BearManor Media interview with William Chemerka, author of Fess Parker
Q: Your Fess Parker: TV's Frontier Hero is a comprehensive biography of the man who is best remembered as Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and NBC-TV's Daniel Boone.
A: And August 16, 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Fess Parker's birth. Of course, Fess appeared in other films and television shows during his acting career.
Q: When did you become interested in Fess Parker?
- Easy question! Wednesday night, December 15, 1954, when “Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter,” the first episode of Disney's Davy Crockett trilogy, aired on the Disneyland TV program. As one of several million elementary school kids, I was instantly captivated by the “king of the wild frontier.” The catchy, chart-topping “Ballad of Davy Crockett” song added to those joyous days. It was time for me to put aside my toy six-shooter and cowboy hat and grab a plastic flintlock rifle and a coonskin cap.
Q: According to your book, approximately 5,000 Davy Crockett commercial items were produced in 1955 and 1956.
A: Disney had no advance plans to offer any Davy Crockett products, but the demand was so great for merchandise that Disney and other manufacturers quickly filled to void. Disney missed out on the 1954 Christmas buying season, but by the time the next two episodes aired – “Davy Crockett Goes to Congress” on January 26, and “Davy Crockett at the Alamo” on February 23– stores were loaded with merchandise. I am friends with the two biggest Davy Crockett collectors in the country, and they helped identify items in their collections that I did not have in mine.
Q: Many fans are familiar with the story that Walt Disney saw Fess in a screening of Them! and exclaimed, “That's my Davy Crockett!”
A: According to Tom Blackburn, the Davy Crockett screenplay writer, who I interviewed back in 1987, Walt Disney was not in the screening room which showed Them!, the sci-fi film starring James Arness, who was being considered to play Crockett. Blackburn, producer Bill Walsh, and artist Peter Ellenshaw were in the screening room and all agreed that Fess should play Crockett.
Q: You explained that you started the book in 1987?
- In an indirect way. I met Fess for the first time in San Antonio, Texas, that year. I interviewed him for a two-part article that appeared in The Alamo Journal, which I published and edited. That's when my friendship with Fess began. Over the years, I conducted numerous interviews with him for The Alamo Journal, the official publication of The Alamo Society, and The Crockett Chronicle, a quarterly dedicated to the life and legend of David Crockett. Over the years, our paths crossed in California, Texas, New York, and Washington D. C., and when we met I usually jotted down interview notes or recorded our conversations.
- When did you actually start writing Fess Parker: TV's Frontier Hero?
- Immediately after his death on March 18, 2010. I had wanted to write his biography earlier, but he didn't want one published while he was alive. I even offered to spearhead a campaign to have a star dedicated to him on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while he was alive, but in his typical dry-wit humor, he declined my offer. “I don't like the idea of people walking over me all day long,” Fess said.
Q: There are lots of celebrity interviews in the book, from Ron Ely, TV's Tarzan and British rocker Phil Collins to Cheryl Ladd and cast members from Daniel Boone, among others. How did you manage to get in touch with all of the celebrities?
A: With the exception of Phil Collins, who I knew as a fellow member of The Alamo Society, contacts with nearly everyone else were provided by Chuck Bargiel, Fess' good friend and attorney. Fess' children, Eli and Ashley, were particularly helpful by providing numerous family stories and photographs.
Q: You arranged for him to be the featured guest at the 1994 Alamo Society Symposium in San Antonio.
- Indeed! It was a memorable experience for all in attendance. He wore his Daniel Boone coat and a coonskin cap, and every adult at that event became a kid once again.
Q: What do you best remember about Fess Parker?
- His humility. With anyone whom he spoke with, he always made that person the center of the conversation.