The Ukranian Weekly
By Luba
Poniatyszyn Keske
May 11, 2019
LOS ANGELES – In a true Hollywood fashion, a
bigger-than-life poster of Jack Palance greeted guests upon their arrival at
the Ukrainian Culture Center on Sunday, March 3. The 250 southern Californians
of Ukrainian descent as well as non-Ukrainians came to celebrate the life and
career of the legendary Ukrainian American actor on the 100th anniversary of
his birth.
Actor and producer George Wyhinny, who served as the
master of ceremonies, stepped up to the podium and asked everyone to be seated
at the elegantly decorated tables featuring mini-Oscars as centerpieces. After
welcoming everyone, he introduce the guest of honor, John Palance, the youngest
of the five children born to John and Anna Palahniuk in the town of Lattimer
Mines, Pa. Mr. Palance was welcomed by a round of applause as he made his way
to the podium. Although elderly, he addressed everyone in a strong and clear
voice and introduced his lovely daughter, Ivanna, who works in the motion
picture industry as did her father and famous uncle.
As pictures of family members, their home in Pennsylvania
and abroad streamed on the screen behind him, Mr. Palance mesmerized the
audience with little-known facts about the Palahniuk family. It seems that the
history of the Palahniuks can be traced back to Vasyl Palahniuk, who was born
in 1819 in the Village of Ivane-Zolote, located just outside the city of
Zalishchyky in the Ternopil Region of Ukraine. Vasyl never imagined that his
great, great grandson, Ivan Palahniuk, would leave the village to find his
fortune in the far-off land of America.
Ivan and his brother, Fedir, arrived in New York in the
early part of the 20th century, prior to World War I. While Fedir stayed in New
York, Ivan went to Canada, where he worked as a lumberjack. After satisfying
himself that he had enough money, Ivan returned to New York, determined to
catch the next ship back to Ukraine. But it was not to be. While waiting for
the ship, Ivan went to visit his brother Fedir, who had established himself in
New York and owned a small café. There, Ivan met Anna Gramiak, a recent arrival
from Ukraine, who served as the chief cook and bottle washer at the café. Plans
to return to Ukraine were abandoned as John and Anna were smitten by the love
bug. The courtship was short and John and Anna left for Lattimer Mines. They
were married at St. Michael Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the nearby town
of Hazleton. John found employment in the coal mines, and Anna became a
homemaker and mother to five children – Mary, Ann, Jack and Leo, and 11 years
later, John.
Mr. Palance went
on to say that the family was very close-knit and loving. Not once did his
father, Ivan, raise his hand to his children. Apparently an arched eyebrow was
always enough. Mr. Palance reminded the audience that this was the time of the
“melting pot” in America and, although Ukrainian was spoken at home, John
remembers telling his mother “Mom, speak English, we are in America.” However,
the family attended the Ukrainian Catholic church where Ivan, nicknamed “Big
John” was on the parish council and also acted in the local Ukrainian community
theater. Apparently, when Jack was very young, his father would read plays to
him and act out each character. That was Jack’s first exposure to “performing.”
After elementary school, Jack attended the local high
school, where he excelled in sports. He won a football scholarship to the
University of North Carolina. His parents were thrilled, but disappointed when
two years later Jack left the university to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
This was during World War II.
On one of his training missions, Jack’s plane lost one
prop and took a nosedive into the ground. He suffered tremendous injuries,
which required extensive operations on his face and head. He was unconscious
for quite a long while, and had amnesia for several months. Jack had no
knowledge of his name or who he was.
After a yearlong recovery period, at which time the war
came to an end, Jack continued his education on a G.I. Bill at Stanford
University, majoring in journalism. While at the university Jack got a part in
a comedy play. The famous actress, Helen Hayes, attended the opening night and
took note of Jack. Afterwards she met with him and told him how much she
enjoyed his acting and said, “you are going to go far.”
Eventually Jack went to New York, where he studied with
Michael Chekhov and method acting with Stella Adler. He auditioned for
“Streetcar Named Desire” and got to understudy Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn.
Jack was given the part of Stanley Kowalski in the Chicago production. After
Brando was unable to continue performing due to an accident, Jack took his
place in New York. He went on to act in other Broadway productions as well.
While in New York, Jack met his future wife, New York
actress Virginia Baker. John, who was only 14 years old at the time, remembers
getting a phone call in 1949 from Jack, who asked that he meet him on Saturday
at a certain time on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 29th Street, across from a
chapel in New York. He did not tell John why.
John took a train to New York and walked to the corner,
where he waited outside. A beautiful young woman approached John and asked him
if he was waiting for Jack. It was Virginia Baker. To John’s surprise, he was
there to be best man at Jack’s wedding. Eventually, Jack and Virginia had three
children, Holly, Brooke and Cody.
In 1950 Elia Kazan, who had directed “A Streetcar Named
Desire,” left New York to go to Hollywood to direct “Panic in the Streets”
starring Richard Widmark. Mr. Kazan cast Jack Palance as “Blackie,” a menacing
criminal carrying the bubonic plague. The picture received an Academy Award for
best writing. In 1952, Palance was cast opposite Joan Crawford in “Sudden
Fear.” He played the part of a gold-digging actor-husband who scared the hell
out of Ms. Crawford as he plotted to kill her. He received his first Oscar
nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
Palance was again nominated for Best Supporting Actor in
the Alan Ladd starrer “Shane,” where he was cast as a notoriously skilled
gunfighter named Jack Wilson. Although Palance did not win an Oscar for his
role, “Shane” did set him up as a star, and he ended up doing more than 10
films in Hollywood in the 1950s. In 1957 he received an Emmy for Best Actor in
the Playhouse 90 production of “Requiem for a Heavyweight.” In 1958 Palance
went to Europe, where he played the hero in “The Man Inside” and made a number
of movies, including a film with French actress Brigitte Bardot.
Palance returned to Hollywood in 1963 to star in the TV
series “The Greatest Show on Earth.” He alternated his TV shows with films,
including “The Man from UNCLE” and the western adventure “The Professionals”
opposite Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster. Now an international star, Palance
continued to make films in the U.S. and abroad into the 1970s. In 1973 he made
a highly acclaimed British TV movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and in the U.S., he
starred in the TV series “Bronk.”
Mr. Palance continued by informing us that his older
brother was always employed as an actor in films here and abroad. John Palance,
on the other hand, was in Rome where he made his home with his wife, Rita,
while producing documentaries for Warner Bros. in Europe and Israel. During
this time he was introduced to the Ukrainian patriarch, Josyf Slipyj, who was
living in the Vatican. John and the patriarch became close friends, and John
had a standing invitation to have dinner with him every Tuesday, which he did.
In 1979, John and Rita welcomed their daughter, Ivanna, who was baptized by
Patriarch Josyf. Nine years later, John Palance had the opportunity to film
Cardinal Slipyj at St. Peter’s celebrating the liturgy marking Ukraine’s
millennium of Christianity while thousands of Ukrainians from around the world
were in attendance.
John Palance went back and forth from Los Angeles to Rome
and other European cities while working for several studios. He was also
involved in making a film with Jack Palance in Israel. John continued to visit
Patriarch Josyf during his time in Rome. While on a production in Europe, Jack
Palance came to see John and was introduced to the patriarch during a dinner.
The meeting was jovial, and Jack promised the cardinal he would send him a cow
from his ranch in Kern County in California. That became a standing joke in
future meetings.
Finally, in 1991, Jack Palance got the chance to do a
comedy. He was cast as cowboy Curly Washburn in “City Slickers.” We all
remember Palance stepping on the stage to accept his Best Supporting Actor
Oscar in 1992 from his co-star and M.C., Billy Crystal. And who can forget his
feat of dropping to the floor at age 73 to do one-handed push-ups! The audience
went wild and we cheered at home. In 1994 Palance filmed “City Slickers II,”
playing Curly’s brother. With renewed fame, came more parts in film and TV.
Jack Palance was also very active in various charities,
such as those supporting M.S. research and helping veterans. In 1996 he was
asked by the U.S. government to go to Kyiv to promote and help with the
distribution of much-needed supplies to the victims of the Chornobyl disaster.
He returned to Ukraine in 1998 to shoot “Marco Polo” in Crimea. Back on his
ranch in California, he welcomed the Los Angeles Plast scouts to camp out at
his Tehachapi ranch. Palance made frequent visits to his Pennsylvania farm, and
was always willing to help those in need. He took part in various Ukrainian
festivals and acknowledged his Ukrainian heritage.
John Palance reminded the audience that Jack was the
author of “The Forest of Love,” a popular book of poetry. A recording was
played of Palance reading some of his poems, and Elizabeth Zaharkiv-Yemetz
continued reading excerpts for everyone’s enjoyment.
Several fond memories were offered by John Palance. After
their father died in 1955 of lung cancer and one by one the children were
leaving the family home, their mother made them promise that they would always
come home for the Ukrainian holidays. And they did, up until their mother
passed away in 1973.
As Jack Palance’s health started to decline in mid-2005,
he went to live with his daughter Holly in Montecito, Calif. The family would
often visit him there. On November 10, 2006, Ivanna Palance received a call
from Holly asking them to come and say their good-byes to her father. Jack was
unconscious as John cradled him in his arms and spoke softly to him. Just
before he died, Jack opened his eyes, looked at John and whispered tenderly
“Yanko.” Choking up with emotion, John told the guests: “Jack was not only my
brother, he was my best friend.”
Mr. Wyhinny concluded by noting that, although Jack
Palance is widely remembered for playing ruthless and despicable characters,
those who intimately knew him remember him as “a generous, family man.” In
addition to being an actor, Jack had other talents as well. For, unlike Stanley
Kowalski, Jack was always “a contender.” He loved and embraced his Ukrainian
heritage and fought for his home, America.
May Jack Palance’s memory be eternal.
No comments:
Post a Comment