Jon Serl was born in Oleans, New York on November 6, 1898. Jon Serl (né Joseph Searles) was one of three assumed names. Early in life he was a peripatetic female impersonator and vaudeville performer known as "Slats". When the silent film era ended in the late 1920s, he was called Jerry Palmer, a voice-over artist for actors whose voices did not fare well in talkies, and during the Depression he was Ned Palmer, a migrant fruit picker. After WWII he moved to the desert near Palm Springs, took up painting, and remained self taught. He appeared on the Johnny Carson show twice and was a friend of Clark Gable, Hedda Hopper, and Howard Hughes. A local character and celebrity, he died in Lake Elsinore on June 24, 1993

Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"


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