University of Texas Distinguished Alumni: Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker Jr. is most famous for portraying two great American icons: Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in the late 1960s. Parker was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up on a small farm outside San Angelo, Texas. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps at the end of World War II. After the war, he attended the University of Texas, earning a history degree. He then moved to California, where he finished a master’s degree in drama at the University of Southern California.
King of the Wild Frontier
Parker began acting professionally in 1951 as a stage performer. His big break came in 1954, when Walt Disney hired Parker to play the title role in Davy Crockett, the legendary "King of the Wild Frontier." After Walt Disney saw Parker act in the classic horror film Them!, he asked for Parker to drop by the Disney Studio. Fess Parker brought his guitar to the meeting and sang a song for Disney. A few weeks later, he was Disney Studio’s new Davy Crockett. The popular three-part TV series was edited into a hit movie in 1955, which launched a nationwide fad for coonskin hats. In 1957, Parker won a starring role in another Disney classic, Old Yeller. In 1964, Parker began work on a network television series, Daniel Boone. It ran for six successful seasons, and Parker co-produced and directed five episodes.
Fine Wines
These days, Parker devotes his time to his world-famous Fess Parker's Winery & Vineyard in Los Olivos, California, and the Double Tree Resort in Santa Barbara, California. In 1987, Parker bought a 714-acre ranch thirty in the Santa Ynez Valley (just north of Santa Barbara) and established his winery. The Parker family have received numerous awards for producing some of the region's finest wines.
Fess Parker and his wife, Marcella, have lived in Santa Barbara County for more than thirty years. They founded the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, which helps young musicians achieve their dreams. In 2003, Fess Parker was awarded the Texas Cultural Trust’s Texas Medal of Arts.