two days after his birth, palmer was adopted by moe wiesen and his wife polly, a wealthy manhattan dress designer and a boutique owner respectively, who lived on park avenue. his sister bonnie was also adopted by the wiesens. after his adoptive father died of a heart attack in 1955, the nine-year-old jim, his mother and his sister moved to beverly hills, california where he began playing in youth-league baseball. he formally changed his last name upon his mother's marriage to actor max palmer in 1956. showing talent playing american legion baseball at the amateur level, upon graduating from arizona's scottsdale high school in 1963, palmer signed a minor-league contract at the age of 18.