What's new
Signup for GameFly to rent the newest 4k UHD movies!

We lost Fess Parker yesterday... (1 Viewer)

Brett*H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
219
This is sad news for me.
Daniel Boone was one of my childhood heroes.....



Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Fess Parker, best known for playing Daniel Boone in a 1960s television series, died Thursday at his home near Santa Barbara, California, his publicist said. He was 85.


Parker followed his acting career with successful hotel and winery ventures around Santa Barbara.


A statement issued by his family did not reveal the cause of death.


Parker is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marcella, their son and daughter, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild who "spent a great deal of time with Fess in his final months and weeks," the statement said.


A native of Texas, Parker served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before graduating from the University of Texas-Austin in 1950.

He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1950s to pursue acting.


Walt Disney cast Parker in the lead role of "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier," co-starring Buddy Ebsen. He followed that with several more Disney films, including "Davy Crockett and the River Boat Pirates," "The Great Locomotive Chase" and "Smoky."


His TV career took off in 1964 with the title role in NBC's "Daniel Boone," which aired for for six seasons.


When the series ended in 1970, Parker became a real estate developer in Santa Barbara.


"After successfully opening three high-end mobile home parks, the 360-room Fess Parker Doubletree Resort opened in 1985," the family statement said. "It is one of the most successful hotels on the Santa Barbara waterfront."


Parker and his family also opened Fess Parker Winery on the Foxen in Los Olivos, California.

www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/03/18/fess.parker.obit/index.html
 
Please support HTF by using one of these affiliate links when considering a purchase.

cajunhillbilly

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
1,951
Real Name
Willard
I will miss Fess. He was a great actor. Thank God for the dvds of all six seasons of Daniel Boone. I will enjoy continuing to rewatch this great show, but now with a little sadness, knowing that Fess has passed away.
 

Jack Cleveland

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
330
I bemoan the fact that I didn't pick up the Davy Crockett DVDs when they came out... Now they are incredibly expensive to lay your hands on. I was too young for Daniel Boone- is it worth a blind buy?
 

dhammer

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Messages
375
Real Name
David
I can't believe it. Oh Mannnn! I really liked Fess Parker. I also love the shows he starred in. I collected the Disney Davy Crockett set and the 6 seasons of Daniel Boone. He did a number of recent interviews for the DVD sets.

Everyone who knew him says he was an exceptional gentleman. It comes out quite clearly on the screen as well. He was a wonderful man who led a wonderful life. Unlike too many of the reprobates that now populate Hollywood, Fess was true man and role model.

Jack, you asked if Daniel Boone was worth buying. I like them a lot but you have to know what you are getting. They are light tales of adventure. They are entertaining and delightful. If you can enjoy that in watching shows of this period you will enjoy them. If on the other hand, you find you need darker and more disturbing content to entertain you, you will find these boring or corny. It is a shame but over the last 30-40 years since this show was out, entertainment has changed drastically. Like addicts, many need increasing violence and other disturbing content to get the same high. I am glad I am not one of them.
 

Brett*H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
219
Originally Posted by dhammer

.....If you can enjoy that in watching shows of this period you will enjoy them. If on the other hand, you find you need darker and more disturbing content to entertain you, you will find these boring or corny. It is a shame but over the last 30-40 years since this show was out, entertainment has changed drastically. Like addicts, many need increasing violence and other disturbing content to get the same high. I am glad I am not one of them.
Well said, dhammer.

The era of quality family shows has all but disappeared. Many shows from this period inspired a generation and I'm afraid that we'll never see the likes of it or the affable Mr. Fess Parker again.
 

Jack Cleveland

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
330
Believe me, I like the older shows... I watch nothing currently on television. No reality shows- And I primarily watch DVDs of shows from the fifties and sixties! I like Peyton Place... that's about as dark as it gets. Pretty tame stuff by today's standards.
 

Ockeghem

Ockeghem
Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Messages
9,417
Real Name
Scott D. Atwell
Originally Posted by Jack Cleveland

Believe me, I like the older shows... I watch nothing currently on television. No reality shows- And I primarily watch DVDs of shows from the fifties and sixties! I like Peyton Place... that's about as dark as it gets. Pretty tame stuff by today's standards.
Jack,

Same here. Dark Shadows, The Fugitive, The Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, and Star Trek are often the program line-up in our home over a couple of evenings. I do watch a few newer shows (on DVD) and some Disney shows with my children; however, these are few and far between.
 

Bryan^H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
9,575
Sad news. Daniel Boone is a great show. One of the special features(forgot which season) is a superfan phone conversation with Fess himself. He was all heart.
 

Gary OS

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
6,010
Location
Florida
Real Name
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Cleveland

I bemoan the fact that I didn't pick up the Davy Crockett DVDs when they came out... Now they are incredibly expensive to lay your hands on. I was too young for Daniel Boone- is it worth a blind buy?

Jack, the Daniel Boone dvds are definitely worth a blind buy. I love them all, but if you are interested don't wait too long as I believe they are slowly going OOP. Fortunately, I picked up the Davy Crockett dvds when they were released.

Everyone here knows my take on vintage shows versus modern, so there's no need for me to say more than "Amen" to the many posts above mine.

Fess Parker was, by all accounts I'm aware of, a wonderful man and worthy role model. He will be missed.

Gary "Rest in Peace, Mr. Parker" O.
 

BobO'Link

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
11,546
Location
Mid-South
Real Name
Howie
^Seconded! They are a great place from which to pick these up! Always good service and fairly quick shipping. The $79.99/Free Shipping package is "standard" for S1-5. The bummer is that S6 never seems to go below ~$40 at CBD...
 

bmasters9

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
6,526
Real Name
Ben Masters
Originally Posted by Ockeghem




Jack,

Same here. Dark Shadows, The Fugitive, The Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, and Star Trek are often the program line-up in our home over a couple of evenings. I do watch a few newer shows (on DVD) and some Disney shows with my children; however, these are few and far between.
That's exactly how I am. I'm generally a '60's-'70's-'80's type of guy, with one exception-- that being "Star Trek: Voyager." That is the only--and I do mean only-- '90's series that I have actually liked. Nothing else from the '90's or '00's has stood up for me.
 

Jack Cleveland

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
330
I bought the 5 season box from CBD, and the 6th season from Amazon- Thanks to all for the input... I guess Dark Shadows counts as "dark', though it really is pretty tame stuff compared to the newer stuff...

I am looking forward to seeing the Daniel Boone" show- Amazon Marketplace has some Davy Crockets for 100.00- I'm debating!
 

Gary OS

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
6,010
Location
Florida
Real Name
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Cleveland

I bought the 5 season box from CBD, and the 6th season from Amazon- Thanks to all for the input... I guess Dark Shadows counts as "dark', though it really is pretty tame stuff compared to the newer stuff...

Good for you, Jack. I'm confident you'll love the show.

I also buy a lot of stuff (not just dvds) from Christian Book Distributors. They've been around for at least 25 years (I was ordering from them in college) and are very reliable. The customer service is top notch as well. And of course, those prices for the Daniel Boone sets have been great for quite some time now.


Gary "the Davy Crockett dvds are wonderful as well, Jack - but it will be up to you as to how much you're willing to pay" O.
 

Jeff Willis

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2005
Messages
3,386
Location
Dallas TX
Fess Parker....funny, I remember him most from the Disney movie "Old Yeller" ('57) . That's one of my favorite movies in the collection.

Daniel Boone: I gotta get back to those sets (thanks, you know who you are :) )
 

ChrisALM

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
918
Real Name
Chris
I bought the Daniel Boone Season 1 thru 5 set from CBD several months ago at just below 40 dollars. (Thanks again to Gary for the heads up on that deal). I highly recommend this quality series to any fan of vintage TV. The picture quality on these sets was excellent.

Fess Parker was special. His passing is indeed, sad news.
 

Brent Avery

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
747
I will have to watch "The Great Locomotive Chase" starring Fess Parker and Jeff Hunter - another excellent early Walt Disney film. One nice feature with the Daniel Boone dvds are the extras included involving interviews with most of the cast. The last Season in particular had one involving Fess Parker and some fans at his winery. And like a few of you I pretty well stick to shows from the '70's and earlier - never bother with tv and I have enough dvds to keep me happy for awhile yet - although hopefully the Studios will release more.
 

BobO'Link

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
11,546
Location
Mid-South
Real Name
Howie
Those of you making new purchases need to be aware that on the second wave of sets (wide case with hinged holders) on Season 1, Disc 1, episode 4 "Lac Duquesne" stops playing around 38 minutes. This is a mastering defect and Liberation Entertainment has no current plans to remaster or replace the defective disks. Reports are earlier sets in the slim packs do not have this issue. From Liberation:

"Unfortunately the master that we used for manufacturing was faulty and there are no replacement discs available for this episode."

I also have a problem with S1/D6 but it appears to be surface based and a good polishing should remove the problem.

You can read more about the quality in this thread.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Sign up for our newsletter

and receive essential news, curated deals, and much more







You will only receive emails from us. We will never sell or distribute your email address to third party companies at any time.

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
357,278
Messages
5,134,515
Members
144,340
Latest member
Phoneman66
Recent bookmarks
0
Top