned several books on history he had been reading recently. “My concern is in America we are losing our core values,�? he continued. “We become coarser as this happens. To take back ground, we need to go back and study the figures who made this country.�?
He looked out gravely and said that America was, for the first time in her history, engaged in a war that stretches from border to border. He urged support for leadership that would take the task at hand and stay the course.
The assembled “students�? then offered a round of applause. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to “ol’ Davy,�? or rather, Fess Parker—King of the Wild Frontier, a big man, and a true Disney Legend.
Discuss It!
-- Posted May 27, 2004
-- Story and photographs by Doug Marsh
-- All other images are Copyright Disney