[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4010]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN MEMORY OF FESS PARKER

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 19, 2010

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise in memory of an extraordinary 
actor, a gentleman, a family man, a successful vintner and hotelier, 
and a patriotic American, Fess Parker, who died Thursday after 85 years 
of making the world around him a better place.
  My wife, Janice, and I were fortunate to call Fess Parker and his 
wife, Marcella, our friends.
  I first met Fess in 1987 when by chance we were seated together on a 
flight from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles. He had just left the White 
House where he had been a guest of his old friend Ronald Reagan and I 
was on my weekly trip home.
  From that chance meeting, we built a lasting friendship. I had the 
good fortune of visiting with Fess on several occasions at his home in 
Los Olivos. Fess was a humble man with a great sense of humor. He 
shared many great stories, like how he was discovered by Adolphe 
Menjou, the debonair movie star of the '30s and '40s.
  At the time, Fess was a student at the University of Texas and 
president of his fraternity. Fess chauffeured Mr. Menjou on his visit 
to the university, they built a rapport and Menjou paved the way for 
Fess's own success in Hollywood.
  There were many other stories, but none that I enjoyed more than how 
he met the love of his life, Marcella. It was a true love story that 
even the most talented of Hollywood writers could not have created.
  My experience with Fess is typical. He never acted like a Hollywood 
star in private life.
  After more than 20 years in Hollywood, Fess and Marcella moved to 
Santa Barbara County. There he produced Fess Parker wine from his 
2,200-acre vineyard and opened two top-class hotels, the Fess Parker 
Wine County Inn and Spa in Los Olivos and Fess Parker Doubletree Inn in 
Santa Barbara. His wine bottles feature the familiar coonskin cap he 
made famous in his role as Davey Crockett, as do wine glasses sold at 
the winery. Fess Parker was known to spend hours signing wine bottles 
for visitors while regaling them with stories of Hollywood.
  He and Marcella also were well-known in town, often seen walking 
hand-in-hand.
  In addition to Marcella, with whom Fess celebrated 50 years of 
marriage in January, Fess Parker is survived by his son, Eli; daughter, 
Ashley; 11 grandchildren; a great-grandchild; hundreds of friends and 
millions of fans.
  Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in offering our 
condolences to Marcella, Eli, Ashley and their entire family, and in 
remembering a Hollywood icon whose off-screen values and successes in 
many ways surpassed the successes of his onscreen personas.

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