Jack Palance Receives The Friends of the Library Distinguished Author Award

Known for his prowess at one-arm pushups and his Academy Award winning role as the tough-as-nails cowboy character "Curly" in City Slickers, Jack Palance is the quintessential man's man. But as his new book, The Forest of Love, reveals, Mr. Palance is also very much a Renaissance romantic-artist and poet. The Friends of the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library honored Mr. Palance on Saturday, September 13th, at a festive award dinner with their inaugural Distinguished Author Award for outstanding contributions to the literary and performing arts. His visit to the University of Scranton began with a book signing for the campus community and the community-at-large followed by the awards dinner where Mr. Palance spoke on his literary and artistic pursuits. The evening's festivities were a fundraiser for the Friends of the Weinberg Library Endowment which supports Library collections and services.

 

A respected star of theater, the cinema, and television for nearly half a century, Mr. Palance is also a poet and fine artist.

 

The Emmy, Oscar, and Golden Globe-winning actor published his first literary work, entitled The Forest of Love, in November 1996 by Summerhouse Press. The Forest of Love is Mr. Balance's unflinchingly honest exploration of the heart and mind of love. The book chronicles a love affair he experienced, from tentative beginnings to full-Mown passion.

 

The book's pen-and-ink drawings and breathtaking cover art on the hardcover hook are also by Jack Palance. In deep hues of purple and green, his splendid art conjures up a forest brimming with magic and life. As fans will soon realize, Mr. Palance is an accomplished artist both on and off the screen. 

Mr. Palance has spent much of his life painting and writing. He attended both Stanford University and the University of North Carolina. His acting career has garnered many honors, including 1950's Most Promising Personality award for the play Darkness at Noon; the Emmy award for his performance in the 1957 television Requiem for a Heavyweight; Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor in Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953); and an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of "Curly" in City Slickers (1991).

 

Besides Mr. Palance's acting career and his literary and artistic pursuits, he has also worked as a radio writer, professional boxer and coal miner. Currently he makes his home on his farm in Pennsylvania and on his ranch in California where he spends time with his children and grandchildren.