BoxRec

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/4 ... jacakp.jpg


Veteran American actor, Jack Palance, who starred in the classic Western Shane and the cowboy comedy City Slickers, has died aged 87.

His family were at his home in Montecito, California, when he died of natural causes, a spokesman said.

Born in Pennsylvania of Ukrainian descent, Palance won fame as a hard man in Shane, Sudden Fear and other films.

He turned to comedy with City Slickers, parodying his tough image and landing an Academy Award in 1991.

Genuinely scary guy, and apparently hard as nails outside the ring.

Few people know that veteran movie actor Jack Palance was a professional heavyweight boxer in the early 1940s. Fighting under the name Jack Brazzo, Palance a product of Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, won his first 15 fights, 12 by knockout before losing a 4th round decision to future heavyweight contender Joe Baksi on Dec. 17, 1940. With the outbreak of World War II, Jack Palance's boxing career ended and his military career began. Wounded in combat, he received the purple heart, good conduct medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. After the war he began his long and famous motion picture career.

Despite all of his film work, Palance will forever be remembered for turning an Oscar acceptance speech into an uproarious display of his physical agility. While accepting his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for City Slickers (1991) at the 64th Annual Academy Awards (1992) he stumbled through a half-hearted acceptance speech and then, at a loss for anything else to say, flopped down on the floor and began doing a series of one-handed push-ups. Afterwards when he was asked about the stunt he simply said, "I didn't know what the hell else to do". A year later when he provided the voice of Rothbart in the The Swan Princess (1994), his character is featured doing one-handed push-ups.

http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/image_browse ... nce&page=5

I can't post pics but here's a picture of Palance in the ring.

Palance made a crap Dracula (1972), where he was totally miscast, but he was in one of the best war movies of all time. Robert Alrich's ATTACK! (1956) was a fvcking amazing little film and Palance was never better. Forget the CITY SLICKERS parody, check out him at his hard bitten best.

Hawk the Slayer!
He stole that one easily.

His screen presence really was underused back in the day.

He also starred in a horrendous 70s comedy film called Angel's Revenge.

I know this because they ripped the piss out of it on an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

Ulysses wrote:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/4 ... jacakp.jpg

Thats what allegedly is going to look like ten years from now.

R.I.P.

I think he had about 15 professional fights but his record on our database in incomplete.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=41420