Career
Palance's acting break came as Marlon Brando's understudy in A Streetcar Named Desire, and he eventually replaced Brando on stage as Stanley Kowalski.
In 1947, Palance made his Broadway debut, and this was followed three years later by his screen debut in the movie Panic in the Streets (1950). The very same year, he was featured in Halls of Montezuma about the U.S. Marines in World War II, where he was credited as "Walter (Jack) Palance". Palance was quickly recognized for his skill as a character actor, receiving an Oscar nomination for only his third film role, as Lester Blaine in Sudden Fear.
The following year, Palance was again nominated for an Oscar, this time for his role as the hired gunfighter Jack Wilson in Shane. Several other Western roles followed, but he also played such varied roles as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula and Attila the Hun.
In 1957, Palance won an Emmy for best actor for his portrayal of Mountain McClintock in the Playhouse 90 production of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight.
Jean-Luc Godard persuaded Palance to take on the role of Hollywood producer Jeremy Prokosch in the 1963 nouvelle vague movie Le Mépris, with Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli. Although the main dialogue was in French, Palance spoke mostly English.
Later, in 1966, Jack Palance in the movie "Alice Through the Looking Glass" directed by Alan Handley in which Jack plays as the Jabberwocky; film which also involved Judi Rolin in the role of "Alice" and Roy Castle as "Lester, the Jester". Film regarded today as a classic of children's films.
In 1969, while still busy making movies, Palance recorded a country music album on Warner Bros. Records. The album recalled the Lee Hazlewood music that was popular at the time. Recorded in Nashville, the album is a playful country rock romp not unlike other late 60's Nashville recordings and featured Palance's self-penned classic song "The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived". The album was re-released in 2003 by the "Walter" label on CD.
Palance also starred the television series Bronk between 1975 and 1976 for MGM Television.
Palance received a major career boost when he began hosting a television revival of Ripley's Believe It or Not! in 1982. The weekly series ran from 1982 to 1986 on the American ABC network. The series was wildly popular during its four-year run, owing a great deal of its success to Palance's eccentric performances. The series also starred three different co-hosts from season to season, including Palance's daughter Holly Palance, actress Catherine Shirriff and singer Marie Osmond. Ripley's Believe It or Not! was rerun in syndication on the Sci-fi Channel (UK) and Sci-fi Channel (US) during the 1990s.
Palance's success on Ripley's Believe It or Not! resulted in a demand for his services. He made memorable appearances in Young Guns (1988), Tango & Cash (1989) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989), all of which served to reinvigorate his movie career. Palance would be involved in new projects each year right up to the start of the 21st century. He also performed on Roger Waters' first solo album release The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking in 1984.
Palance, at the time chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation, walked out of a Russian Film Festival in Hollywood. After being introduced, Palance said, "I feel like I walked into the wrong room by mistake. I think that Russian film is interesting, but I have nothing to do with Russia or Russian film. My parents were born in Ukraine: I'm Ukrainian. I'm not Russian. So, excuse me, but I don't belong here. It's best if we leave." Palance was awarded the title of "People's Artist" by the President Vladimir Putin on that occasion, however Palance refused the title.
In 2001, Palance returned to the recording studio as a special guest on friend Laurie Z's Heart of the Holidays album to narrate the famous classic poem "The Night Before Christmas".
In 2002, he starred in the television movie Living with the Dead opposite Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and Diane Ladd. In 2004, he starred in another television production, Back When We Were Grownups, opposite Blythe Danner, his performance as Poppy being Palance's last.
According to writer Mark Evanier, comic book creator Jack Kirby modeled his character Darkseid on the actor.
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