Rest In Peace Jack Palance

Today I have heard about the passing of an actor whose work I have always admired…Jack Palance. Mr. Palance had a long career in film from detective dramas to war movies to westerns. He always played the heavy. He tried his hand at horror when he played Dracula and in my opinion he played the part as well as Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi did. Like most actors his popularity dipped for a time but he recharged his film career when he co-starred with Billy Crystal in the City Slickers film series. He finally won an Oscar in the process as well as made the Oscar telecast memorable with his one handed push ups. It gave his friend/co-star Billy Crystal, who hosted the Oscar telecast, a chance to adlib a lot of jokes for the rest of the telecast at Mr. Palance’s expense. With his Oscar he got offered more roles in major films and he could add comedic actor to his resume. He had a small but important role in the Tim Burton directed film of Batman. He was also in the comedy Cops and Robbersons with Chevy Chase. While that movie will never be considered cinematic genius, the chemistry between him and Chase makes it worth watching. It is almost as good as his chemistry with Mr. Crystal.

When his film career dipped he tried his hand at television. His best attempt to me came when he was the star of the detective drama Bronk. It aired from September 21, 1975 to July 19, 1976 on CBS on Sunday nights. He played Lt. Alex Bronkov He worked on special assignments from the Mayor. The two of them were working on ridding the city of corruption. He would get help from his retired police friends like Harry Mark who now owned an auto junkyard and also got help from his daughter Ellen who was crippled in an accident that killed Bronk’s wife. The show was made during a time when detective dramas like Cannon, Barnaby Jones and Streets of San Francisco were hot. For some reason Bronk didn’t catch on in the ratings. It had a great and compatible lead in with Kojak but what may have lead to its early demise was that it was up against the last half of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie and the ABC Sunday Night Movie. Until Trapper John M.D. came along CBS always had a little trouble with Sunday at 10pm.

Perhaps the best success that Mr. Palance had on television was when he hosted the ABC show Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. It aired from September of 1982 to September 4, 1986. He was the main host for those years. He co-hosted with Catherine Shirriff from 1982-1983. His own daughter Holly Palance joined him from 1983-1985. During its last year the show was hosted by the odd paring of Mr. Palance and Marie Osmond. The show had the full cooperation of the Robert Ripley estate. Mr. Ripley made his name by writing a newspaper column about the oddities of the world and later opened a museum that was dedicated to them. Now film crews spanned the globe to bring the museum into your home in video form. The show continues today in syndication with Dean Cain as the host.

Out of all the years and forms of entertainment that Jack Palance brought to his fans the one I will remember fondly is Bronk. I don’t really know why. Perhaps it is because I have a fondness for television back then. Maybe it is because I remember my Dad watched the show a few times or maybe it is both. Anyway Jack Palance brought a sense of fun and happiness to see him at work. Isn’t that something that every actor would like an audience to feel when they think about them? Rest In Peace Jack Palance.