In 1956, Palance put his real-life training as a boxer to work in "Requiem for a Heavyweight," which was written by Rod Serling and aired on the dramatic anthology series "Playhouse 90." The New York Times called the show "an artistic triumph that featured a performance of indescribable poignancy by Jack Palance."
Palance appeared in about 100 motion pictures, as well as many specials and movies for television. He had lead roles in such series as the "The Greatest Show on Earth" (ABC, 1963-64), in which he played hard-driving circus boss Johnny Slate, and "Bronk" (CBS, 1975-76), as contemplative police detective Lt. Alex Bronkov.
As the host of "Ripley's Believe It or Not" on ABC from 1982 to 1986, he "loved to skulk about the ruins and add a sinister tone to his narration of the stories," according to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows". His actress daughter Holly joined him as co-host for part of that time.
"He's an original in the category of old-timers who don't care what people think," Holly Palance told The Times in 1995. "You have to remember that he clawed his way out of the mines.... A lot of what he calls manhood is the simple love of privacy."
He didn't talk, she said, unless he had something important to say.
Palance was married to actress Virginia Baker for 18 years, and they had three children. The marriage ended in divorce.
In addition to his daughters, Holly Palance and Brooke Palance Wilding, he is survived by his wife, Elaine Rogers Palance; a brother, John Palance; a sister, Anne Despiva; and three grandchildren. His son, Cody, who appeared with his father in the 1988 film "Young Guns," died of cancer in 1998.
Services are pending. Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Pennsylvania State University Hazleton campus, www.hn.psu.edu.
