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Darkly handsome and highly personable, actor and singer Byron Palmer flourished in the late 1940s and 1950s, with his rich speaking and singing voice becoming his main source of income. Born in Los Angeles on June 21, 1920, he was the second of four children of Etheleyn and Judge Harlan G. Palmer, the latter being the publisher of the then-Hollywood Citizen News.
After high school, Byron attended Occidental College in the Los Angeles area and earned money by writing obituaries for his father's newspaper before joining CBS as a page. Gifted with an excellent speaking voice, he eventually worked as an announcer and actor on both NBC and CBS radio. His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Army Air Force, operating a radio station on a Pacific island. He also sang tenor with the Music Mates quartet.
Following a stint as emcee for the touring "Hollywood on Ice" show, Byron landed a second lead role as Jack Chesney opposite Ray Bolger and Allyn Ann McLerie in the 1948 hit musical "Where's Charley." His performances included the title song and "The New Ashmolian Marching Society," as well as duets with female lead Doretta Morrow like "My Darling, My Darling" and "At the Red Rose Cotillion." For this, he received the 1949 Theatre World Award. A couple of years later, he returned to Broadway in the revue "Bless You All," sharing the stage with Pearl Bailey, Gene Barry, Jules Munshin, and Mary McCarty.
On television, Byron hosted the 1951 program Bride and Groom, featuring live weddings and awarding prizes to newlyweds. He made his film debut with a featured role in the 1953 musical biography Tonight We Sing, starring David Wayne as impresario Sol Hurok and Anne Bancroft, with opera legends Ezio Pinza and Roberta Peters. Although Byron had a fine singing voice, his vocals were dubbed by renowned tenor Jan Peerce in this film. He then played a Scotland Yard inspector opposite Constance Smith in the thriller Man in the Attic (1953), starring Jack Palance as Jack the Ripper. Byron also had the male second lead in the comedy Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955). In 1956, he appeared in the horse drama Glory, featuring a grown-up Margaret O'Brien, and was fourth-billed in the detective drama Emergency Hospital. He closed the year with a guest singing role in The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), performing "If I Had a Talking Picture of You."
Unable to move beyond second-lead roles in films, Byron made a greater impact on television. He appeared with Joan Weldon on the popular syndicated musical show This Is Your Music (1955), where they performed beloved American songs such as "Fools Rush In," celebrating composers like Johnny Mercer. He also served as emcee for the Miss Universe and Miss International Beauty pageants and guested on TV series including Lawman and Perry Mason before fading from the public eye in the mid-1960s.
After divorcing JoAnn Ransom and singer-actress Ruth Hampton, who appeared in several 1950s films, Byron found lasting happiness with actress and former ballerina Georgine Darcy, best known for her cameo as "Miss Torso" in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). In later years, the couple performed together in a cruise-ship musical act. Their marriage lasted 30 years until her passing in July 2004. Byron Palmer died at age 89 from age-related causes on September 30, 2009, at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was survived by his daughter Linda and son Gregory.
