Jack Palance: Biography

One of the screen's most grizzled actors, Jack Palance defines true grit for many a filmgoer. The son of a coal miner, he was born Walter Jack Palahnuik on February 18, 1920, in Lattimer Mines, PA. His background undoubtedly helped mold his tough onscreen persona: Palance worked in the mines, as a professional boxer, and, in World War II, he piloted bombers, one of which crashed. The severe burns he received led to extensive facial surgery, resulting in his gaunt, pinched face.

Palance worked on the stage for several years before moving to Hollywood. He made his film debut playing a criminal in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets (1950), and went on to be cast in similarly sinister and villainous roles, although he was allowed to reveal a more vulnerable side in some of his later films receiving Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations for his performances in both Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953). Beginning in the late '50s, he appeared in numerous foreign (especially Italian) films, with Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 Le Mépris/Contempt a particular highlight. Palance also starred in the TV series The Greatest Show on Earth and Bronk, as well as in numerous TV dramas, notably Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).

By the late '80s, Palance had largely disappeared from the cinematic forefront, making occasional appearances in such films as Bagdad Cafe (1987), Young Guns (1988), and Batman (1989). In 1991, however, he was introduced to a new generation of viewers with his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning performance in City Slickers. Accepting his Best Supporting Actor award at that year's Academy Awards ceremony, he won a permanent place in its history when he decided to demonstrate that he was, in fact, still a man of considerable vitality by doing a series of one-handed push-ups. He reprised his role in the film's 1994 sequel, City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold. ~ All Movie Guide