Gregg Palmer
Encyclopedia
Gregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee (born January 25, 1927) is an American
actor
, known primarily for his prolific work in television
westerns
. He appeared from 1960-1975 in varying roles in twenty episodes of CBS's Gunsmoke
with James Arness
, thirteen segments of the syndicated
Death Valley Days
, and nine episodes of NBC's The Virginian
starring James Drury
in the title role. He guest starred five times on Bonanza
, NBC's longest-running western. One of Palmer's Gunsmoke segments is "Alias Festus Haggin" (1972), co-starring Ken Curtis
.
extraction, the brown-haired and brown-eyed Palmer was born in San Francisco
, California
, the son of a carpenter
. He entered the United States Army Air Corps
, forerunner of the Air Force
, and became a cryptographer during World War II
. He was discharged in 1946 as a sergeant
. Sometimes known as "Grizzly", Palmer worked as a bouncer, truck driver, and in construction before he became a radio
disc jockey
.
In 1950, at the age of twenty-three, he procured his first screen role, as an uncredited ambulance
attendant in the Martin and Lewis
comedy
film
My Friend Irma Goes West
. In 1952, he had minor roles as Gratton Dalton
of the Dalton gang
in the film, The Cimarron Kid, and as Joe Bent in The Battle at Apache Pass
. In the early 1950s, Palmer and Marilyn Monroe
both unsuccessfully auditioned for roles as Abner and Daisy Mae in a proposed Li'l Abner
television series based on the Al Capp
cartoon
, but the effort never materialized. Palmer was signed to a contract with Universal Pictures
. In 1952, he appeared as William Norton in the comedy film Francis Goes to West Point
, starring Donald O'Connor
. Palmer claimed that he was going to be pushed as a big star by Universal in a similar manner to their other stable of stars, but in the 1950s the studio changed, hiring out major stars from other studios rather than build up their own. Palmer was soon dropped and went freelance.
's syndicated
western series Stories of the Century
. Slade was the superintendent of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
, based in Julesburg
in northeastern Colorado
, who sets out to capture the outlaw Jules Beni.
From 1955-1958, Palmer appeared five times on the syndicated 26 Men
, starring Tristram Coffin and based on the actual files of the Arizona Rangers
law enforcement group. The episodes are entitled "Chain Gang", "The Vanquisher", "Runaway Stage", "Hole Up", and "Terror in Paradise". During the late 1950s, Palmer was particularly busy in acting, having appeared on The Lone Ranger
, Rod Cameron
's syndicated State Trooper
, Scott Brady
's syndicated Shotgun Slade
, John Lupton
's NBC series Broken Arrow
, John Payne
's The Restless Gun
on NBC, Kirby Grant
's Sky King
, Jeff Richards
's Jefferson Drum
on NBC, Rex Allen
's syndicated Frontier Doctor
, and Rory Calhoun
's The Texan
on CBS. He appeared on NBC's Buckskin
as Jackel in the episode "A Man from the Mountains" and Cimarron City
as Tom Hiller in "The Bitter Lesson".
During the 1960s, Palmer appeared in Earl Holliman
's Hotel de Paree
western as Cooper in the episode "Sundance and the Bare-Knuckled Fighters". He then appeared in NBC's short-lived Overland Trail
in the role of Will Purdom in the episode "Vigilante
s of Montana
". Other appearances were on ABC
's The Man From Blackhawk
, Henry Fonda
's and Allen Case
's The Deputy
on NBC, and three segments of Wagon Train
, when it was aired on NBC. He appeared as Tracy McNeil in the 1960 episode "Old Stefano" of ABC's Lawman
series, set in Laramie
, Wyoming
, and starring John Russell
and Peter Brown
. That same year, he appeared as Captain McKinley in "Welcome Enemy" in Will Hutchins
's ABC western Sugarfoot
.
In 1961, he appeared as Blanchard in the episode "A Gun Is for Killing" in NBC's The Tall Man
, a fiction
alized account of the relationship between Pat Garrett
and Billy the Kid
. He then appeared as Dillard in the episode "The Frightened Town" of ABC's Cheyenne
, starring Clint Walker
. He then played Heff in the 1961 episode "Sam Bass
" of NBC's The Outlaws
.
From 1956-1961, he appeared five times as Tom McLowery in ABC's The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
starring Hugh O'Brian
in the title role: "So Long, Dora, So Long", "Doc Holliday
Faces Death", "The Law Must Be Fair", "Just Before the Battle", and "The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
". He appeared as Cowlin in the 1961 episode "The Dead Ringer" of the syndicated series Two Faces West
starring Charles Bateman. From 1957-1961, Palmer appeared in three episodes of Dale Robertson
's NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo
: "Chips", "The Warrior's Return", and "Death Raffle".
's Bronco
series, a spin-off
of Cheyenne. Through 1962, he appeared in four segments of CBS's Have Gun - Will Travel, starring Richard Boone
: "Fragile", "The Misguided Father", "Fight at Adobe Wells", and "Trial at Tablerock" as a sheriff
. In the 1962-1963 season, Palmer appeared twice on NBC's Laramie
: as Duke in "The Long Road Back" and as Chuck Logan in "Badge of Honor".
His next western roles came in 1965: as Mace in the episode "The Violent Land" of CBS's Rawhide
, as Mel Combs in the episode "Winner Lose All" of ABC's The Big Valley
, and as Doc in "$10,000 for Durango" of NBC's Branded, the second Chuck Connors
western. The next year, he appeared as Moose Walters in "A Real Tough Town" of ABC's The Legend of Jesse James
, starring Christopher Jones
in the title role, with Allen Case as Frank James
.
In 1965-1966, he appeared as Curly in the episode "The Golden Trail" and as Sergeant Mason in "The Dance of the Laughing Death" in NBC's Laredo
western series. In 1967 and 1968, he appeared three times in Stuart Whitman
's 90-minute western Cimarron Strip
in episodes entitled "Journey to a Hanging", "The Deputy", and "The Greeners". Palmer also appeared three times between 1965 and 1968 in Robert Conrad
's unconventional western, The Wild Wild West
. In 1972, Palmer appeared on ABC's Alias Smith and Jones
series.
Palmer was cast as Ezra Parker in the 1969 film The Undefeated
, Karl Riker in the 1970 film Chisum
and John Goodfellow in the 1971 film Big Jake
, all starring John Wayne
. He also became a member of the John Wayne Stock Company, founded in 1945, with original members including Ward Bond
, Grant Withers
, and Paul Fix
. In 1976, Palmer was cast as the unnamed "Burly Man" in the last of Wayne's films, The Shootist
.
In 1977, Palmer appeared as mountain man
Jim Bridger
in the two-part Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color presentation "Kit Carson and the Mountain Man". Christopher Connelly starred as Kit Carson
, and Robert Reed
portrayed John C. Fremont
. Gary Lockwood
also appeared as Brett Haskell. In 1978, Palmer appeared as Loman in James Arness's second western, How the West Was Won
.
Audie Murphy
World War II film To Hell and Back
. Thereafter, he appeared in numerous drama
roles over the years, including the Warner Brothers detective
shows: Surfside 6
and 77 Sunset Strip
. He guest starred as Lou Montell in "High Tide", the second episode of Surfside 6. From 1960-1963, he appeared in the 77 Sunset Strip episodes "The Parallel Caper" "Framework for a Badge", and "To Catch a Mink". Other drama appearances included Highway Patrol
, Navy Log
, The Lineup
, The Millionaire, Lloyd Bridges
's Sea Hunt
, The Roaring 20s
, The Untouchables
(uncredited as Paul Di Marco), Run for Your Life
, The Long Hot Summer
(as Grant Johnson in episode "Man with Two Faces"), Cannon
, Tarzan, CHiPs
, Mission: Impossible
, and Star Trek
, as a ranch
er in the 1968 episode "Spectre of the Gun".
Despite being uncredited, Palmer is the only actor to have appeared in both the original Star Trek series and the British
science fiction
program Doctor Who
(and the first actor to appear in both franchises). He appeared in two serials in the latter show, firstly as two Cybermen, Shav and Gern in The Tenth Planet
(1966) and then as Lieutenant Lucke in The War Games
(1969). Both are known for being the respective swansongs of William Hartnell
and Patrick Troughton
. (Aside from Troughton, Palmer is the only actor to appear in both stories.)
There were even a few sitcom appearances, including a recurring role as Harry on the CBS series Run, Buddy, Run
, starring Jack Sheldon
. He appeared too on CBS's Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
and The Good Guys, on NBC's Get Smart
and the 1957 version of Blondie.
in the 1982 ABC miniseries
The Blue and the Gray
.
A widow
er, Palmer lives in Encino, California, and is an avid golf
er. His wife, Ruth Palmer, died in 1999. Palmer has attended Golden Boot
programs but has not won the award himself.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known primarily for his prolific work in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. He appeared from 1960-1975 in varying roles in twenty episodes of CBS's Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
with James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
, thirteen segments of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
, and nine episodes of NBC's The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
starring James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
in the title role. He guest starred five times on Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, NBC's longest-running western. One of Palmer's Gunsmoke segments is "Alias Festus Haggin" (1972), co-starring Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
.
Early years
Of NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
extraction, the brown-haired and brown-eyed Palmer was born in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the son of a carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
. He entered the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, forerunner of the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, and became a cryptographer during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was discharged in 1946 as a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
. Sometimes known as "Grizzly", Palmer worked as a bouncer, truck driver, and in construction before he became a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
.
In 1950, at the age of twenty-three, he procured his first screen role, as an uncredited ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
attendant in the Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
My Friend Irma Goes West
My Friend Irma Goes West
My Friend Irma Goes West is a 1950 film based on the radio show My Friend Irma and featuring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. In 1952, he had minor roles as Gratton Dalton
Gratton Dalton
Gratton "Grat" Hanley Dalton was an American outlaw in the American Old West. As leader of the Dalton Gang he died during an ill-fated raid on a bank in Coffeyville, Kansas.-Short career as lawman:...
of the Dalton gang
Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...
in the film, The Cimarron Kid, and as Joe Bent in The Battle at Apache Pass
The Battle at Apache Pass
The Battle at Apache Pass is a 1952 Universal-International western film starring Jeff Chandler as Cochise, the Apache chief of Broken Arrow....
. In the early 1950s, Palmer and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
both unsuccessfully auditioned for roles as Abner and Daisy Mae in a proposed Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
television series based on the Al Capp
Al Capp
Alfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
, but the effort never materialized. Palmer was signed to a contract with Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
. In 1952, he appeared as William Norton in the comedy film Francis Goes to West Point
Francis Goes to West Point
Francis Goes to West Point is a 1952 comedy film starring Donald O'Connor, Lori Nelson, Alice Kelley, and Gregg Palmer. The third movie in a series, it deals with a young man enrolling at West Point, where he needs to be tutored by his friend, Francis the Talking Mule.-Cast:*Donald O'Connor as...
, starring Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
. Palmer claimed that he was going to be pushed as a big star by Universal in a similar manner to their other stable of stars, but in the 1950s the studio changed, hiring out major stars from other studios rather than build up their own. Palmer was soon dropped and went freelance.
Westerns, 1955-1961
In 1955, Palmer appeared as Jack Slade in an episode of Jim DavisJim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
's syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
. Slade was the superintendent of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was the parent company of the Pony Express.It was formed by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, as a freighting company supplying goods to the western United States...
, based in Julesburg
Julesburg, Colorado
The historic town of Julesburg is a statutory town that is the county seat of Sedgwick County, Colorado, United States. The town is located on the north side of the South Platte River. The population was 1,467 at the U.S. Census 2000...
in northeastern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, who sets out to capture the outlaw Jules Beni.
From 1955-1958, Palmer appeared five times on the syndicated 26 Men
26 Men
26 Men is a syndicated American western television series about the Arizona Rangers, an elite group commissioned in 1901 by the legislature of the Arizona Territory and limited, for financial reasons, to twenty-six active members. Russell Hayden was the producer of the series and the co-composer of...
, starring Tristram Coffin and based on the actual files of the Arizona Rangers
Arizona Rangers
The Arizona Rangers is an Arizona law enforcement agency modeled on the Texas Rangers. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in 1957. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws in the sparsely...
law enforcement group. The episodes are entitled "Chain Gang", "The Vanquisher", "Runaway Stage", "Hole Up", and "Terror in Paradise". During the late 1950s, Palmer was particularly busy in acting, having appeared on The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
, Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
's syndicated State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
, Scott Brady
Scott Brady
Scott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
's syndicated Shotgun Slade
Shotgun Slade
Shotgun Slade is an American western television series starring Scott Brady that aired in syndication from October 24, 1959, until 1961. Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, and Martin Berkeley...
, John Lupton
John Lupton
John Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
's NBC series Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (TV series)
Broken Arrow is a Western series which ran on ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959–60 season...
, John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
's The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun is a western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict...
on NBC, Kirby Grant
Kirby Grant
Kirby Grant, , was a long-time B movie and television actor. He is mostly remembered for playing the title role in the television series Sky King....
's Sky King
Sky King
Sky King is a 1940s and 1950s American radio and television adventure series. The title character is Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King...
, Jeff Richards
Jeff Richards (baseball player/actor)
Jeff Richards , was an American minor league baseball player with the Portland Beavers who later became an actor. He was sometimes credited as Dick Taylor and Richard Taylor.-Early life and career:...
's Jefferson Drum
Jefferson Drum
Jefferson Drum is an American Western television series starring Jeff Richards and Eugene Martin on the NBC network that aired from April 25 to December 11, 1958.-Overview:...
on NBC, Rex Allen
Rex Allen
Rex Elvie Allen was an American film actor, singer and songwriter, known as the Arizona Cowboy, particularly known as the narrator in many Disney nature and Western film productions. For contributions to the recording industry, Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Family...
's syndicated Frontier Doctor
Frontier Doctor
For the NBC program similarly named, see Frontier .Frontier Doctor is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959.-Synopsis:...
, and Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun was an American television and film actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
's The Texan
The Texan (TV series)
The Texan is a Western television series starring popular B movie star Rory Calhoun. It aired on the CBS television network from 1958-1960.-Production notes:...
on CBS. He appeared on NBC's Buckskin
Buckskin (TV series)
Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
as Jackel in the episode "A Man from the Mountains" and Cimarron City
Cimarron City (TV series)
Cimarron City is an American Western television series starring George Montgomery and John Smith that aired on NBC from October 11, 1958 until April 4, 1959...
as Tom Hiller in "The Bitter Lesson".
During the 1960s, Palmer appeared in Earl Holliman
Earl Holliman
-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
's Hotel de Paree
Hotel de Paree
Hotel de Paree is a Western television series that aired on the CBS Friday schedule from October 2, 1959, until June 3, 1960, under the alternate sponsorship of Liggett & Myers and Kellogg's....
western as Cooper in the episode "Sundance and the Bare-Knuckled Fighters". He then appeared in NBC's short-lived Overland Trail
Overland Trail (TV series)
Overland Trail is a short-lived American Western series which aired on NBC from February 7 to June 6, 1960. The series starred William Bendix and Doug McClure,-Synopsis:...
in the role of Will Purdom in the episode "Vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
s of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
". Other appearances were on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Man From Blackhawk
The Man From Blackhawk
The Man From Blackhawk is a Western television series starring Robert Rockwell that aired on the ABC television network from October 9, 1959, until September 9, 1960. The Man From Blackhawk was created by Academy Award winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant.In The Man From Blackhawk, Rockwell...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
's and Allen Case
Allen Case
Allen Case was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC's The Deputy opposite series regular Henry Fonda...
's The Deputy
The Deputy (TV series)
The Deputy is a 1959-1961 half-hour NBC western series featuring Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.-Production:...
on NBC, and three segments of Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, when it was aired on NBC. He appeared as Tracy McNeil in the 1960 episode "Old Stefano" of ABC's Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
series, set in Laramie
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, and starring John Russell
John Russell (actor)
John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962....
and Peter Brown
Peter Brown (actor)
Peter Brown is an American television actor known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell in the 1958 Warner Bros. western series Lawman.-Early life:...
. That same year, he appeared as Captain McKinley in "Welcome Enemy" in Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
's ABC western Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
.
In 1961, he appeared as Blanchard in the episode "A Gun Is for Killing" in NBC's The Tall Man
The Tall Man (TV series)
The Tall Man is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1960 to 1962. The series was produced by Revue Productions.-Synopsis:...
, a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
alized account of the relationship between Pat Garrett
Pat Garrett
Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who was best known for killing Billy the Kid...
and Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
. He then appeared as Dillard in the episode "The Frightened Town" of ABC's Cheyenne
Cheyenne (TV series)
Cheyenne is a western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season...
, starring Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
. He then played Heff in the 1961 episode "Sam Bass
Sam Bass
Sam Bass was a nineteenth-century American train robber and outlaw.-Early life:Bass was orphaned at the age of 10. For the next five years, he and his siblings lived with an abusive uncle. In 1869, he set out on his own and spent the next year in Mississippi...
" of NBC's The Outlaws
The Outlaws (1960 TV series)
Outlaws is an NBC Western television series, starring Barton MacLane as U.S. marshal Frank Caine, who operated in a lawless section of Oklahoma Territory about Stillwater. The program aired 50 one-hour episodes from September 29, 1960, to May 10, 1962. The first season was shot in black-and-white,...
.
From 1956-1961, he appeared five times as Tom McLowery in ABC's The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a Western television series loosely based on the adventures of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black and white series ran on ABC-TV from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian as Earp. An off-camera barbershop quartet sang the theme song and hummed...
starring Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
in the title role: "So Long, Dora, So Long", "Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
Faces Death", "The Law Must Be Fair", "Just Before the Battle", and "The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
". He appeared as Cowlin in the 1961 episode "The Dead Ringer" of the syndicated series Two Faces West
Two Faces West
Two Faces West is a 39-episode half-hour syndicated television western series set in Gunnison in southwestern Colorado, which aired from October 17, 1960, to July 31, 1961. It stars Scottish native Charles Bateman in the dual roles of twin brothers, Rick January, M.D., and Marshal Ben January...
starring Charles Bateman. From 1957-1961, Palmer appeared in three episodes of Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
's NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...
: "Chips", "The Warrior's Return", and "Death Raffle".
Westerns, 1962-1978
In 1962, Palmer appeared as Colton in the episode "Destinies West" of Ty HardinTy Hardin
Ty Hardin, born Orison Whipple Hungerford, Jr., is a former American actor best known as the star of the 1950s ABC western television series Bronco.-Early life:...
's Bronco
Bronco (TV series)
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
series, a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Cheyenne. Through 1962, he appeared in four segments of CBS's Have Gun - Will Travel, starring Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
: "Fragile", "The Misguided Father", "Fight at Adobe Wells", and "Trial at Tablerock" as a sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. In the 1962-1963 season, Palmer appeared twice on NBC's Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
: as Duke in "The Long Road Back" and as Chuck Logan in "Badge of Honor".
His next western roles came in 1965: as Mace in the episode "The Violent Land" of CBS's Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
, as Mel Combs in the episode "Winner Lose All" of ABC's The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, and as Doc in "$10,000 for Durango" of NBC's Branded, the second Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
western. The next year, he appeared as Moose Walters in "A Real Tough Town" of ABC's The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James (TV series)
The Legend of Jesse James is a 34-episode western television series starring Christopher Jones in the tile role of notorious outlaw Jesse James which aired on ABC from September 13, 1965, to May 9, 1966...
, starring Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones (actor)
William "Billy" Frank Jones, better known as Christopher Jones, is an American character actor, born August 18, 1941 in Jackson, Tennessee....
in the title role, with Allen Case as Frank James
Frank James
Alexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
.
In 1965-1966, he appeared as Curly in the episode "The Golden Trail" and as Sergeant Mason in "The Dance of the Laughing Death" in NBC's Laredo
Laredo (TV series)
Laredo is an NBC Western television series starring Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. The program premiered on September 16, 1965, and the final new episode was broadcast on April 7, 1967. The series was produced by Universal Television.-Synopsis:Laredo...
western series. In 1967 and 1968, he appeared three times in Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...
's 90-minute western Cimarron Strip
Cimarron Strip
Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke...
in episodes entitled "Journey to a Hanging", "The Deputy", and "The Greeners". Palmer also appeared three times between 1965 and 1968 in Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
's unconventional western, The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
. In 1972, Palmer appeared on ABC's Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...
series.
Palmer was cast as Ezra Parker in the 1969 film The Undefeated
The Undefeated (1969 film)
The Undefeated is a 1969 American Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and John Wayne and starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson. The film portrays events surrounding the French Intervention in Mexico and is also loosely based on General J. O...
, Karl Riker in the 1970 film Chisum
Chisum
Chisum is a 1970 Warner Bros. Technicolor western motion picture starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Geoffrey Deuel, Andrew Prine, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, and Richard Jaeckel....
and John Goodfellow in the 1971 film Big Jake
Big Jake (film)
Big Jake is a 1971 Western film, filmed on location in Durango, Mexico, starring John Wayne and directed by George Sherman.Big Jake was released to box-office success and generally-positive critical reviews, despite a mixed reaction by John Wayne fans....
, all starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. He also became a member of the John Wayne Stock Company, founded in 1945, with original members including Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
, Grant Withers
Grant Withers
Grant Withers was an American film actor. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with a list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead...
, and Paul Fix
Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
. In 1976, Palmer was cast as the unnamed "Burly Man" in the last of Wayne's films, The Shootist
The Shootist
The Shootist is a 1976 Western starring John Wayne in his final film role. It was based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. Scott Hale and Miles Hood Swarthout wrote the screenplay...
.
In 1977, Palmer appeared as mountain man
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
in the two-part Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color presentation "Kit Carson and the Mountain Man". Christopher Connelly starred as Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
, and Robert Reed
Robert Reed
Robert Reed was a prolific American character actor of stage, film and television. In his first big break, he played Kenneth Preston on the popular 1960s TV legal drama, The Defenders, alongside E. G. Marshall. But he was best remembered for portraying the father, Mike Brady, on the popular...
portrayed John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
. Gary Lockwood
Gary Lockwood
Gary Lockwood is an American actor probably best known for his iconic 1968 role as the astronaut Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey.-Early life:...
also appeared as Brett Haskell. In 1978, Palmer appeared as Loman in James Arness's second western, How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (TV series)
How the West Was Won is an American western television series that featured an all star cast that included: James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, G. W. Bailey, Trisha Noble, William Shatner, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Kiley, Lloyd Bridges,...
.
Other roles
In 1955, Palmer portrayed Lieutenant Manning in the autobiographicalAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
World War II film To Hell and Back
To Hell and Back (film)
To Hell and Back is a CinemaScope war film released in 1955. It was directed by Jesse Hibbs and starred Audie Murphy as himself and Kyle Sanville. It is based on the 1949 autobiography of the same name and is an account of Murphy's World War II experiences as a soldier in the U.S. Army...
. Thereafter, he appeared in numerous drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
roles over the years, including the Warner Brothers detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
shows: Surfside 6
Surfside 6
Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered around a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield, II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison ; and Lee Patterson as Dave Thorne...
and 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
. He guest starred as Lou Montell in "High Tide", the second episode of Surfside 6. From 1960-1963, he appeared in the 77 Sunset Strip episodes "The Parallel Caper" "Framework for a Badge", and "To Catch a Mink". Other drama appearances included Highway Patrol
Highway Patrol (TV series)
Highway Patrol is a syndicated action crime drama series produced 1955-1959.-Overview:Highway Patrol stars Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews, the gruff and dedicated head of a police force in an unidentified Western state...
, Navy Log
Navy Log
Navy Log is an American anthology series that initially aired on CBS. The series featured over 70 regular guests and told about the greatest survival war stories in the history of the United States Navy. This series premiered on September 20, 1955. The following year, it was moved to ABC, where it...
, The Lineup
The Lineup (TV series)
The Lineup is an American police drama which aired on CBS radio from 1950 to 1953 and on CBS television from 1954 to 1960, possibly in response to NBC's hit Dragnet....
, The Millionaire, Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
's Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt was an American adventure television series that was aired in syndication by Ziv Television Programs from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced...
, The Roaring 20s
The Roaring Twenties (TV series)
The Roaring 20s is an American drama series that aired on the ABC network beginning on October 15, 1960, and ending on September 21, 1962.-Synopsis:...
, The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
(uncredited as Paul Di Marco), Run for Your Life
Run for Your Life (TV series)
Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...
, The Long Hot Summer
The Long Hot Summer (TV series)
The Long, Hot Summer is an American drama series that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965-1966. Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot Summer was based on the novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film of the same name.-Synopsis:The series...
(as Grant Johnson in episode "Man with Two Faces"), Cannon
Cannon (TV series)
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
, Tarzan, CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, and Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, as a ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
er in the 1968 episode "Spectre of the Gun".
Despite being uncredited, Palmer is the only actor to have appeared in both the original Star Trek series and the British
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
program Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(and the first actor to appear in both franchises). He appeared in two serials in the latter show, firstly as two Cybermen, Shav and Gern in The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
(1966) and then as Lieutenant Lucke in The War Games
The War Games
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
(1969). Both are known for being the respective swansongs of William Hartnell
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
and Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
. (Aside from Troughton, Palmer is the only actor to appear in both stories.)
There were even a few sitcom appearances, including a recurring role as Harry on the CBS series Run, Buddy, Run
Run, Buddy, Run
Run, Buddy, Run is a 16-episode situation comedy starring Jack Sheldon, which ran on CBS television from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967. Sheldon, also a trumpet player, portrayed Buddy Overstreet, an "ordinary guy", an accountant, on the run from a group of comical gangsters. As the plot...
, starring Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
. He appeared too on CBS's Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
and The Good Guys, on NBC's Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
and the 1957 version of Blondie.
Later years
Palmer's last screen appearance was as a colonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the 1982 ABC miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln...
.
A widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
er, Palmer lives in Encino, California, and is an avid golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er. His wife, Ruth Palmer, died in 1999. Palmer has attended Golden Boot
Golden Boot Awards
The Golden Boot Awards honor actors, actresses, and crew members who have made significant contributions to the genre of Western television and movies. The award is sponsored and presented by the Motion Picture & Television Fund...
programs but has not won the award himself.