One year ago: Fess Parker, TV's Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone

If you grew up in the United States in the 1950s or '60s and watched television, you probably remember Fess Parker, the 6-foot-6 actor who first played Davy Crockett and then Daniel Boone for chief Imagineer Walt Disney. And you might have demanded your own own coonskin cap. Many kids did.

When Parker died one year ago at age 85, Times staff writer Dennis McLellan reminded readers in the obituary that Disney's Davy Crockett character became a marketer's dream:

[Ten] million coonskin caps reportedly were sold, along with toy 'Old Betsy' rifles, buckskin shirts, T-shirts, coloring books, guitars, bath towels, bedspreads, wallets -- anything with the Crockett name attached.Viewers also fell in love with the show's catchy theme song. Bill Hayes' version of 'The Ballad of Davy Crockett' soared to No. 1 on the hit parade and remained there for 13 weeks.

It was a pop-culture phenomenon. As essayist Neal Gabler put it in The Times: "Before Elvis Presley, Beatlemania, 'The Simpsons,' 'SpongeBob SquarePants,' there was Davy Crockett."

After his acting career, Parker became known for his upscale hotels and winery in Santa Barbara County. Although Parker is gone, you can still visit the winery, where you can not only sample wine but also purchase a coonskin cap.

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Photos: Fess Parker, 1924-2010

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-- Claire Noland

Photo: Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. Credit: Associated Press / Walt Disney Co.

One year ago: Alex Chilton of the Box Tops and Big Star

It's been a year since Alex Chilton died suddenly in New Orleans at 59, only days before he was to play a reunion concert with his old band Big Star at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas.

The show went on as planned with his surviving bandmates (see a snippet from YouTube above), and a panel discussion turned into a tribute to to the mercurial singer who was probably better known to the masses for his lead vocals on the Box Tops' 1967 hit "The Letter."

Times pop music critic Ann Powers covered last year's SXSW panel discussion featuring John Frye, the owner of Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tenn.; Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and original bassist Andy Hummel; and Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, musicians who helped flesh out the Big Star reunion band. In reflecting on the discussion, Powers wrote:

Chilton’s early success as the teenage singer for the Box Tops could have resulted in a career like that of Kinks leader Ray Davies, with ups and downs but more commercial success than Chilton enjoyed. Instead, Chilton responded to typical music-industry banality and narrow-mindedness by constantly testing himself and his audience, going further into tricky spaces.... Chilton remained uniquely baffling until the end. He apparently loved performing with his oldies act the Box Tops at events like the Italian Fair in Memphis; though he sometimes scoffed at the cult of Big Star, he enjoyed the reunion, and Auer and Stringfellow heard through the grapevine -- Chilton wasn’t much for direct compliments – how much he appreciated them. Auer smiled, remembering a time he’d asked Chilton to chose between several songs during a rehearsal."Amongst," Chilton replied. Auer wasn’t sure how to respond."It’s 'amongst,' when there is more than one choice," the stickler said. "Not 'between.'"Alex Chilton lived a life "amongst," and those gathered to honor his memory gave full voice to that variation.

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Photos: Alex Chilton, 1950-2010

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--Claire Noland

 

One year ago: Peter Graves of ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Airplane!’

 Peter Graves was a television star who made light of his image in a memorably comic movie role.

Graves was known to a generation of television viewers as James Phelps in the show "Mission: Impossible." But he joined other actors known for their serious images—Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack—in the 1980 spoof "Airplane!"

He almost didn't do it.

"I read it and thought, 'Gee, this is dangerous,' " Graves told The Times in late 2009. "It was in terrible taste."

But the film's producer, Howard Koch, urged him to meet with the young filmmakers, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, who told him that they wanted somebody of stature and dignity to play the role "absolutely straight," Graves recalled.

"They say you are supposed to stretch as an actor, so let's go stretch it," he said.

Graves, who starred in more than 70 television series and feature films, typically playing the straight-laced hero, died a year ago at 83.

 

--Keith Thursby

 

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One year ago: Merlin Olsen, Ram who jumped to TV

Merlin Olsen wasn't just a football player, although he was a very good one.

After 15 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Rams' famed "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line, Olsen became a familiar face on television as an actor, broadcaster and commercial spokesman. His ability to excel in more than one field didn't surprise people who played and worked with him.

"I was amazed by his size (6 feet 5 and 275 pounds) just like everybody else, but more than that at his great intelligence," former CBS analyst Irv Cross, who played three years with Olsen on the Rams, told The Times in 1982. "His ability to analyze the game was something everybody on the team recognized. It was just unbelievable that any one person would be gifted in so many ways."

He was a three-time academic All-American at Utah State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1962 and a master's in economics in 1970.

Olsen, who died a year ago at age 69, was the NFL's most valuable player in 1974 and appeared 14 times in the Pro Bowl. He then spent 15 seasons as an analyst for NBC and CBS and acted in such television shows as "Little House on the Prairie" and "Father Murphy."

"Merlin's own character was such that you adapted it to his [television] character," said Kent McCray, producer of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Father Murphy," a 1981-83 series that starred Olsen as a frontiersman disguised as a priest who was trying to help a group of orphans. "In many instances, it was difficult for him to get mad. ... It's impossible to think of him as one of the Fearsome Foursome."

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Photos: A look at Olsen's careers in sports, acting and broadcasting

-- Keith Thursby

Photos: (top) Merlin Olsen grabs quarterback Archie Manning in a 1972 game. Credit: Associated Press

(bottom) Olsen acts in "Father Murphy" in 1981. Credit: Associated Press

One year ago: former teen idol Corey Haim

Two decades after being hailed as a teen idol and a promising actor, Corey Haim was on a reality television show with a familiar costar.

Haim, whose 1980s roles included "Lucas" and "The Lost Boys," was reunited in 2007 with fellow former child actor Corey Feldman on an A&E reality show called "The Two Coreys." They worked together in "The Lost Boys," among several films.

Haim had a long struggle with drugs. "I lived in L.A. in the '80s which was not the best place to be," he told Britain's the Sun in 2004. "I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack."

When Haim died a year ago at age 38, police first said the cause was an apparent overdose. "This is a tragic loss of a wonderful, beautiful, tormented soul," Corey Feldman said at the time on his blog.

Nearly two months after Haim's death, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said the actor died of pneumonia and had an enlarged heart.

Haim was born in Toronto in 1971 and started working in commercials at 10. His role in "Lucas" as a teenager in love with an older girl was "one of the most three-dimensional, complicated, interesting characters of any age of any recent movie," critic Roger Ebert wrote.

Other roles included the movies "Murphy's Romance" and "License to Drive" and the television series "Roomies."

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--Keith Thursby

 

Photo: Corey Haim in the 1987 NBC comedy "Roomies." Credit: Associated Press

One year ago: Felix Wurman

Felix Wurman found inspiration in church one Sunday.

Wurman, a cellist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, wasn't religious, but playing with other musicians at a church in 2007 made him think about offering people a service with music as the main element.

He started the Church of Beethoven performance series in Albuquerque, recruiting other musicians from the symphony to play Sunday-morning concerts in an abandoned gas station off Route 66.

The crowds became big enough to move to another location in 2008. Wurman was diagnosed with cancer that year and others stepped in to keep the Church of Beethoven series going. Wurman died a year ago at age 51.

The concerts, which include poetry, will continue in 2011. The group's website calls the concerts "not church … more than Beethoven."

-- Keith Thursby

Photo: Felix Wurman in 2008, asking for donations during a concert. Credit: Morgan Petroski / Albuquerque Journal

One year ago: Vic Chesnutt

 

Vic Chesnutt, a paraplegic singer, songwriter and guitarist whose plaintive voice gave spark to the poetic lyrics and hard-edged folk melodies he created, died one year ago, on Christmas Day.

Chesnutt, 45, died at a hospital in Athens, Ga., days after taking an overdose of prescription muscle relaxants.

I was on duty last Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. When reports surfaced that Chesnutt had fallen into a coma, I got busy researching his life. I already knew his work, having become familiar with his music on "Everybody Can Change," a spare recording of Chesnutt on vocals and guitar and his wife, Tina, on bass and Jeffrey Richards on drums. The song was included on the "Rare on Air, Vol. 2" compilation CD of recordings from the "Morning Becomes Eclectic" program on KCRW-FM, Santa Monica's NPR station.

I did not enjoy writing Vic Chesnutt's obituary. He was just too young and had too much creativity in him. His friends and family were devastated, said a family spokesman.

Only a few weeks earlier, Chesnutt had appeared at the Echoplex in Echo Park, while on tour for his new record, "At the Cut." He spoke then to a Times reporter about his distress over rising medical costs and his difficulty managing the bills:

"I'm not too eloquent talking about these things. I was making payments, but I can't anymore and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It seems absurd they can charge this much. When I think about all this, it gets me so furious. I could die tomorrow because of other operations I need that I can't afford."

Less than a month later, he was dead. You can listen to his music on his website, www.vicchesnutt.com, and his Myspace page, or read more about him at Constellation Records' website. 

-- Claire Noland

Photo: Vic Chesnutt in 1997. Credit: Los Angeles Times

One year ago: Brittany Murphy

Actress Brittany Murphy was only 32 when she died a year ago. She had become known for performances in such movies as the 1995 teen comedy "Clueless" and the 2002 drama "8 Mile" with rapper Eminem.

"She was a very special and vulnerable person," Curtis Hanson, who directed her in "8 Mile," told The Times. "The honesty of her emotions made it so that [her lines] didn't feel like scripted dialogue."

Firefighters were called to Murphy's home and were unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

In February, the Los Angeles County coroner's office announced that her death had been ruled accidental from pneumonia exacerbated by anemia and a harmful combination of medications.

Murphy was born in Atlanta in 1977 and came to Southern California with her mother when she was 13. Her parents had divorced several years earlier.

Murphy's other notable roles included "Girl, Interrupted" in 1999 and the comedy "Just Married" in 2003.

The Times' story about her death can be found here.

--Keith Thursby

 

Photo: Brittany Murphy in 2006. Credit: Associated Press

One year ago: Connie Hines

Connie Hines was an actress best known for playing Carol Post, whose husband, Wilbur, was the only person who could talk with Mister Ed in the 1960s television show. She died one year ago at age 78.

The "Mister Ed" part was "a tough chore," said actor Alan Young, who played Wilbur. "She was a girl married to a fellow listening to a horse. Her biggest line was 'lunch is ready.' The rest of it was reacting to it. Connie never complained. How many actors would react that way?"

After her first marriage ended in divorce, Hines moved to New York with a girlfriend who was a dancer and wanted to be on Broadway. There, she modeled and appeared in commercials, eventually landing a romantic leading role on the CBS anthology series "Rendezvous" that was shot in Europe.

CBS was impressed with her work and in 1959 sent her to Hollywood, where she appeared on television shows and won a role in the 1960 film "Thunder in Carolina" before making her big break with "Mister Ed."

After "Mister Ed" ended, Hines worked on TV sporadically, including "Medical Center," "The Mod Squad" and "Bonanza."

In 1970, Hines married Lee Savin, an entertainment lawyer and producer. They retired to Dana Point in 1989 on the recommendation of Young, who had been living there.

For more about the actress, read Connie Hines' obituary by The Times.

-- Michael Farr

Photo: Connie Hines

Credit: Coulter-Straus Inc.

One year ago: Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones was an Academy Award-winning actress who in her life married two legendary men — producer David O. Selznick and industrialist and art collector Norton Simon. She died one year ago at age 90.

Jones starred in more than two dozen films, playing opposite such A-list actors as William Holden, Joseph Cotten and Gregory Peck. She won an Oscar for best actress for her performance in the 1943 film "The Song of Bernadette."

Her acting talent may have gone undiscovered if not for Selznick. He groomed her for stardom, pulled strings to get her roles and eventually married her  after she divorced her first husband, actor Robert Walker, with whom she had two sons.

Starting in the mid-1960s, Jones went through a bleak period. Her film career was on the wane and, in 1965, Selznick died. Two years later, she attempted suicide.

Her life took a turn for the better, however, around the time she met art collector Simon at a reception in Los Angeles in 1971 when she was 52. By then, she had retreated from Hollywood and taken up work with mental-health and charity organizations while raising her daughter by Selznick.

Jones, originally not an art connoisseur, became enamored of it when she married Simon. At his death in 1993, Simon named her president of Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum, where she oversaw a $3-million renovation of the museum's interior and gardens that was completed in 1999.

Jones herself was surprised at the many turns her life had taken.

"Actually," she told the Washington Post in 1977, "every time I stop to think about it, I'm really amazed. I think I've had an extraordinary life. And lots of times I can hardly believe it's me."

For more on the actress, read Jennifer Jones' obituary by former Times staff writer Claudia Luther, and view a photo gallery of her life.

--Michael Farr

Photo: Jennifer Jones in 1949, the year she married David O. Selznick. Credit: Associated Press

One year ago: Roy Edward Disney

Roy Edward Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, was so committed to his uncle's creative spirit that he mounted revolts that led to the unseating of two of the company's chief executives who he felt were leading the company astray. He died one year ago at age 79.

As chairman of Disney animation, Disney helped guide the studio to a new golden age of animation with an unprecedented string of artistic and box-office successes that included "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King."

But it was a long road to those successes. After 20 years of working on nature films for the studio, he quit in 1977 when he was denied a larger role in the company after the death of his uncle Walt and his father, Roy O. Disney. He remained on its board as a director but was largely a figurehead.

Disney went on to partner with lawyer Stanley Gold and became a successful financier through Shamrock Holdings, where he built up wealth to ease his reliance on his inherited Disney stock.

When he had accumulated enough money and influence independent of Disney, he made his move against the company that had increasingly frustrated him. He quit the Disney board in 1984, causing a stock turmoil that led the unseating of the company's management. Using his influence, Disney was able to bring in a whole new management team led by Michael Eisner.

The victory was short-lived. Tensions began building between Disney and Eisner when the company's president and chief operating officer, Frank Wells, died in 1994, leaving Eisner solely in control of the company. In 2003, Disney called for Eisner's resignation, saying the company had come to be perceived as "rapacious, soul-less and always looking for the 'quick buck' rather than long-term value." Eisner resigned in 2005.

Disney initially fought the hiring of Eisner's successor, Robert A. Iger, but relented when Iger made peace, offering Disney an office at the company's Burbank studios, a consultancy and the title "director emeritus."

Despite wealth estimated at $600 million, Disney remained shy and outwardly unpretentious, according to people who knew him. He also was involved in several philanthropic activities, including serving on the board of trustees of the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, where he helped carry out the dream of Walt and his father to build and sustain a top arts college in Southern California.

For much more on his turbulent career, creative passion and the sometimes tense drama within his family, read Roy Edward Disney's obituary by The Times. Also, view a photo gallery of his life.

-- Michael Farr

Photo: Roy Disney, in the Shamrock Center in Burbank on December 1, 2003. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

One year ago: Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts, who popularized the idea of a "prosperity gospel" while becoming one of the most well-known evangelists in the country, died one year ago. He was 91.

Roberts garnered his popularity through international broadcasts, evangelistic crusades similar to those of  Billy Graham and appearances on entertainment shows. He also founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., in 1965.

In the 1970s, Roberts' prime-time TV specials drew 40 million viewers, and he appeared frequently on talk shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Dinah Shore and Merv Griffin.

By 1980, Roberts was recognized by 84% of Americans, close behind the sitting U.S. president and fellow evangelist Billy Graham and 40 points ahead of the next religious figure.

Roberts, who put great emphasis on faith healings in his broadcasts and crusades, helped integrate Pentecostalism into mainstream Christianity worldwide. The charismatic branch of Christianity, of which Pentecostalism is a part, grew from an estimated 20 million to 600 million adherents worldwide during Roberts' seven decades of ministry.

"Twentieth century history of Christianity will name Oral Roberts as the voice that brought the Pentecostal movement to be taken seriously by mainline Christianity," said Robert H. Schuller, founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral.

At the time of his death, however, Roberts' ministry and celebrity had been in decline for years, a drop-off accelerated by a prophecy the preacher made that "God will call me home" unless $8 million was raised for scholarships to Oral Roberts University by March 31, 1987.

The money was raised, but by then Roberts had become a figure of ridicule to many inside and outside the Christian world.

Despite negative publicity and declining TV ratings, by the mid-1980s Roberts' organization was raising more than $100 million annually and employing 2,300 people. His son Richard continues his father's work through Oral Roberts Ministries.

For more on the charismatic preacher's life and ministry, read The Times' Oral Roberts obituary. Also, see a photo gallery of his life.

--Michael Farr

Photo: Oral Roberts at a Downey tent revival meeting in 1957. Credit: Los Angeles Times