Peter Webster Palmer (September 20, 1931 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

, alongside

Edie Adams Edie Adams (born Edith Elizabeth Enke; April 16, 1927 – October 15, 2008) was an American comedian, actress, singer and businesswoman. She earned the Tony Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Adams was well known for her impersonations ...

, both on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and on film.

Life and career

Palmer was born on September 20, 1931, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was offered scholarships to a number of universities; he chose the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

to study voice under Bruce Foote. He was the first music major to letter in football at the university. While at Illinois his team won the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championships in 1951 and 1953 and the Rose Bowl in 1952. Palmer sang the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

at every home game in 1953 before taking the field. In 1956, Palmer was cast in the title role of the musical ''Li'l Abner'', for which he won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

. Having won a singing contest while in the U.S. Army, he was rewarded with an appearance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'', where he sang "Granada". The producers of the musical,

Melvin Frank Melvin Frank (13 August 1913 – 13 October 1988) was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is known for his partnership with Norman Panama and their work on films such as '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948), ...

and Norman Panama, happened to spot him on the Sullivan show and sought out to hire him immediately. In 1959, he was cast in the same role in the movie version. His Li'l Abner role brought him a guest appearance on ''

The Ford Show ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...

'' (starring

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for h ...

). Palmer said that he tired of the ''Li'l Abner'' role after six months of the show's 22-month run. "It stamped me so definitely as a hillbilly type," he said, "that everything else I was offered afterward was in a similar vein". He tried to alter that image by singing in night clubs and making recordings of his singing in operettas. In 1967, Palmer had a recurring role as Sergeant James Bustard, a former

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

soldier in the short-lived series ''

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

''. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Palmer appeared on numerous television episodes, including small parts on ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'', and ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

'' He appeared on Broadway with

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...

in ''

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

'' in 1974. In 1977, he had a regular role as part of the cast on the short-lived sitcom ''

The Kallikaks ''The Kallikaks'' is an American sitcom television series starring David Huddleston which centers around a family from Appalachia that moves to California to run a decrepit gasoline station. The show aired from August 3 to August 31, 1977 on NB ...

'', playing Oscar Heinz.

Personal life

In 1954, Palmer married his first wife, Jackalee Ann "Jackie" Gleason; they divorced in 1964. In 1966, he married Mary Lou "Aniko" Farrell; Palmer had six children, five with first wife, Jackie (Jack, Scott, Sherri, Mike, Kathy, and Steven). With his second wife, Aniko, he had a daughter, Farrell Beth Palmer.''The St. Petersburg Evening Independent'', October 20, 1983.

Death

Palmer died in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

on September 21, 2021, the day after his 90th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Peter Palmer: If I Had My Druthers...
— interview at BroadwayWorld.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Peter 1931 births 2021 deaths Male actors from Milwaukee American male musical theatre actors American male television actors University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign School of Music alumni Theatre World Award winners 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers