Davy Crockett/Danial Boone actor Fess Parker dies at age 85 (photo)

The King of the Wild Frontier is gone. Actor Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone has died at age 85, news reports say.

Fess Parker, the strapping star who played Davy Crockett in the hugely popular Disney television show of the 1950s, died today of natural causes at age 85, his family announced.

The actor, whose classic roles also included the son-consoling dad in Old Yeller and another 'coonskin cap-favoring frontiersman in NBC's Daniel Boone, had retired from showbiz in the 1970s and founded a hugely successful winery and resort in Santa Barbara.

I grew up watching these shows and shed many tear watching Old Yeller, too. It's sad to see the icons of one's youth pass on. Condolences to the family, and I believe I'll raise a glass

of wine in his honor. I daresay there were a lot of women and young girls who had a serious crush on the man with his outdoorsy look and easy manner. Born in Texas, Parker

was perfectly suited to play Crockett, and kids around the country clamored to get their hands on coon skin caps because of him.

I knew some of those kids!