jack palance was born volodymyr palahniuk in lattimer mines, pennsylvania, the son of anna (née gramiak) and ivan palahniuk, an anthracite coal miner. his parents were ukrainian immigrants, his father a native of ivane zolote in southwestern ukraine (modern ternopil oblast) and his mother from the lviv oblast, an ethnic pole. one of six children, he worked in coal mines during his youth before becoming a professional boxer in the late 1930s.