Jack Palance

Lore & Background

Palance was born Volodymyr Palahniuk in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, to Ukrainian immigrant parents. He worked in coal mines as a youth and boxed professionally under the name Jack Palance, losing his only recorded match to Joe Baksi. After serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he was injured in a B-24 Liberator crash, he attended Stanford University and changed his name to Walter Jack Palance. He made his Broadway debut in 1947 and his film debut in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets (1950).

Palance received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953), winning the Oscar nearly 40 years later for City Slickers (1991). He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in the Playhouse 90 teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957). He worked extensively in Europe from the late 1950s, notably in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963). His other notable films include The Big Knife (1955), Attack (1956), Barabbas (1961), The Professionals (1966), and Batman (1989). He hosted Ripley's Believe It or Not! from 1982 to 1986.

Reader's Guide

Jack Palance's career is marked by a distinctive gaunt appearance, partly resulting from reconstructive surgery after a wartime plane crash, and a reputation for playing tough, often villainous characters. His Oscar win for City Slickers, a comedic role late in his career, highlighted his range and enduring appeal. Palance's work in European cinema, especially with director Jean-Luc Godard, demonstrated his willingness to take unconventional roles. Off-screen, he was active in the Ukrainian American community and served as chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation. His legacy includes a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960) and a body of work that spans classic Hollywood, international films, and television.

Did You Know?

• Palance was born Volodymyr Palahniuk and changed his name because most people could not pronounce it.
• He lost his only recorded boxing match to future heavyweight contender Joe Baksi.
• He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for City Slickers (1991), nearly 40 years after his first nomination.