After WWII (and serving in the Marines) he studied history and drama and eventually made his way into films, with small roles in Island in the Sky (1953), The Bounty Hunter (1954), and Battle Cry (1955). His big break came after he appeared in the Sci-Fi classic Them! (1954). Rumor has it that Walt Disney was impressed with his performance and cast him as the character of Davy Crockett for a new tv adventure set in 1800s America. The series and main character of coonskin-cap-wearing outdoorsman Crockett became an American pop cultural craze in 1955.
There were only a total of five episodes, which were scheduled over the course of a year; a new episode appeared on the "Disneyland" TV series (AKA "Walt Disney Presents") every few months or so during 1955.
The first three episodes were edited together for a feature-length film which was released during the summer of '55.
Parker made other films for Disney including the classic Old Yeller.
His other films of the 1960s include Alias Jesse James (1959), The Jayhawkers (1959), and Hell is for Heroes (1962). On television, he had another huge hit with "Daniel Boone" which was on the air for 6 years.
After retiring from film and tv he devoted time to operating a winery in California. (I didn't know this - sounds nice!) He was married for over 50 years and had two children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Below: 6-foot, 5 inch Fess Parker standing next to his much shorter co-stars (Arnold Stang and Peter Lorre) from an episode of the TV series "Playhouse 90" from 1958.
Below: At a Disneyland ceremony in 2004, Mr. Parker receives a window on Main Street. (source: the "Disney parks blog") At the theme park, receiving a "window" somewhere in the park is the equivalent of being honored with a "star" on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. I just learned about all this from Laura's blog. Next time I go back to Disneyland I'll have to take a closer look at these; I was there last year but I didn't notice the windows.
Tributes from other blogs:
MousePlanet: Last year's article "Crockett Memories from Fess Parker"
Viewliner, LTD: Tour of Americana: Tribute
DISNEY HISTORY BLOG: Tribute
The Flaming Nose: Tribute
The Cartoon Cave: Tribute and Caricature
Bill Crider Pop Culture Magazine: Tribute
Random Shelf: Tribute
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: Tribute
FilmFiles: Tribute
Shroud of Thoughts: Tribute | The Davey Crockett fad
The Tainted Archive: Tribute
Gold Country Girls: Tribute
The Roads of Autumn Dust: Tribute | Fess Parker in "Them!"
The Inner Toob: Davy Crockett gallery | Coonskin Cap Craze | Davy Crockett TV Show | Davy Crockett and the Alamo | Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone | Daniel Boone Gallery | "Daniel Boone" song, sung by Fess Parker | Daniel Boone TV show