Jim Palmer Early broadcasting career What stations did Palmer work for in his early broadcasting days? While still an active player, Palmer did color commentary for ABC What other stations has Palmer worked for? Palmer worked as an analyst for ESPN Were there other stations Palmer worked for? a broadcaster for Orioles games on their local telecasts over WMAR-TV and Home Team Sports.
Who did Palmer work with most (Or a lot) on T.V?
Who did Jim Palmer work with most (Or a lot) on T.V?
While still an active player, Palmer did color commentary for ABC for their coverage of the 1978, 1980 and 1982 American League Championship Series, 1981 American League Division Series between Oakland and Kansas City, and the 1981 World Series.  From 1985 to 1989, Palmer formed an announcing team with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver at ABC. Palmer announced the 1985 World Series, where he was supposed to team with Michaels and Howard Cosell, whom Palmer had worked with on the previous year's ALCS. McCarver replaced Cosell for the World Series at the last minute after Cosell released a book (I Never Played the Game) that was critical of the ABC Sports team. The team of Palmer, Michaels and McCarver would subsequently go on to call the 1986 All-Star Game (that year, Palmer worked with Michaels on the ALCS while McCarver teamed with Keith Jackson on ABC's coverage of the National League Championship Series), the 1987 World Series, and 1988 All-Star Game as well as that year's NLCS.  Palmer was present at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to Game 3 of the World Series. After the 1989 season, ABC lost its contract to broadcast baseball to CBS. Palmer had earned $350,000 from ABC that year for appearing on around ten regular season broadcasts and making a few postseason appearances.  In 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported that Palmer was thinking of pursuing work as a major league manager. Instead, Palmer worked as an analyst for ESPN and as a broadcaster for Orioles games on their local telecasts over WMAR-TV and Home Team Sports. CANNOTANSWER
The team of Palmer, Michaels and McCarver would subsequently go on to call the 1986 All-Star Game
James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the 1970s, totaling 186 wins. He also won at least 20 games in eight different seasons and won three Cy Young Awards and four Gold Gloves during the decade. His 268 career victories are currently an Orioles record. A six-time American League (AL) All-Star, he was also one of the rare pitchers who never allowed a grand slam in any major league contest.

Palmer appeared in the postseason eight times and was a vital member of three World Series Champions, six AL pennant winners and seven Eastern Division titleholders. He is the only pitcher in history to earn a win in a World Series game in three different decades. He is also the youngest to pitch a complete-game shutout in a World Series, doing so nine days before his 21st birthday in 1966, in which he defeated Sandy Koufax in Koufax's last appearance. He was one of the starters on the last rotation to feature four 20-game winners in a single season in 1971. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Since his retirement as an active player in 1984, Palmer has worked as a color commentator on telecasts of MLB games for ABC and ESPN and for the Orioles on Home Team Sports (HTS), Comcast SportsNet (CSN) Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). He has also been a popular spokesman, most famously for Jockey International for almost 20 years. He was nicknamed "Cakes" in the 1960s because of his habit of eating pancakes for breakfast on the days he pitched.

Early life
James Alvin Palmer was born in Manhattan, New York City on October 15, 1945. Research conducted by his third wife Susan in 2017 revealed that his biological father and mother were Michael Joseph Geheran and Mary Ann Moroney, both Irish immigrants from Counties Leitrim and Clare respectively. Joe was a married 41-year-old man about town, while Mary Ann was an unmarried 37-year-old domestic worker for the Feinstein family which was prominent in the garment industry. Moroney gave up her infant for adoption and concealed information in the New York City birth registry, where Palmer is listed as Baby Boy Kennedy, whose father was Maroney and mother was Kennedy. Maroney was the incorrect spelling of her surname as listed when she registered at Ellis Island, while Kennedy was her sister Katharine's married name. Moroney eventually married John Lane and the couple had a daughter, Patricia, Palmer's biological half-sister, who died of leukemia at age 40 in 1987. (As of May 2018, the Palmers were still searching for Patricia Lane's daughter, whose married name is Kimberly Hughes and who would be Jim Palmer's half-niece.) Geheran died in 1959 and Moroney in 1979.

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. The family's butler taught the young Jim to throw a baseball in Central Park. 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. In 1956, his mother married actor Max Palmer, but Jim continued to go under the name Jim Wiesen until a year later. At a Little League banquet, just before being presented with an award, he asked the coaches to identify him as "James Alvin Palmer." "Through all these years, that night was the highlight of my entire life," Max recalled. Max was a character actor and there were two men who shared that name who worked in show business during similar time periods. The Max who was Jim's second dad worked mostly on TV on such programs as Dragnet, Bat Masterson and The Colgate Comedy Hour. He was Jewish, and he also earned a living by selling shoes. The other Max Palmer, often erroneously credited as Jim's father, worked in several movies as a monster. He was 8'2" tall and later became a professional wrestler and eventually a Christian evangelist.

Jim played baseball for the Beverly Hills Yankees, where he pitched and also hit home runs as an outfielder. The family eventually moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where Jim played baseball, basketball, and football at Scottsdale High School. He earned All-State honors in each of these sports, also graduating with a 3.4 grade-point average in 1963. Palmer also showed his prowess at American Legion Baseball. The University of Southern California, UCLA, and Arizona State University each offered him full scholarships; Stanford University offered a partial scholarship as well.

Bobby Winkles of Arizona State suggested that Palmer get more experience playing collegiate summer baseball, so Palmer went to South Dakota to join the Winner Pheasants of the Basin League. The team advanced all the way to the league finals, and Palmer caught the attention of Baltimore Orioles scout Harry Dalton while pitching in the second game of the championship. According to Palmer, 13 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams recruited him after the season wrapped up, but Jim Russo (the scout who also signed Dave McNally and Boog Powell) and Jim Wilson of the Orioles made the best impression on his parents with their polite manners. Palmer signed with Baltimore for $50,000.

Career in baseball

1960s
A high-kicking pitcher known for an exceptionally smooth delivery, Palmer picked up his first major-league win on May 16, , beating the Yankees in relief at home. He hit the first of his three career major-league home runs, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning of that game, off Yankees starter Jim Bouton. Palmer finished the season with a 5–4 record.

In , Palmer joined the starting rotation. Baltimore won the pennant behind Frank Robinson's MVP and Triple Crown season. Palmer won his final game, against the Kansas City Athletics, to clinch the AL pennant. In Game 2 of that World Series, at Dodger Stadium, he became the youngest pitcher (20 years, 11 months) to pitch a shutout, defeating the defending world champion Dodgers 6–0. The underdog Orioles swept the series over a Los Angeles team that featured Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen. The shutout was part of a World Series record-setting  consecutive shutout innings by Orioles pitchers. The Dodgers' last run was against Moe Drabowsky in the third inning of Game 1. Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally pitched shutouts in the next three games.

During the next two seasons, Palmer struggled with arm injuries. He had injured his arm in 1966 while using a paint roller in his new house in Baltimore. Cortisone injections allowed him to pitch through the rest of the season and the World Series, but in 1967, his arm continued to feel heavy. He threw a one-hit game against the New York Yankees on May 12 but was sent to the minor leagues after a poor start against the Boston Red Sox five days later. While trying to make it back with the Rochester Red Wings in Niagara Falls, New York that Palmer surrendered the only grand slam in his entire professional career which was hit by the Buffalo Bisons' Johnny Bench. He only pitched three more games for the Orioles in 1967. In 1968, he was limited to 10 minor league games, with no appearances for the Orioles. The outlook on his career was so bleak, Palmer considered quitting baseball to attend college or trying to be a position player. He had been placed on waivers in September 1968 and was left unprotected for the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft one month later, but was not claimed. After he pitched for an Instructional League team, the Orioles sent him to pitch for the Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Before he left for Santurce, however, Palmer attended a Baltimore Bullets game and sat next to Marv Foxxman, a pharmaceutical representative who suggested he try Indocin. In Santurce, Palmer's arm stopped hurting, and his fastball began hitting 95 mph again. "It was a miracle as far as I was concerned," said Palmer.

Palmer returned healthy in 1969, rejoining an Orioles rotation that included 20-game winners Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar. He missed July with a six-week stint on the disabled list, but it was for a torn back muscle, not because of arm trouble. That August 13, Palmer threw a no-hitter against Oakland, just four days after coming off the disabled list. It was the only no-hitter of his career. He finished the season with a mark of 16–4, 123 strikeouts, a 2.34 ERA, and .800 winning percentage. The heavily favored Orioles were beaten in the 1969 World Series by the New York Mets with Palmer taking the loss in Game 3.

1970s

In , Cuellar went 24–8, McNally 24–9, Palmer 20–10; in  the trio went 20–9, 21–5 and 20–9, respectively, with Pat Dobson going 20–8. Only one other team in MLB history, the  Chicago White Sox, has had four 20-game winners.

Palmer won 21 games in , and went 22–9, 158, 2.40 in , walking off with his first Cy Young Award. His success was interrupted in  when his arm started giving him trouble in spring training. Eventually, he was downed for eight weeks with elbow problems. Palmer had lost seven games in a row by the time he went on the disabled list on June 20. He was diagnosed with an ulnar nerve injury and orthopedic surgeon Robert Kerlan prescribed rest, hot and cold water therapy and medication. Surgery was considered, but Palmer's pain lessened and he was able to return to play in August. He finished 7–12.

Palmer was at his peak again in , winning 23 games, throwing 10 shutouts (allowing just 44 hits in those games), and fashioning a 2.09 ERA—all tops in the American League. He completed 25 games, even saved one, and limited opposing hitters to a .216 batting average. On July 28, 1976, he received a fine from AL president Lee MacPhail after hitting Mickey Rivers with a pitch the day before. Palmer said it was in retaliation for Dock Ellis hitting Reggie Jackson with a pitch earlier in the game, then complained when Ellis (who did not admit to throwing at Jackson) was not fined. Palmer won his second Cy Young Award, and repeated his feat in  (22–13, 2.51). During the latter year, he won the first of four consecutive Gold Glove Awards. (Jim Kaat, who had won the award 14 years in a row, moved to the National League, where he won the award that year and in .)

After making $185,000 in 1976, Palmer hoped for a raise in 1977. The Orioles offered $200,000 initially, but Palmer wanted $275,000. They finally agreed on a $260,000 salary, with a bonus for a "significant contribution." In 1977 and 1978, Palmer won 20 and 21 games, respectively. Despite the 20 wins in 1977, the Orioles almost refused to give him a bonus. After the Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance in Palmer's dispute and threatened to go to arbitration (which likely would have resulted in Palmer becoming a free agent), GM Hank Peters relented and gave him the bonus. During the period spanning 1970 to 1978, Palmer had won 20 games in every season except for 1974. During those eight 20-win seasons, he pitched between  and 319 innings per year, leading the league in innings pitched four times and earned run average twice. During that span, he threw between 17 and 25 complete games each year. Frustrated that pitchers who had become free agents like Vida Blue and Bert Blyleven were making more money than him in 1979, Palmer told a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press "I'm going to aggravate [the Orioles] until they trade me." Weaver responded by pinning a note to his locker that said, "Happy Father's Day. Now grow up." "He's right he's underpaid...He's worth a million dollars when he's pitching but he signed for $260,000." Palmer eventually got over being discontent, and the team won the AL pennant. Weaver tabbed Palmer to start Game 1 of the ALCS against the Angels; though Palmer asked him to start Mike Flanagan, the 1979 Cy Young Award winner, instead, Weaver valued Palmer's experience. Matched up against Ryan, Palmer allowed three runs in nine innings, taking a no-decision as he left with the game tied. The Orioles won in the 10th on a John Lowenstein home run and won the series 3–1.

1980s
From 1980 through 1985, Palmer was hampered by arm fatigue and myriad minor injuries. Even so, he brought a stabilizing veteran presence to the pitching staff.

In 1981, Palmer got into a feud with Doug DeCinces after DeCinces missed a line drive hit by Alan Trammell in a game against the Tigers. According to DeCinces, Palmer "was cussing me out and throwing his hands in the air" after the play. "Those balls have to be caught," Palmer told a paper. "Doug is reluctant to get in front of a ball." "I'd like to know where Jim Palmer gets off criticizing others," DeCinces responded. "Ask anybody–they're all sick of it. We're a twenty-four man team–and one prima donna. He thinks it's always someone else's fault." The feud simmered until June, when Weaver said, "I see no cause for concern. The third baseman wants the pitcher to do a little better and the pitcher wants the third baseman to do a little better. I hope we can all do better and kiss and make up...The judge gave me custody of both of them." Palmer ultimately blamed Brooks Robinson for the dispute: "If Brooks hadn't been the best third-baseman of all time, the rest of the Orioles wouldn't have taken it for granted that any ball hit anywhere within the same county as Brooks would be judged perfectly, fielded perfectly, and thrown perfectly, nailing (perfectly) what seemed like every single opposing batter."

After Palmer posted a 6.84 ERA in five starts, GM Hank Peters announced that "Palmer is never, ever, ever going to start another game in an Orioles uniform. I've had it." Weaver moved Palmer to the bullpen, but with the team needing another starter, he put Palmer back in the rotation in June. Shortly thereafter, Palmer went on an 11-game winning streak.

Palmer's final major-league victory was noteworthy: pitching in relief of Mike Flanagan in the third game of the 1983 World Series, he faced the Phillies' celebrity-studded batting order and gave up no runs in a close Oriole win.

The 17 years between Palmer's first World Series win in 1966 and the 1983 win is the longest period of time between first and last pitching victories in the World Series for an individual pitcher in major league history. He also became the only pitcher in major league baseball history to have won World Series games in three decades. Also, Palmer became the only player in Orioles history to appear in all six (1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983) of their World Series appearances to date.

Palmer was the only Orioles player on the 1983 championship team to have previously won a World Series. He retired after being released by Baltimore during the  season. He retired with a 268–152 win-loss record and a 2.86 ERA. Palmer was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990, his first year of eligibility.

Early broadcasting career
While still an active player, Palmer did color commentary for ABC for their coverage of the 1978, 1980 and 1982 American League Championship Series, 1981 American League Division Series between Oakland and Kansas City, and the 1981 World Series.

From  to , Palmer formed an announcing team with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver at ABC. Palmer announced the 1985 World Series, where he was supposed to team with Michaels and Howard Cosell, whom Palmer had worked with on the previous year's ALCS. McCarver replaced Cosell for the World Series at the last minute after Cosell released a book (I Never Played the Game) that was critical of the ABC Sports team. The team of Palmer, Michaels and McCarver would subsequently go on to call the 1986 All-Star Game (that year, Palmer worked with Michaels on the ALCS while McCarver teamed with Keith Jackson on ABC's coverage of the National League Championship Series), the 1987 World Series, and 1988 All-Star Game as well as that year's NLCS.

Palmer was present at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on October 17, , when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit prior to Game 3 of the World Series. After the 1989 season, ABC lost its contract to broadcast baseball to CBS. Palmer had earned $350,000 from ABC that year for appearing on around ten regular season broadcasts and making a few postseason appearances.

In 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported that Palmer was thinking of pursuing work as a major league manager. Instead, Palmer worked as an analyst for ESPN and as a broadcaster for Orioles games on their local telecasts over WMAR-TV and Home Team Sports.

Comeback attempt
In , Palmer attempted a comeback with the Orioles. He explained in his 1996 book, "I wanted to see if I could be like Nolan Ryan was to the game or what George Blanda was to football." ESPN, which was trying to cut expenses, had asked him to take a pay cut and to sign a three-year contract. Palmer said he would sign a one-year contract for less pay, but ESPN refused. "I wouldn't be here today if the broadcasting climate had been more to my liking. That was really my prime motivation, the fact that I no longer had that obligation", Palmer said during spring training.

Covering Palmer's spring training workouts, Richard Hoffer of Sports Illustrated said that Palmer's comeback was not entirely about money. He wrote that "it is fair to suspect that a certain vanity is involved." Hoffer said that Palmer "has failed to excite either ridicule or astonishment. He's in fabulous condition, no question. But no matter whom he lines up with on the row of practice mounds, there is more pop in the gloves of catchers other than his." "I couldn't throw ninety-five miles an hour anymore," Palmer later reflected. "The best I could do was eighty."

While working out at the University of Miami during his comeback attempt, Palmer was approached by Miami assistant coach Lazaro Collazo. Collazo reportedly told him, "You'll never get into the Hall of Fame with those mechanics." "I'm already in the Hall of Fame", Palmer replied. To help Palmer's pitching motion, Collazo and Palmer completed unusual drills that involved Palmer placing a knee or foot on a chair as he tossed the ball.

After giving up five hits and two runs in two innings of a spring training game, he retired permanently. Palmer said that he tore his hamstring while warming up for the game, commenting, "I'm not saying I wouldn't like to continue, but I can't", he said. "I heard something pop in my leg yesterday. It wasn't a nice sound. I don't know what that means, but I think it's going to play havoc with my tennis game."

Return to broadcasting
From  to , Palmer returned to ABC (this time, via a revenue-sharing joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC called The Baseball Network) to once again broadcast with Tim McCarver and Al Michaels. In 1995, the reunited team of Palmer, McCarver and Michaels would call the All-Star Game, Game 3 of that NLDS between Cincinnati and Los Angeles, Game 4 of the NLDS between Atlanta and Colorado, Games 1–2 of the NLCS, and Games 1, 4–5 of the World Series. Palmer, McCarver and Michaels were also intended to call the previous year's World Series for ABC, but were denied the opportunity when the entire postseason was canceled due to a strike. He is currently a color commentator on MASN's television broadcasts of Oriole games.

In July 2012, Palmer put up for auction his three Cy Young Award trophies and two of his four Gold Glove Awards. "At this point in my life, I would rather concern myself with the education of my grandchildren", he said. Palmer also noted that his autistic teenage stepson would require special care and that "my priorities have changed." Palmer had put up for auction one of his Cy Young Award trophies on behalf of a fundraising event for cystic fibrosis in years past, although he stated the winning bidder "had paid $39,000 for that and never ever took it. It was for the cause."

Legacy

Palmer has been considered one of the best pitchers in major-league history. Palmer is the only pitcher in big-league history to win World Series games in three decades (1960s, 1970s, and 1980s). During his 19-year major league career of 575 games (including 17 postseason games), he never surrendered a grand slam, nor did he ever allow back-to-back homers. Palmer's career earned run average (2.856) is the third-lowest among starting pitchers whose careers began after the advent of the live-ball era in 1920. In six ALCS and six World Series, he posted an 8–3 record with 90 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.61 and two shutouts in 17 games.

He was a mainstay in the rotation during Baltimore's six pennant-winning teams in the 1960s (1966 and 1969), 1970s (1970, 1971 and 1979) and 1980s (1983). With the passing of Mike Cuellar in 2010, Palmer became the last surviving member of the 1971 Baltimore starting rotation that included four 20-game winners. Palmer won spots on six All-Star teams, received four Gold Glove Awards and won three Cy Young Awards. He led the league in ERA twice and in wins three times.

Sometimes, Palmer would shift fielders around during games. He never meddled with the best fielders, such as the Robinsons or Paul Blair, but he would do so for less experienced players. "They might not know...that if they're playing a step or two to the opposite field and you're behind the batter two balls and no strikes...and you have a big lead...you're probably going to take a little off the pitch...and the fielders have to know to shift a couple of steps and play for the batter to pull."

In , he ranked No. 64 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Endorsements

During the late 1970s, Palmer was a spokesman and underwear model for Jockey brand men's briefs. He appeared in the company's national print and television advertisements as well as on billboards at Times Square in New York City and other major cities. He donated all proceeds from the sale of his underwear poster to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

From 1992 until 1999, he was frequently seen on television throughout the United States in commercials for The Money Store, a national home equity and mortgage lender. He has periodically appeared in ads and commercials for vitamins and other health-related products. Palmer also represents Cosamin DS, a joint health supplement made by Nutramax Laboratories in Edgewood, Maryland.

He was also the spokesperson for Nationwide Motors Corp., which is a regional chain of car dealerships located in the Middle Atlantic region. He is currently a spokesman for the national "Strike Out High Cholesterol" campaign. Additionally, Palmer serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.

Personal life

Shortly after graduating from high school in 1963, Palmer married the former Susan Ryan in 1964.  He has two daughters with Ryan, named Jamie and Kelly. Ryan was not a huge baseball fan, as Palmer recalled: "She used to bring her knitting and/or a friend, who usually liked baseball even less, to the games."

In 2007, Palmer married the former Susan Earle, who has an adult son with autism. The Palmers have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and in Corona Del Mar, California. In 2006, Palmer also acquired a penthouse condominium in Little Italy, Baltimore, which he uses while in Baltimore for Orioles' broadcasts.

See also

List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
Major League Baseball titles leaders
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise

References

External links

Jim Palmer at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

1945 births
Living people
Aberdeen Pheasants players
American adoptees
American League All-Stars
American League ERA champions
American League wins champions
American people of Irish descent
Baltimore Orioles announcers
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from New York (state)
Cy Young Award winners
Elmira Pioneers players
Gold Glove Award winners
Hagerstown Suns players
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players with retired numbers
Male models from New York (state)
Miami Marlins (FSL) players
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Models from New York City
National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Rochester Red Wings players
Sportspeople from New York City
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist, and was also one-half of the duo Evelyn Evelyn, and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra.

Early life
Palmer was born Amanda MacKinnon Palmer in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her parents divorced when she was one year old, and as a child she rarely saw her father.

She attended Lexington High School, where she was involved in the drama department, and attended Wesleyan University where she was a member of the Eclectic Society. She staged performances based on work by the Legendary Pink Dots, an early influence, and was involved in the Legendary Pink Dots electronic mailing list, Cloud Zero. She then formed the Shadowbox Collective, devoted to street theatre and putting on theatrical shows (such as the 2002 play, Hotel Blanc, which she directed). Another early influence is Judy Blume, children's author.

With an interest in the performing arts, both in music and in theatre, Palmer spent time busking as a living statue called "The Eight Foot Bride" in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Edinburgh, Scotland; Australia (where she met Jason Webley); and many other locations. She refers to this line of work on The Dresden Dolls' self-titled CD, with the song "The Perfect Fit": 
I can paint my face
And stand very, very still
It's not very practical
But it still pays the bills
as well as on the A is for Accident track "Glass Slipper":
I give out flowers
To curious strangers
who throw dollars at my feet.

Career

2000–2007: The Dresden Dolls and The Onion Cellar

At a Halloween party in 2000, Palmer met drummer Brian Viglione and afterwards they formed The Dresden Dolls. In an effort to expand the performance experience and interactivity, Palmer began inviting Lexington High School students to perform drama pieces at the Dresden Dolls' live shows. This evolved to The Dirty Business Brigade, a troupe of seasoned and new artists, performing at many gigs.

In 2002, after developing a cult following, the band recorded their eponymous debut album, The Dresden Dolls, with producer Martin Bisi (of Indie, Brooklyn, New York fame). They produced the album before signing with the label Roadrunner Records.

In 2006, The Dresden Dolls Companion was published, with words, music and artwork by Amanda Palmer. In it she has written a history of the album The Dresden Dolls and of the duo, as well as a partial autobiography. The book also contains the lyrics, sheet music, and notes on each song in the album, all written by Palmer, as well as a DVD with a 20-minute interview of Amanda about making the book.

Palmer conceived the musical/production The Onion Cellar, based on a short story from The Tin Drum by Günter Grass. From December 9, 2006, through January 13, 2007, The Dresden Dolls performed the piece in conjunction with the American Repertory Theater at the Zero Arrow Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While Palmer was openly frustrated with the direction of the show, fan and critical reviews were very positive.

In June 2007, as part of the Dresden Dolls, she toured with the True Colors Tour 2007, including her debut in New York City's Radio City Music Hall, and her first review in The New York Times.

Though the Dresden Dolls broke up in 2008, Palmer and Viglione have continued to collaborate, and have had several minor reunions under the band name in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

2007–2010: Who Killed Amanda Palmer, Evelyn Evelyn, and theatrical work

In July 2007, Palmer played three sold-out shows (in Boston, Hoboken, and NYC) in a new "with band" format. Her backing band was Boston alternative rock group Aberdeen City, who also opened along with Dixie Dirt. In August 2007, Palmer traveled to perform in the Spiegeltent and other venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, and also performed on BBC Two's The Edinburgh Show. She collaborated with Australian theater company The Danger Ensemble; both again appeared at the Spiegeltent in Melbourne and at other venues around Australia in December 2007.

In September 2007, Palmer collaborated with Jason Webley to launch the new project Evelyn Evelyn with the EP Elephant Elephant. In the project, the duo play conjoined twin sisters named Eva and Lyn, and through their music tell their fictional backstory.

In July 2008, the Dresden Dolls released a second book, the Virginia Companion, a follow-up to The Dresden Dolls Companion, featuring the music and lyrics from the Yes, Virginia...(2006) and No, Virginia... (2008) albums, produced by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie.

In June 2008, Palmer established her solo career with two well-received performances with the Boston Pops.

Her first solo studio album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, was released on September 16, 2008. Ben Folds produced and also played on the album. The title is a play on an expression used by fans during Twin Peaks original run, "Who killed Laura Palmer?" A companion book of photos of Palmer looking as if she were murdered was released in July 2009. Titled Who Killed Amanda Palmer a Collection of Photographic Evidence, it featured photography by Kyle Cassidy and stories by Neil Gaiman, as well as lyrics from the album.

In late 2008, she toured Europe with Jason Webley, Zoë Keating and The Danger Ensemble, performing songs mostly from her debut solo album. She did most of the shows with a broken foot she had sustained in Belfast, Northern Ireland when a car ran over her foot as she stepped out into a street. In April 2009, she played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

In 2009, Palmer went back to her alma mater, Lexington High School in Massachusetts, to collaborate with her old director and mentor Steven Bogart on a workshop piece for the department's spring production. The play, With The Needle That Sings In Her Heart, was inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel's album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and The Diary of Anne Frank. NPR's Avishay Artsy interviewed the cast on All Things Considered.

In 2010 Palmer returned to the A.R.T. for a two-month run of Cabaret, starring as the Emcee. The same year The Dresden Dolls reunited for a United States tour starting on Halloween in New York City and ending in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. 
On March 30, 2010 Palmer and Webley released their debut self-titled album as Evelyn Evelyn. This was accompanied by a worldwide tour and graphic novel based on the story of the sisters.

Palmer began using the ukulele during a concert as a goof, but soon it became a regular part of her repertoire. Later, she recorded a full album with ukulele accompaniment: Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele.

2012–2014:Theatre Is Evil and The Art of Asking
On April 20, 2012, Palmer announced on her blog that she launched a new album pre-order on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter project was ultimately supported by 24,883 backers for a grand total of $1,192,793 — at the time, the most funds ever raised for a musical project on Kickstarter. A widely reported and commented upon controversy emerged from the related tour when she asked for local musicians to volunteer to play with her for exposure, fun, beer, and hugs instead of money. She responded in the press and changed her policy to one of paying local musicians who volunteered to play with her on this tour. The album, Theatre Is Evil, was recorded with The Grand Theft Orchestra, produced by John Congleton, and released in September 2012. On November 9, 2012, Palmer released the music video for "Do it With a Rockstar" on The Flaming Lips' website. The video was co-created and directed by Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips. Subsequent videos were released for "The Killing Type" and "The Bed Song".

On August 9, 2013, Palmer made her Lincoln Center debut.

In November 2014, Palmer released her memoir, The Art of Asking (), which expands on a TED talk she gave in February 2013. The book made the New York Times Best Seller list. The book also received several critical reviews, most notably from NPR.

2015–2018: You Got Me Singing, I Can Spin a Rainbow, and Patreon
On March 3, 2015, Amanda began soliciting financial support on the crowdfunding platform Patreon.
Palmer spoke at the 2015 Hay Festival about the prospect of reconciling art and motherhood. The talk was recorded for the BBC Radio 4 series Four Thought and broadcast on June 21, 2015. Also in 2015, she served as a judge for The 14th Annual Independent Music Awards. During the first months of 2016, she released the completely Patreon-funded song "Machete", and a David Bowie tribute EP, entitled Strung Out In Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute. 
Amanda Palmer collaborated with her father, Jack Palmer, to record an album entitled You Got Me Singing. They performed concerts in July 2016 in support of the album.

Amanda Palmer collaborated with Legendary Pink Dots frontman Edward Ka-Spel to record an album, I Can Spin a Rainbow. The duo toured in May and June 2017 in support of the album, backed by Legendary Pink Dots' former violin player Patrick Q. Wright.

2019–present: There Will Be No Intermission and podcast
On March 8, 2019, Palmer released her third solo studio album and first in seven years, There Will Be No Intermission. The album was promoted by an extensive world tour that was filmed for her patrons on Patreon.

In fall 2020, Palmer launched a podcast called The Art of Asking Everything. On October 31, 2020, Palmer and Viglione performed "Science Fiction/Double Feature" to open the Wisconsin Democrats Livestream fundraiser that reunited some original Rocky Horror Picture Show cast members to act out the show with additional stars and singers.

Personal life

Palmer used to reside in Boston, Massachusetts, with other artists in a cooperative named the Cloud Club.

She has identified as bisexual, telling afterellen.com in 2007: "I'm bisexual, but it's not the sort of thing I spent a lot of time thinking about," Palmer said. "I've slept with girls; I've slept with guys, so I guess that's what they call it! I'm not anti trying to use language to simplify our lives." Palmer has spoken out on feminist issues and about her open relationships, stating in one interview that "I've never been comfortable in a monogamous relationship in my life. I feel like I was built for open relationships just because of the way I function. It's not a reactive decision like, 'Hey I'm on the road, you're on the road, let's just find other people.' It was a fundamental building block of our relationship. We both like things this way."

Palmer has said that she once worked as a stripper under the name Berlin. She has stated that the song "Berlin" was written about this experience.

Palmer has had three abortions, and her song "Voicemail for Jill" is about these experiences.

Neil Gaiman and Palmer confirmed their engagement in 2010 and Palmer hosted a flash mob wedding (not legally binding) for Gaiman's birthday in New Orleans later the same year. The couple legally married in a private ceremony in 2011. The wedding took place in the parlor of writers Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon. They have a son, Anthony "Ash", born on September 16, 2015, named for Palmer's close friend and mentor (and childhood next-door neighbor), the author and psychotherapist Dr. C. Anthony Martignetti, who died on June 22, 2015. 

During the global pandemic of COVID-19 that struck at the end of 2019, Amanda Palmer was on an international tour of her latest album, There Will Be No Intermission, when countries started grounding flights and locking down borders. Palmer found herself in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay, the last stop on her tour schedule, and on 25 March 2020, New Zealand's government announced that the whole country would move to COVID-19 Alert Level 4: complete lockdown and quarantining of people within their own homes. Before that, Palmer had quickly brought her husband Neil Gaiman and son Ash to join her in New Zealand, searching for a suitable place to stay, in anticipation that they would be under lockdown for several months. Both the musician and the author confirmed that their upcoming shows in June 2020 would have to be cancelled and audiences refunded.

At some publicly unknown point during the couple's stay in Havelock North, their marriage underwent difficulties. When New Zealand loosened its flight restrictions, Neil Gaiman took a flight back to the United Kingdom while Amanda Palmer and their son stayed in New Zealand, prompting outrage in his home country for breaking lockdown rules to do so. On 3 May 2020, Palmer announced on her personal Patreon that she and Gaiman had separated and were indeed no longer together in New Zealand. Palmer explained that she could not fully elaborate on the cause of their separation, for the sake of their son, and requested privacy. The couple later released a joint statement clarifying that they were not, however, getting divorced. They reconciled in 2021.

Palmer practices meditation and wrote an article titled "Melody vs. Meditation" for the Buddhist publication Shambhala Sun, which described the struggle between songwriting and being able to clear the mind to meditate.

Awards and honors
 2012: Artist & Manager Awards - Pioneer Award
 2012: Twitter Feed @amandapalmer in the Boston Phoenixs Best 2012
 2011: Actress in a local production: Cabaret – Boston's Best, Improper Bostonian
 2010: Artist of the Year – Boston Music Awards
 2010: Cover of "Fake Plastic Trees" (Radiohead) named 13th of Paste magazine's 20 Best Cover Songs of 2010
 2009: No. 100 on After Ellen's Hot 100 of 2009.
 2008: No. 6 on the Best Solo artist list in The Guardians Readers' Poll of 2008.
 2007: No. 6 on Spinner.com's "Women Who Rock Right Now".
 2006: The Boston Globe named her the most stylish woman in Boston.
 2006: Listed in Blender magazine's hottest women of rock.
 2005: Best Female Vocalist in the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll.

Discography

Solo studio albums
 Who Killed Amanda Palmer (2008)
 Theatre Is Evil (2012) (with The Grand Theft Orchestra)
 There Will Be No Intermission (2019)

Collaborative studio albums
 You Got Me Singing (2016) (with Jack Palmer)
 I Can Spin a Rainbow (2017) (with Edward Ka-Spel)
 Forty-Five Degrees - A Bushfire Charity Flash Record (2020) (with various artists)

Other albums
 Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele (2010)
 Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under (2011)
 An Evening With Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer (2013) (with Neil Gaiman)
 Piano Is Evil (2016)

Tours
 True Colors Tour (2007)
Who Killed Amanda Palmer Tour (2008–2009)
Amanda Palmer: Live in Australia (2010)
Evelyn Evelyn Tour (2010)
Dresden Dolls 10th Anniversary Tour (2010–2011)
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra: Theatre Is Evil Tour (2012)
An Evening with Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer (2013)
The Music of David Byrne & The Talking Heads (2014–2015)
An Evening with Amanda Fucking Palmer (2015)
The Art of Asking Book Tour (2015)
You Got Me Singing Tour (with Jack Palmer) (2016)
I Can Spin a Rainbow Tour (with Edward Ka-Spel) (2017)
Dresden Dolls Reunion Tour (2017–2018)
There Will Be No Intermission World Tour (2019–2020)
An Evening with Amanda Palmer: New Zealand Tour (2020)

Filmography

Podcasts

The Art of Asking Everything
In fall 2020, Palmer announced she would be releasing a podcast called The Art of Asking Everything.

Other

Bibliography
Some of the books written in full, or collaboratively, by Amanda Palmer:

 
 
 
 
 
 

Palmer also has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.

See also

 List of TED speakers

References

External links

 Amanda Palmer's official site
 
 
 

1976 births
Living people
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
Alternative rock pianists
Alternative rock singers
American alternative rock musicians
American bloggers
American street performers
American women rock singers
American feminists
American people of Scottish descent
American rock pianists
American women pianists
American ukulele players
American women dramatists and playwrights
American women performance artists
American performance artists
Bisexual feminists
Bisexual musicians
Bisexual women
Dark cabaret musicians
Evelyn Evelyn members
Women punk rock singers
Feminist musicians
LGBT people from Massachusetts
LGBT people from New York (state)
LGBT rights activists from the United States
LGBT singers from the United States
Neil Gaiman
LGBT songwriters
Musicians from Boston
People from Lexington, Massachusetts
Singers from Massachusetts
Songwriters from Massachusetts
The Dresden Dolls members
Wesleyan University alumni
American women bloggers
Lexington High School alumni
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Roadrunner Records artists
Cooking Vinyl artists
8in8 members
Patreon creators
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people Michael Stephen Palmer, M.D. (October 9, 1942 – October 30, 2013), was an American physician and author. His novels are often referred to as medical thrillers. Some of his novels have made The New York Times Best Seller list and have been translated into 35 languages. One, Extreme Measures (1991), was adopted into a 1996 film of the same name starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gene Hackman.

Biography
Michael Stephen Palmer was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on October 9, 1942 to Milton and May Palmer. He grew up with two younger sisters, Donna and Susan. Palmer graduated from Wesleyan University in 1964 with a pre-med major, and with "sort of a Russian minor". He then went to Case Western Reserve University for medical school. Palmer trained in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Palmer once claimed he never wanted to be a writer. He did not think he had much "flair" for it, even though he read in his spare time. In 1978, he read Robin Cook's medical thriller Coma (1977). Palmer thought if Cook, also a Wesleyan graduate could write a novel, then he could too. When not writing, he worked part-time at Massachusetts Medical Society. Before he began work on his first published novel, The Sisterhood, about euthanasia, Palmer was practicing treatment of drug addiction.

Side Effects (1985), his second published work, was about the testing of unapproved drugs on a patient in Nazi Germany, but his most famous novel proved to be Extreme Measures (1991), in which a promising young doctor is threatened by a hospital elite after discovering the body's criminal acts. A selection of his other books include: Natural Causes (1994), about a holistic doctor who prescribes medicine that actually kills patients; Miracle Cure (1998), about a drug for heart disease that actually is very dangerous because of its side effects; and Extreme Measures (1991) on which the eponymous 1996 thriller film starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gene Hackman is based.
Palmer married Judith Grass and Noelle Shaughnessy with both marriages ending in divorce. He had three sons—Matthew, Daniel, and Luke.
On October 29, 2013, Palmer unexpectedly suffered a heart attack and stroke, dying the next day in New York City. In Palmer's memory, a tribute trail was named in his honor at Red Run Stream Valley Trail in November 2013.

Novels 

 The Sisterhood (1982)
 Side Effects (1985)
 Flashback (1988)
 Extreme Measures (1991)
 Natural Causes (1994)
 Silent Treatment (1995)
 Critical Judgment (1996)
 Miracle Cure (1998)
 The Patient (2000)
 Fatal (2002)
 The Society (2004)
 The Fifth Vial (2007) 
 The First Patient (2008)
 The Second Opinion (2009)
 The Last Surgeon (2010)
 A Heartbeat Away (2011)
 The Deal (2013)
  . . .  Dr. Lou Welcome series:
   1   Oath of Office (2012)
   1.5   On Call (novella) (2012)
   2   Political Suicide (2013)
   3   Resistant (2014)
 Trauma (2015, with Daniel Palmer)
 Mercy (2016, with Daniel Palmer)
 The First Family (2018, with Daniel Palmer)

References

External links 
Palmer's homepage

1942 births
2013 deaths
Wesleyan University alumni
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Medical fiction writers
Physicians from Massachusetts
American medical writers
American thriller writers
Novelists from Massachusetts
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers