Byron Palmer

Byron Palmer (June 21, 1920 – September 30, 2009) was an American film, television and stage actor under contract with 20th Century Fox in Hollywood.

Palmer and Joan Weldon on CBS Radio, 1955.

Early years

Palmer was the second of four children of Harlan G. Palmer, a politician, judge, and most notably the owner and publisher of the historic Hollywood Citizen News. While attending Occidental College, Palmer wrote obituaries for his father's paper and later joined CBS as a page eventually leading him to become a CBS radio news reporter and announcer.[1]

During World War II, Palmer joined the Army Air Forces and ran a radio station on an island in the Pacific. Between news broadcasts, he sang tenor on the air with a quartet called the Music Mates. Soldiers sent him fan mail that persuaded him to take voice lessons after the war.[1]

Film and stage

Palmer made his debut in film in the 1953 film Tonight We Sing. He starred with Jack Palance in Man in the Attic, with Gordon MacRae in The Best Things in Life Are Free and in several other films including Emergency Hospital and Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki and the 1956 film Glory. After acting as master of ceremonies for a touring “Hollywood on Ice” show, he starred with Ray Bolger in Where's Charley? on Broadway in 1948. He was also featured in the early 1950s Broadway revue "Bless You All" with Pearl Bailey, and the 1956 film Glory.[2][3]

Television

Palmer hosted the Miss Universe 1958 and Miss Universe 1959 beauty pageants on the CBS and FOX television networks. Additionally, he hosted the syndicated variety program This is Your Music in 1955 and was co-host of Bride and Groom, which was originally broadcast on CBS and later on NBC in the 1950s.[4]

Palmer made a number of television appearances, including episodes of Perry Mason, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Betty White Show, Pete and Gladys, How to Marry a Millionaire, Lawman, Soldiers of Fortune, Cavalcade of America, Matinee Theatre and more.

Personal life

Palmer married his high school sweetheart, JoAnn Ramson, in 1944. He later remarried to beauty queen and actress Ruth Hampton in 1954.[5]

In 1974, Palmer remarried once again to actress and professional dancer Georgine Darcy who is best known for her role as Miss Torso in the highly acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock film Rear Window. They remained married until her death in 2004.[6]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1953Tonight We SingGregory Lawrence
1953Man in the AtticInsp. Paul Warwick
1955Ma and Pa Kettle at WaikikiBob Baxter
1956GloryHoppy Hollis
1956The Best Things in Life Are FreeHollywood Star
1956Emergency HospitalBen Caldwell

References
  1. "Byron Palmer". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. "Byron Palmer". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  3. "Byron Palmer, Broadway and TV performer, dies at 89". chicagotribune.com. 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 135, 1074. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. Lentz, Harris M. III (2006). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 158. ISBN 9780786424894. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. Oliver, Myrna (July 21, 2004). "Miss Torso in Rear Window: Ex-ballerina played across-the-court dancer in Hitchcock thriller". Montreal Gazette. Los Angeles Times. pp. C7.
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