Fess Parker Gave Me Hope, A Hero and A Coonskin Cap
My childhood was sadly lacking in heroes. Or even kind, decent men. Our father was a disturbed, angry alcoholic. A few nice uncles maybe, not often seen. My mother's own loving father more than fit the bill, but diabetes and a bad heart condition kept him from filling the role of virile, protective Father Figure.
So we turned to television. Perfect fantasy fathers were ubiquitous on TV in the 50's and early 60's. They weren't right for us. Those compassionate, caring dads made our own nightmare of a home life seem even worse by comparison.
There weren't many choices back then. Three network channels, a few UHF shows, that was about it. In addition to family shows, there were comedies, dramas, detectives and tame sci-fi too. Not much there for us.
Except the Westerns. Those heroes were men ahead of their time. In 1950's America men were In Charge. Women raised the kids and waited on their husbands. Who often treated their families with callous disregard.
Our house was like that. Think "Mad Men" on steroids. Worse ... 'roid rage.
Western men like Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, "Bonanza's" Pa Cartwright treated women with courtesy and respect, children with gentle ease. On their TV shows they seemed to revere women, and children, as worthy of the best care and protection. They were soft-spoken and very kind.
For us, the best of the those good men was Fess Parker. I've since learned he was exactly the same in real life, so it's no wonder his kindness and sincerity stood out, rang so true.
He was our special, personal hero, our ideal man. Tall, handsome, sense of humor, strong, honest and honorable. A hard-working, peace-loving man who wasn't afraid of a fight. Especially to protect the values of Mom and Apple Pie.
Put a business suit on Davy Crockett, he was the father we'd most like to have.
And you bet we all had coonskin caps, even though we were girls.
My son grew up in a different world. Violence on TV, not at home. A loving, funny, decent father who taught him by word and example the importance of hard work, honesty, self-esteem, fair play, solid values and respect for all.
Looking back, I realize with one or two glaring examples, all the fathers of his friends were like that too. Role models everywhere he turned.
(You can't see it well but in 1993, that kid's wearing a coonskin cap!)
The best of those, hands down, was Dennis. Our families became fast friends, spending holidays and summers at the shore together, helping our kids grow up surrounded by love.
At the time Dennis was a trader on the New York Stock Exchange. You see those guys screaming buy and sell orders, furiously writing, fighting, Paper Gladiators ... and you think they must be maniacs.
Totally the opposite, Dennis is relaxed, easy-going, laid back, happy just to sit with friends, a beer or glass of wine in his hand, a kid or three nearby, lots of talk and laughter swirling around.
That would describe Fess Parker too. So it's no surprise that when Dennis and Kathy had to move their family to California, they became friends and eventually business partners with Fess Parker.
We heard wonderful stories about what a great guy he was, a loving family man, savvy businessman, honest as the day is long. He treated them like family, Dennis like a son.
When Dennis and Kat came back East for a visit, they brought us a special bottle of wine from Fess Parker's Winery & Vineyard. Keeping a chair at the table for you, Fess. *** I never understood what Fess Parker's autographed message on our wine bottle meant until I was reminded of it here. It's Davy Crockett's motto: It's great advice and not a bad way to remember the life of Fess Parker. Who, by the way, made a damn good bottle of wine.
Yep, Fess Parker gift bottles come complete with coonskin cap. Ours also came with a personal message from Fess, hand written right on the bottle. Part of it says: "Be Sure You're Right." ***
I'm sure we're right about this: Fess Parker was a good man. A good friend and partner and boss. A good husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather. A decent human being who will be sorely missed.
Embedding's been disabled, but for all you Boomers out there, here's a clip of a scene from the TV show "Davy Crockett".
And here's the theme song:
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Max Rivlin-Nadler
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Comments
Wonder where his name came from. Never heard of another Fess.
Mabel, no fur was harmed during the posting of this story. Fess was also his father and his grandfather's name, I think (could be wrong) it was somebody's last name at some point in the past.
Sad but beautifully simple sentence:
"Violence on TV, not at home."
But what eventually became my role model? Well, that's a matter of debate. IMy wife says that I'm most like Ed Norton on The Honeymooners. But I have to go with Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons. Not that I'm anything like the MacMurray character--the intro to the Dick Van Dyke Show pretty much sums up my life story. But we can all dream about what we'd like to be.
Ric, we're not so far apart, but I have a much older sister (she hates when I say that), so I learned TV and music earlier than usual. And, like you, we all craved finding something normal.
I never missed the show, and I did have a coonskin cap. Now I live in Davy Crockett country, and it's right purty place. Ya'll come fer a visit, heah?
Anyone else remember the Disney Davy Crockett triology that showed on one of the networks back in the mid-50s? It was even mostly accurate, from what I remember.
The real Crockett was a man of honour. So Fess Parker, from what you say, was exactly the right guy to portray him.
What a lovely, lovely story. Oh my. "Make sure you're right." That coonskinned bottle of wine! I had a coonskin hat when I was a girl - from Natural Bridge in Virginia. Rated for sweet, sweet memories and for good men!
Tom, I wonder how many others besides me took forever to understand "Have Gun, Will Travel" was a job description not alloneword. I didn't learn to love Steve McQueen til I was older and Not as a father figure.
B1, I read about the Disney trilogy researching this, but I don't remember it. I believe Dennis and Kat that Parker was a terrific man.
An A+ from iMom! Yea! Annie, you're one of the few to really appreciate my wine bottle, it really doesn't get much cooler than that.
Hey, John Blumenthal! What's an autographed Fess Parker wine bottle complete with coonskin cap worth? heh
Nikki, he was a smart man. Bought a Lot of CA real estate during his salad days, now wineries and hotels. On the left side here among my links is one about Paul Newman. It might make you feel young.
Amanda, that song's been in my head for three days. I'm beginning to talk like Tom Cordle. heh
L&P, here's a factoid for you: Fess Parker Wine and the Parker Winery were used in the movie "Sideways."
sophieh, you had no TV growing up?? Oh, the humanity!!
Glad you got to meet him and enjoy his show.
I had a coonskin cap, plastic flintlock rifle and a rubber knife just like DB.
pantomime, both DB and DC had all the same gear. And so did we. :)
Many, many years ago, in the late fifties, in the summers between my college years, you know I was a singer/actor in a pro stock company called the Music Fairs, with tent theaters in Haddonfield, Westbury, Valley Forge and West Springfield. This one summer I was in Oklahoma, in the chorus and understudying Curley, played by Fess.
One night, after a performance, he asked if anyone knew a barber. He needed a haircut. Stars didn't travel with entourages in those days, and Fess was least likely to anyway. I told him that I had a great barber, John Maglio, John the Barber, down the block in my South Philly neighborhood. His shop was on 21st & McClellan.
Great. He said make an appointment, which I did. John the Barber was with beside himself with joy and the neighborhood went crazy. Fess came to our house, my mom made braziole, pasta, fresh bread and my dad skipped work in order to make lunch with us and Fess.
Fess was always a delight, was wowed by "Italian" food ... apparently hadn't had much of it, was gracious to all the neighbors who stuck their heads out the doors to see Daniel Boone as we walked down Siegel Street to John's.
Haircut over, we went to the theater to do the show. We stayed in touch off an on, mostly when I was near him, and once or twice when I read that he was in L.A. And we'd trade a phone call or two now and then.
Received some nice wine, too.
The times we talked he remembered that Italian meal my mom made. He later confessed that he wasn't thrilled with the haircut.
Rest In Peace, Fess. You were a good guy.
John, I can't believe this never came up! That autographed wine bottle with the coonskin cap has been sitting on our bar for a couple of years. Oh, I know, you never noticed because it's empty. heh
Great story about Fess in South Philly, and Mom cooking for him, she must have been a neighborhood star for months. Thanks, dear.
Living in Santa Barbara County, where Fess made his home and his wine fortune, I can add that he was a genuinely nice man who never lost that common touch. My uncle put in a sprinkler system for him in one of his earlier homes, and was asked to share a beer in Fess' kitchen when they were finished. I also took a call from him when I worked at an answering service -- so many celebs in our community really want you to know who they are and how important they are -- Fess seemed almost embarassed to tell me his name -- he didn't want any special treatment. Thanks for the memories....
Penelope Ann
Scarlett, I wasn't that much older myself, maybe 6 or 7 tops, still I remember how kind and gentle Fess Parker was, such a vivid contrast to our home life. There's a whole story about "Sideways" filming at his vineyard and how impressed everyone was with the quality of the wine. I can attest the bottle we got was very good.
Penelope Ann, so glad you appreciate this and can agree how decent, just-folks Fess Parker really was. Incredibly wealthy, btw, but you'd never know it from his modest ways. The antitheses of a self-important *Star.*
I was drawn to his superior attitude toward us mere mortals, barely literate mouth-breathers lacking in vision, our so-called intelligence and curiosity far beneath the depth of his universal knowledge and breadth of his conceptual thinking.
Hmm, that sounds just like you! (I especially enjoy how you comment not directly to me, which would be pointless, but to some higher power who would much better understand and agree).
Awwwww, poor guy ... it looks like you could use a real good hug.
Huh?
Whaddaya say?
A nice cyberhug to squeeze out your pathetically supercilious personality and replace it with something, well, less stinky.
So, how about it!?
Just call out and I bet many people here would love to give you one.
Here's mine.
Huggggggg. There, there. Huggggggg.
Now, was that so bad?
Don't you feel better?
I didn't think so.
Most likely Fess is short for "Festus", which means holiday in Latin.
Yeah yeah coonskin caps. Fess Parker was far better in TV's Daniel Boone, which was a much much better show ... because it was quite true to life on the frontier, the women didn't wear Playtex Push-Up bras, it was far better written and acted ... and it had Ed Ames as Boone's Indian good buddy.
As he was a lawyer, he had an affinity for Steve Donovan, Western Marshal - which was based on the true story of John Mosby, a young lawyer who joined the Forty-Third Battalion of the First Virginia Cavalry; and Judge Roy Bean - "the law west of the Pecos."
The Indians (and the women) in "Daniel Boone" were treated with great respect (by the writers, if not always by the settlers).
One of the main characters on Gunsmke was named Festus.
For those trying to connect SciFi with Westerns there was Riverboat (1959 - 61) which featured a boat named "Enterprise" (and Burt Reynolds as pilot).
I myself was a big fan of Swamp Fox, which was close to being historical, and starred Leslie Nielsen as the ol' Fox himself, General Francis Marion. I DO hope they still teach Marion is school. He was KOOL.
And we both hated Frontier Circus, even though it had Chill Wills and John Derek. Derek, of course, was married to Ursula Andress, Linda Evans and Bo Derek. But that didn't really help this dumb show.
I made a point in my post (the main point, in fact), and say again that woman and children (and eventually Indians) were treated with respect on both Parker shows. Respect for women is something John Derek never displayed. Just ownership.
Thanks for your kind words.
Ah ... The crew of Enterprise goes up and down the Mississippi, boldly meeting people of different races and ethnicities! And the di-lithium fuel was gambling profits.
Swamp Fox was a Disney thing. Even if you don't rent a DVD and watch it with your kiddies, it would be worth your while to look up the exploits of Francis Marion. Maybe type it up and hand it out on the Freedom Trail.
I know that you know that "woman and children (and eventually Indians) were treated with respect on both Parker shows", but that seems to have escaped tomreedtoon, who posted to you: "The American Western was the right wing's favorite genre, especially in the 60's. It was a great environment if you wanted to see women kept in the kitchen, blacks nearly invisible and American Indians in their teepees. It was the creepiest, most uncomfortable entertainment genre during the last decade in which Americans had any hope or desire for change. That Ms. Swift likes this show, so lame that not even right-wing Christian channels will play it in reruns, explains a lot."
I merely wanted to refute his nonsense with facts. Only got as far as convincing him there really were no death panels on "Daniel Boone". Or "21".
BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT - THEN GO AHEAD and all that.
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