Walter Jack Palance^[1] (/ˈpæləns/PAL-əns; bornVolodymyr Ivanovych Palahniuk; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for threeAcademy Awards, all forBest Actor in a Supporting Role, for his roles inSudden Fear (1952) andShane (1953), and winning almost 40 years later forCity Slickers (1991).

Jack Palance
Palance in 1953
Born	Volodymyr Ivanovych Palahniuk (1919-02-18)February 18, 1919 Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	November 10, 2006(2006-11-10) (aged 87) Montecito, California, U.S.
Other names	Jack Brazzo Walter Palance Walter J. Palance Walter Jack Palance
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1947–2004
Spouses	Virginia Baker ​ ​ (m. 1949;div. 1968)​ Elaine Rogers ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	3; includingHolly
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/ branch	United States Army Army Air Forces
Years of service	1942–1944
Rank	2nd Lieutenant
Battles / wars	World War II European Theatre of Operations

Born inLattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Palance served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II. He attendedStanford University before pursuing a career in the theatre, winning aTheatre World Award in 1951. He made his film acting debut inElia Kazan'sPanic in the Streets (1950), and earned Oscar nominations forSudden Fear andShane, his third and fourth-ever film roles. He also won an Emmy Award for a 1957 teleplayRequiem for a Heavyweight.

Subsequently, Palance played a variety of both supporting and leading film roles, often appearing in crime dramas and Westerns. Beginning in the late 1950s, he would work extensively in Europe, notably in a memorable turn as a charismatic-but-corrupting Hollywood mogul inJean-Luc Godard's 1963 filmContempt. He played thetitle character in the 1973 television filmBram Stoker's Dracula, which influenced future depictions of the character. During the 1980s, he became familiar to a new generation of audiences by hosting the television seriesRipley's Believe It or Not! (1982–86). His newfound popularity spurred a late-career revival, and he played high-profile villain roles in the blockbustersYoung Guns (1988) andTango & Cash (1989), and culminating in his Oscar andGolden Globe-winning turn as Curly inCity Slickers.

Off-screen, he was involved in efforts in support of the Ukrainian American community and served as a chairman of theHollywood Trident Foundation.

Palance was born Volodymyr Palahniuk on February 18, 1919,^[2] inLattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (née Gramiak) and Ivan Palahniuk, ananthracite coal miner.^[3] His parents wereUkrainianCatholicimmigrants,^[3][4] his father a native of Ivane-Zolote in southwestern Ukraine (modernTernopil Oblast) and his mother from theLviv Oblast.^[5][6] One of six children, he worked in coal mines during his youth before becoming a professionalboxer in the late 1930s.^[7]

Boxing under the nameJack Brazzo, Palahniuk lost his only recorded match, in a four-round decision on points, to futureheavyweight contenderJoe Baksi in a Pier-6 brawl rough fight.^[8][9][10] Other sources record cite him winning 15 consecutiveclub fights, with 12 knockouts.^[1][7][11] Years later he recounted: "Then I thought, 'You must be nuts to get your head beat in for $200.' The theater seemed a lot more appealing."^[12]

Palance enlisted in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II, and was trained as the pilot of aB-24 Liberator bomber.^[1] He suffered head injuries and burns during a 1943 crash, with various sources citing it as a patrol off the coast ofCalifornia,^[11] or a training flight nearTucson, Arizona (at what is nowDavis–Monthan Air Force Base).^[1][13] He was discharged in 1944 after undergoingreconstructive surgery, which contributed to his distinctively gaunt appearance.^[1]

According to some sources he was awarded aPurple Heart,^[7] though he does not appear on official rolls for the decoration. Purple Hearts are not awarded for training injuries.

Palance won a football scholarship to theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but left after two years, disgusted by commercialization of the sport.^[14]

After the war, Palance enrolled at Stanford to study journalism, but switched to drama.^[7] He left one credit shy of graduating in order to pursue a career in the theatre.^[15] During his university years, he worked as ashort order cook, waiter,soda jerk, lifeguard atJones Beach State Park, and a photographer's model.^{[citation needed]}

It was around this time that he changed his name toWalter Jack Palance, reasoning that most people couldn't pronounce his birth name. His last name was actually a derivative of his original name. In an episode ofWhat's My Line?, he described how no one could pronounce his last name, and how it was suggested that he be calledPalanski. From that he decided just to usePalance instead.^[16]

InNew York, Palance studiedmethod acting underMichael Chekhov,^[17] while working as asportswriter. He made hisBroadway debut in 1947 as a Russian soldier inThe Big Two, directed by Robert Montgomery.^[18]

Palance's acting break came asMarlon Brando'sunderstudy inA Streetcar Named Desire, and he eventually replaced Brando on stage asStanley Kowalski. (Anthony Quinn, however, gained the opportunity to tour the play.)^[19]

Palance appeared in two plays in 1948 with short runs,A Temporary Island andThe Vigil. He made his television debut in 1949.^[20]

Palance made his big-screen debut inPanic in the Streets (1950), directed byElia Kazan, who had directedStreetcar on Broadway. He played a gangster, and was credited as "Walter (Jack) Palance".

That year he was featured inHalls of Montezuma (1951), about United States Marines during World War II. He returned to Broadway forDarkness at Noon (1951) bySidney Kingsley, which was a minor hit.

Palance was second-billed in just his third film, oppositeJoan Crawford in the thrillerSudden Fear (1952). His character is a former coal miner, as Palance's father had been.^[21] Palance received anOscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[22]

He was nominated in the same category the following year for his role as hired gunfighter Jack Wilson inShane (1953).^[23][24] The film was a huge hit, and Palance was now an established film name.^{[citation needed]}

Palance played a villain inSecond Chance oppositeRobert Mitchum, and was an Indian inArrowhead (both 1953). He got a chance to play a heroic role inFlight to Tangier (1953), a thriller.^[25]

He played the lead inMan in the Attic (1953), an adaptation ofThe Lodger. He wasAttila the Hun inSign of the Pagan withJeff Chandler, andSimon Magus in the Ancient World epicThe Silver Chalice (both 1954) withPaul Newman.^[26]

He had the star part inI Died a Thousand Times (1955), a remake ofHigh Sierra, and was cast byRobert Aldrich in two star parts:The Big Knife (1955), from the play byClifford Odets, as a Hollywood star; andAttack (1956), as a tough soldier in World War II.

In 1955, he had an operation for appendicitis.^[27]

Palance was in a Western,The Lonely Man (1957), playing the father ofAnthony Perkins, and played a double role inHouse of Numbers (1957).

In 1957, Palance won anEmmy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Mountain McClintock in thePlayhouse 90 production ofRod Serling'sRequiem for a Heavyweight.^[28]

Warwick Films hired Palance to play the hero inThe Man Inside (1958), shot in Europe. He was reunited with Robert Aldrich and Jeff Chandler when they worked onTen Seconds to Hell (1959), filmed in Germany, playing a bomb disposal expert.

He madeBeyond All Limits (1959) in Mexico, andAusterlitz (1960) in France, then did a series of films in Italy:Revak the Rebel,Sword of the Conqueror,The Mongols,The Last Judgment, andBarabbas (all 1961), andNight Train to Milan andWarriors Five (both 1962).Jean-Luc Godard persuaded Palance to take on the role of Hollywood producer Jeremy Prokosch in thenouvelle vague movieLe Mépris (1963) withBrigitte Bardot. Although the main dialogue was inFrench, Palance spoke mostly English.^{[citation needed]}

Palance returned to the U.S. to star in the TV seriesThe Greatest Show on Earth (1963–64).^[29] In 1964, his presence at a recently integrated movie theatre inTuscaloosa, Alabama, prompted a riot from segregationists who assumed Palance was there to promote civil rights.^[30]

He played a gangster inOnce a Thief (1965) withAlain Delon. In the following year he appeared in the television filmAlice Through the Looking Glass, directed byAlan Handley, in which he played theJabberwock, and had a featured role oppositeLee Marvin andBurt Lancaster in the Western adventureThe Professionals. Palance guest-starred inThe Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the episodes were released as a film,The Spy in the Green Hat (1967). He went to England to makeTorture Garden (1967), and madeKill a Dragon (1968) in Hong Kong.

Palance provided narration for the 1967 documentaryAnd Still Champion! The Story ofArchie Moore. He was in the TV filmThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde produced byDan Curtis, during the making of which he fell and injured himself.^[31]

In 1969, Palance recorded a country music album inNashville, released onWarner Bros. Records. It featured his self-penned song "The Meanest Guy that Ever Lived". The album was re-released on CD in 2003 by the Water label (Water 119). His films were often international co-productions by this time:They Came to Rob Las Vegas,The Mercenary (both 1968),The Desperados, andMarquis de Sade: Justine (both 1969).

Palance had a part in the Hollywood blockbusterChe! (1969) playingFidel Castro oppositeOmar Sharif in the title role, but the film flopped. Palance went back to action films and Westerns:Battle of the Commandos (1970),The McMasters (1970) andCompañeros (1970).

Palance had another role inMonte Walsh (1970), from the author ofShane, oppositeLee Marvin, but the film was a box-office disappointment. So too wasThe Horsemen (1971) with Sharif, directed byJohn Frankenheimer. He supportedBud Spencer inIt Can Be Done Amigo andCharles Bronson inChato's Land (both 1972), and had the lead inSting of the West (1972) andBrothers Blue (1973).^{[citation needed]}

In Great Britain he appeared in a highly acclaimed TV film,Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973), in the title role; it was directed by Dan Curtis. Three years earlier,comic book artistGene Colan had based his interpretation of Dracula for the acclaimedMarvel Comics comic book seriesThe Tomb of Dracula on Palance, explaining, "He had that cadaverous look, a serpentine look on his face. I knew that Jack Palance would do the perfect Dracula."^[32]

Palance went back to Hollywood forOklahoma Crude (1973) then to England to star inCraze (1974). He starred in the television seriesBronk between 1975 and 1976 forMGM Television, and starred in the TV filmsThe Hatfields and the McCoys (1975) andThe Four Deuces (1976).^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1970s, Palance was mostly based in Italy. He supportedUrsula Andress inAfrica Express andL'Infermiera,Lee Van Cleef inGod's Gun, andThomas Milian inThe Cop in Blue Jeans (all 1976). He was inBlack Cobra Woman;Safari Express, a sequel toAfrica Express;Mister Scarface; andBlood and Bullets (all 1976). He travelled to Canada to makeWelcome to Blood City (1977) and the US forThe One Man Jury (1978),Portrait of a Hitman andAngels Revenge (both 1979).

Palance later said his Italian sojourn was the most enjoyable of his career. "In Italy, everyone on the set has a drinking cubicle, and no one is ever interested in working after lunch", he said. "That's a highly civilized way to make a movie."^[33] He went back to Canada forH. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (1979).^[34]

In 1980, Jack Palance narrated the documentaryThe Strongest Man in the World by Canadian filmmaker Halya Kuchmij, about Mike Swistun, a circus strongman who had been a student ofHoudini. Palance attended the premiere of the film on June 6, 1980, at theWinnipeg Art Gallery.^[35] He appeared inThe Ivory Ape (1980),Without Warning (1980),Hawk the Slayer (1980), and theslasher film,Alone in the Dark (1982).

In 1982, Palance began hosting a television revival ofRipley's Believe It or Not!. The weekly series ran from 1982 to 1986 on the AmericanABC network. The series also starred three different co-hosts from season to season, including Palance's daughterHolly Palance, actressCatherine Shirriff and singerMarie Osmond.Ripley's Believe It or Not! was in rerun syndication on theSci-fi Channel (U.K.) and the Sci-fi Channel (U.S.) during the 1990s. He appeared in the filmsGor andBagdad Café (both 1987).^{[citation needed]}

Palance had never been out of work since his career began, but his success onRipley's Believe It or Not! and the international popularity ofBagdad Cafe (1987) created a new demand for his services in big-budget Hollywood films.

He made memorable appearances as villains inYoung Guns (1988) asLawrence Murphy,Tango & Cash (1989) andTim Burton'sBatman (1989). He also performed onRoger Waters' first solo album release,The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984), and was inOutlaw of Gor (1988) andSolar Crisis (1990).

Palance was then cast as cowboy Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedyCity Slickers, directed by Ron Underwood. He quipped:

I don't go to California much any more. I live on a farm in Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from New York, so I can go into the city for dinner and a show when I want to. I also have a ranch about two hours from Los Angeles, but I don't go there very often at all...But I will always read a decent script when it is offered, and the script toCity Slickers made sense. Curly (his character in the film) is the kind of man I would like to be. He is in control of himself, except for deciding the moment of his own death. Besides all that, I got paid pretty good money to make it.^[33]

Four decades after his film debut, Palance won anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor on March 30, 1992, for his performance as Curly.^[36] Stepping onstage to accept the award, the 6' 4" (1.93 m) actor looked down at 5' 7" (1.70 m) Oscar hostBilly Crystal (who was also his co-star in the movie) and joked, mimicking one of his lines from the film, "Billy Crystal ... I crap bigger than him." He then dropped to the floor and demonstrated his ability, at the age of 73, to perform one-armedpush-ups.^{[citation needed]}

The audience loved the moment and host Crystal turned it into a running gag. At various points in the broadcast, Crystal announced that Palance was "backstage on theStairMaster", had bungee-jumped off the Hollywood sign, had rendezvoused with the space shuttle in orbit, had fathered all the children in a production number, had been namedPeople magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive", and had won the New York primary election. At the end of the broadcast Crystal said he wished he could be back next year, but "I've just been informed Jack Palance will be hosting."^{[citation needed]}

Years later, Crystal appeared onInside the Actors Studio and fondly recalled that, after the Oscar ceremony, Palance approached him during the reception: "He stopped me and put his arms out and went, 'Billy Crystal, who thought it would be you?' It was his really funny way of saying thank you to a little New York Jewy guy who got him the Oscars."^[37]

In 1993, during the opening of the Oscars, a spoof of that Oscar highlight featured Palance appearing to drag in an enormous Academy Award statuette with Crystal again hosting, riding on the rear end of it. Halfway across the stage, Palance dropped to the ground as if exhausted, but then performed several one-armed push-ups before regaining his feet and dragging the giant Oscar the rest of the way across the stage.^[38]

He appeared inCyborg 2 (1993);Cops & Robbersons (1994) withChevy Chase;City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994); and on TV inBuffalo Girls (1995). He also voiced Rothbart in the 1994 animated filmThe Swan Princess.

Palance's final films includedEbenezer (1998), a TV Western version of Charles Dickens's classicA Christmas Carol, with Palance as Scrooge;Treasure Island (1999);Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (2000); andPrancer Returns (2001).

Palance, at the time chairman of theHollywood Trident Foundation, walked out of a Russian Film Festival in Hollywood in 2004. After being introduced, Palance said, "I feel like I walked into the wrong room by mistake. I think that Russian film is interesting, but I have nothing to do with Russia or Russian film. My parents were born in Ukraine: I'm Ukrainian. I'm not Russian. So, excuse me, but I don't belong here. It's best if we leave."^[39] Palance was awarded the title of "People's Artist" byVladimir Putin, president of Russia; however, Palance refused it.^[39]

In 2001, Palance returned to the recording studio as a special guest on friendLaurie Z's albumHeart of the Holidays to narrate the classic poem "The Night Before Christmas". In 2002, he starred in the television movieLiving with the Dead oppositeTed Danson,Mary Steenburgen andDiane Ladd. In 2004, he starred in another television production,Back When We Were Grownups, once again directed by Ron Underwood, oppositeBlythe Danner; it was his final performance.^{[citation needed]}

Palance lived for several years aroundTehachapi, California. He was married to his first wife, Virginia (née Baker), from 1949 to 1968. They had three children, one of whom is retired actressHolly Palance. On New Year's Day, 2003, Virginia was struck and killed by a car in Los Angeles. In May 1987, Palance married his second wife, Elaine Rogers. His death certificate listed his marital status as "Divorced".

Palance painted and sold landscape art, with a poem included on the back of each picture. He was also the author ofThe Forest of Love, a book of poems published in 1996 by Summerhouse Press.^[40]

Palance enjoyed raising cattle on his ranch in theTehachapi Mountains.^[41] He gave up eatingred meat after working on his ranch, commenting that he couldn't eat a cow.^[42]

Palance acknowledged a lifelong attachment to his Pennsylvania heritage and visited there when able. Shortly before his death, he sold his farm inButler Township and put his art collection up for auction.^[43]

He was a supporter of theRepublican Party.^[44]

Palance died at the age of 87 from natural causes at his daughter Holly's house inMontecito, California on 10 November 2006.^[45] Following his death a memorial service was held at St. Michael’sUkrainian Catholic Church in Hazelton Pennsylvania.^[46]

Palance has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 1992, he was inducted into theWestern Performers Hall of Fame at theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inOklahoma City, Oklahoma.

According to writerMark Evanier, comic book creatorJack Kirby modeled his characterDarkseid on the actor.^[47]

TheLucky Luke 1956 comicLucky Luke contre Phil Defer byMorris features a villain named Phil Defer who is a caricature of Jack Palance.

The song "And now we dance" by punk bandThe Vandals features the lyrics, "Come on and do one hand pushups just like Jack Palance."

American comedianBill Hicks incorporated a reference to Palance in one of his most famous routines, likening Palance's character inShane to how he views the United States' role in international warfare.^[48]

NovelistDonald E. Westlake stated that he sometimes imagined Palance as the model for the career-criminal characterParker he wrote in a series of novels under the name Richard Stark.^[49]

In 2023, Palance was inducted into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame. He was included among the inaugural class of inductees.^[50]

• Palance, Warner Bros, 1969^[61]

• Jack Palance atIMDb
• Jack Palance at theInternet Broadway Database