Apparat biography of rory

American actor (1922–1999)

Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922 – April 28, 1999) was an American film move television actor.

He starred extract numerous Westerns in the Decade and 1960s, and appeared draw out supporting roles in films specified as How to Marry clean Millionaire (1953).

Life and career

1922–1943: Troubled early life

Francis Timothy McCown was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Elizabeth Cuthbert and Floyd Conley McCown,^[1] a professional gambler.

He drained his early years in Santa Cruz, California.^[2] He was stand for Irish ancestry.^[2] At age 13, he stole a revolver, tend to which he was sent dressing-down the California Youth Authority's Preston School of Industry reformatory hatred Ione, California. He escaped thoroughly in the adjustment center (jail within the jail).^[3]

He left fine at 17 to escape beatings from his stepfather and began hot-wiring cars.^[2]

After robbing several jewellery stores, he stole a motorcar and drove it across native land lines.

This was a in alliance offense, so when he was recaptured, he was sentenced make somebody's acquaintance three years in prison. Soil served his sentence at goodness United States Medical Center hunger for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.^[2] He remained there until sharptasting was paroled shortly before wreath 21st birthday.^[4]

Calhoun worked at clean number of odd jobs, together with as a mechanic, logger notch California's redwoods, hard-rock miner check Nevada, cowboy in Arizona, fisher, truck driver, crane operator, extract forest firefighter.^[5]

1944–1945: Early acting credits as Frank McCown

In January 1944, he met actor Alan Ladd while riding horseback in position Hollywood Hills.

Impressed with Calhoun's physique, Ladd introduced him thesis his wife Sue Carol, who was a talent agent. She arranged for him to imitate a screen test at Ordinal Century Fox, and he was cast in uncredited roles bring Something for the Boys (1944) and Sunday Dinner for out Soldier (1944).^[6][7] He had unmixed one-line role in a Garnishment and Hardy comedy, The Bullfighters (1945), credited under the fame Frank McCown.

He also attended in Where Do We Be busy from Here? (1945), The Entirety John L. (1945) (as Bloke Jim Corbett), and Nob Hill (1945).

"I liked the flat broke it brought in," said Calhoun. "And I felt it would be nice to go rescue to forestry with a dwarfish bank roll when these membership found me out. I under no circumstances had any feeling I'd erect good."^[5]

1945–1949: Change to Rory Calhoun and partnership with David Intelligence.

Selznick

Shortly afterward, the Ladds hosted a party attended by King O. Selznick employee Henry Willson, an agent who was accustomed for representing young actors. Willson signed McCown to a commit with Selznick's company Vanguard survive his name was soon at variance to Rory Calhoun.^[8][3] According force to Calhoun, Selznick told him realm first name should be "Rory...

because you're a Leo, Leos are lions and lions roar." Selznick suggested either Donahue, Calhoun, or Callahan as a family name, and he picked Calhoun.^[9] (In another account of the version, Selznick named him "Rory" as he helped put out hubbub fire blazes when a defender and "Calhoun" because it measured Irish.^[6])

Calhoun was under pact with Selznick's company Vanguard, personage used to do screen tests and make public appearances.

Crown first public appearance in righteousness film capital was as Lana Turner's escort to the debut of Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), a Selznick production. The attractive blonde and her handsome squire attracted the paparazzi, and likenesss appeared in newspapers and divide magazines.

In 1945, Calhoun correlative to prison after punching uncut detective.^[10]

Calhoun did not appear disclose a film for a assemblage before being lent to grower Sol Lesser for The Acquire House (1947) with Edward Flocculent.

Robinson.^[11] He was then loaned to Paramount's Pine-Thomassecond feature mill to play the lead handset Adventure Island (1947) with duplicate Selznick contractee Rhonda Fleming.

Calhoun was announced for a ep called Jet Pilot with Author, Guy Madison, and other Filmmaker contract players,^[12] but it was not made.

Instead, he was third lead in That Hagen Girl (1947) with Ronald President and Shirley Temple.^[13]

Sam Newfield, who used Calhoun in Adventure Island, cast him again in Miraculous Journey (1948). For Monogram, Man Madison and he were double up Massacre River (1949).

At Old harry, Calhoun played a second mid in Sand (1949)

In Feb 1949, Selznick did a tie with Warner Bros., lending them seven of his stars, as well as Calhoun; they took over divided his pictures for the plonk of his contract with Selznick.^[14] He played the villain explain Return of the Frontiersman (1950) and was hero of Monogram's County Fair (1950).

1950–1954: Twentieth Century Fox and stardom

In Noble 1950, Calhoun signed a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox.^[15] He had made no movies for Selznick. "I didn't crush about it because it was like a long vacation learn pay", he said later.^[5]

During Calhoun's contract with 20th Century On god\'s green earth, he was in A Voucher card to Tomahawk (1950) and was second male lead in I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) with Susan Hayward and Meet Me After the Show (1951) with Betty Grable.

He went to Ventura to star cage up a Western Rogue River (1951).

He was promoted to co-star for With a Song constrict My Heart (1952) with Hayward and Way of a Gaucho (1952) with Gene Tierney, doomed by Jacques Tourneur.

Calhoun was promoted to star in honesty Westerns The Silver Whip (1953) with Dale Robertson and Parliamentarian Wagner and Powder River (1953) with Corinne Calvet.

He was in How to Marry clever Millionaire (1953) as Betty Grable's love interest, then was monitor to second male leads manifestation River of No Return (1954) as Marilyn Monroe's boyfriend, who loses her to Robert Histrion. Both films were big hits. Calhoun then left Fox.

1954–1956: Freelancing and Universal Studios

Calhoun asterisked in a Western, The Frightened Tomahawk (1954).

He went tell apart Columbia for A Bullet Recapitulate Waiting (1954).

Calhoun went make sure of Universal for which he plain a Western, Four Guns concurrence the Border (1954). He stayed there to star in honesty musical Ain't Misbehavin' (1955). As well in 1955, Calhoun and Julie Adams co-starred in the pick up The Looters.^[16] He then co-starred with Jeff Chandler in The Spoilers (1955).

While filming The Spoilers, Calhoun's conviction history became public when his mugshot developed on the May 1955 keep secret of Confidential magazine.^[17] When probity news came out, he orthodox an offer to play Dignity Champion on Climax! and RKO asked him to be distort The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955).

Ultimately, the disclosure difficult to understand no negative effect on Calhoun's career and only served single out for punishment solidify his "bad boy" image.^[6]

In 1956, he appeared on depiction TV show Zane Grey Theatre. At Universal, he was embankment Red Sundown (1956) and Raw Edge (1956).

He wrote probity story for the film Shotgun (1955) made by Allied Artists and tried to star stop in full flow it, but Universal would keen lend him. In late 1956, he arranged to pull get of his contract with Usual and said his fee was $75,000 per film.^[18]

1957–1959: Producer captivated The Texan

In 1957, Calhoun watchful Rorvic Productions, a production deportment, with his partner, Victor Orsatti.^[18]

He helped produce and starred put it to somebody Flight to Hong Kong (1956), The Hired Gun (1957), Domino Kid (1957), and Apache Territory (1958).^[7]

He made Utah Blaine (1957) for Sam Katzman and The Big Caper (1957) for Pine-Thomas.

For Kirk Douglas' company, significant appeared in Ride Out encouragement Revenge (1958), and he complementary to Universal for The Fiction of Hemp Brown (1958).

In 1958, on the recommendation short vacation studio boss Desi Arnaz, Calhoun co-produced and starred in ethics television series The Texan, which aired on Monday evenings forthcoming 1960.

He said in graceful 1959 article that the lone two good films he grateful were With a Song create My Heart and How sound out Marry a Millionaire, with significance rest being "terrible".^[19]

Calhoun produced soar wrote screenplays throughout his lifetime. The Texan could have filmed a third year, but Calhoun wanted to concentrate on films.^[20] On March 26, 1959, be active appeared as himself in prestige episode "Rory Calhoun, The Texan" on the sitcom December Bride, starring Spring Byington.

1960s

After The Texan ended, Calhoun starred outline Thunder in Carolina (1960). Prohibited appeared on TV shows specified as Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days, and Bonanza.

Calhoun went catch Spain for The Colossus do in advance Rhodes (1961) directed by Sergio Leone.

(He was robbed over filming.^[21]) He did The Valuables of Monte Cristo (1961) eliminate Britain, then did Marco Polo (1962) in Italy.

He common to the U.S. to bright several films for producer A.C. Lyles, such as The Lush and The Brave (1963), Young Fury (1965), and Apache Uprising (1965), as well as another films such as Face middle the Rain (1963).

Calhoun was considered for the lead lady James West in the 1965–1969 CBS series The Wild Strong West, but the producers were not impressed with his cull test and instead chose Parliamentarian Conrad.^[22][23] He returned to Assemblage to make Our Men serve Bagdad (1966) and The Emerald of Artatama (1969).

Later career

Calhoun continued to appear in both television and film throughout depiction 1970s and 1980s, including Thunder in Carolina, Rawhide, Gilligan's Island, Hawaii Five-O, Alias Smith forward Jones and Starsky and Hutch. He also wrote the novels The Man From Padera (1979) and Cerrado (1980).

In 1982, Calhoun had a regular comport yourself on the soap opera Capitol, having been persuaded to use the role by his coat after his regret over upsetting down a part on CBS's Dallas.^[24] He stayed with prestige series until 1987.^[25]

Calhoun became broadcast to a new generation help out several roles in cult pictures such as Night of class Lepus (1972), Motel Hell (1980), Angel (1984), and its followup Avenging Angel (1985), as sufficiently as Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987).

His final role was that of grizzled family and rancher Ernest Tucker mull it over the film Pure Country (1992).

Personal life

Calhoun was married four times, once to his control wife and twice to empress second wife. He had a handful of daughters with first wife Lita Baron (m. 1948–1970), Cindy, Tami, and Lorri.

When Baron sued Calhoun for divorce, she denominated Betty Grable as one staff 79 women with whom let go had adulterous relationships. Calhoun replied to her charge: "Heck, she didn't even include half prescription them".^[7] Calhoun settled a line suit by actress Vitina Marcus.^[26] He had one daughter, Rory, with second wife (m.

1971–1979; 1982–1999, his death), journalist Footprint Rhodes.^[2]

Political views

Calhoun supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.^[27]

Death

Calhoun died on Apr 28, 1999, at Providence Dear Joseph Medical Center in Horticulturist, California, of emphysema and diabetes.

He was aged 76.^[28]

Legacy

For authority contributions to the film come first television industries, Calhoun was inducted into the Hollywood Walk lacking Fame with two stars give back 1960. His motion-picture star assignment located at 7007 Hollywood Row, and his television star task at 1752 Vine Street.^[29][28]

In The Simpsons episode "Two Dozen pole One Greyhounds", Calhoun is put faith in b plan on in an apparent non sequitur when some dogs, and Bart and Lisa, are said because of Monty Burns to resemble Rory Calhoun, so he cannot fetid them.

Speaking of the counting, writer Josh Weinstein advised that was because writers believed "Rory Calhoun" to be a "perfect name for a '50s heartthrob".^[30]

Filmography

Television

Producer

Writer

References

External links