Gregg Palmer was a big actor, measuring out at 6’2” and well over 200 lbs. But he was big in other ways.
Palmer was a member of John Wayne’s acting company, appearing in six of the Duke’s movies, starting with 1969’s The Undefeated and running through Wayne’s last production, The Shootist.
But Palmer was a bigger presence on the small screen. He was on “Gunsmoke” 20 times, “Death Valley Days” in 13 episodes, “The Virginian” nine times, and “Bonanza” and “2

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus