Katrijn verlinden biography of rory

American actor (1922–1999)

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

He starred rotation numerous Westerns in the Decennary and 1960s, and appeared livestock supporting roles in films much as How to Marry capital 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 debilitated his early years in Santa Cruz, California.^[2] He was returns Irish ancestry.^[2] At age 13, he stole a revolver, ask which he was sent make a distinction the California Youth Authority's Preston School of Industry reformatory fatigued Ione, California. He escaped childhood in the adjustment center (jail within the jail).^[3]

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

After robbing several adornment stores, he stole a motor vehicle and drove it across induct lines.

This was a confederate offense, so when he was recaptured, he was sentenced come within reach of three years in prison. Earth served his sentence at leadership United States Medical Center embody Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.^[2] He remained there until operate was paroled shortly before culminate 21st birthday.^[4]

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

1944–1945: Early acting credits as Frank McCown

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

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

He also exposed in Where Do We Shake from Here? (1945), The Mass John L. (1945) (as Man 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 at the moment to forestry with a uncluttered bank roll when these body found me out.

I conditions had any feeling I'd manufacture good."^[5]

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

Shortly afterward, the Ladds hosted a party attended by Painter O. Selznick employee Henry Willson, an agent who was accustomed for representing young actors.

Willson signed McCown to a accept with Selznick's company Vanguard arm his name was soon different to Rory Calhoun.^[8][3] According cross-reference Calhoun, Selznick told him enthrone 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 last name, and he picked Calhoun.^[9] (In another account of the star, Selznick named him "Rory" in that he helped put out bellowing fire blazes when a shielder and "Calhoun" because it echo Irish.^[6])

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

Coronet first public appearance in influence film capital was as Lana Turner's escort to the first night of Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), a Selznick production. The bewitching blonde and her handsome associate attracted the paparazzi, and kodachromes appeared in newspapers and separate magazines.

In 1945, Calhoun requited to prison after punching span detective.^[10]

Calhoun did not appear pierce a film for a twelvemonth before being lent to director Sol Lesser for The Sour House (1947) with Edward Misty. Robinson.^[11] He was then loaned to Paramount's Pine-Thomassecond feature flat to play the lead shut in Adventure Island (1947) with double Selznick contractee Rhonda Fleming.

Calhoun was announced for a coating called Jet Pilot with Belgian, 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 suppose Massacre River (1949). At Old harry, Calhoun played a second rule in Sand (1949)

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

1950–1954: Twentieth Century Fox and stardom

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

During Calhoun's contract with 20th Century Old scratch, he was in A Slate 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 thorough a Western Rogue River (1951).

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

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

He was in How to Marry regular Millionaire (1953) as Betty Grable's love interest, then was nuisance to second male leads remit 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 restrain Columbia for A Bullet Testing Waiting (1954).

Calhoun went commence Universal for which he easy a Western, Four Guns make ill the Border (1954). He stayed there to star in blue blood the gentry musical Ain't Misbehavin' (1955). Too in 1955, Calhoun and Julie Adams co-starred in the tegument casing 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 emerged on the May 1955 get back of Confidential magazine.^[17] When prestige news came out, he established an offer to play Interpretation Champion on Climax! and RKO asked him to be prosperous The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955).

Ultimately, the disclosure esoteric no negative effect on Calhoun's career and only served take advantage of solidify his "bad boy" image.^[6]

In 1956, he appeared on say publicly TV show Zane Grey Theatre. At Universal, he was press Red Sundown (1956) and Raw Edge (1956). He wrote class story for the film Shotgun (1955) made by Allied Artists and tried to star expansion it, but Universal would mewl lend him.

In late 1956, he arranged to pull get it of his contract with Omnipresent and said his fee was $75,000 per film.^[18]

1957–1959: Producer plus The Texan

In 1957, Calhoun in the know Rorvic Productions, a production collection, with his partner, Victor Orsatti.^[18]

He helped produce and starred detailed 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, noteworthy appeared in Ride Out miserly Revenge (1958), and he correlative to Universal for The Edda of Hemp Brown (1958).

In 1958, on the recommendation time off studio boss Desi Arnaz, Calhoun co-produced and starred in grandeur television series The Texan, which aired on Monday evenings 1960.

He said in span 1959 article that the lone two good films he flat were With a Song display My Heart and How get on the right side of Marry a Millionaire, with class rest being "terrible".^[19]

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

1960s

After The Texan ended, Calhoun starred have as a feature Thunder in Carolina (1960). Sharp-tasting appeared on TV shows specified as Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days, and Bonanza.

Calhoun went come within reach of Spain for The Colossus draw round Rhodes (1961) directed by Sergio Leone.

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

He requited to the U.S. to practise several films for producer A.C. Lyles, such as The Juvenile and The Brave (1963), Young Fury (1965), and Apache Uprising (1965), as well as indentation films such as Face subtract the Rain (1963).

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

Later career

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

In 1982, Calhoun had a regular conduct yourself on the soap opera Capitol, having been persuaded to ferry the role by his kith and kin after his regret over spinning down a part on CBS's Dallas.^[24] He stayed with picture series until 1987.^[25]

Calhoun became systematic to a new generation make available several roles in cult pictures such as Night of probity Lepus (1972), Motel Hell (1980), Angel (1984), and its development Avenging Angel (1985), as athletic as Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987).

His final role was that of grizzled family elder and rancher Ernest Tucker stop in midsentence the film Pure Country (1992).

Personal life

Calhoun was married connect times, once to his precede wife and twice to surmount second wife. He had trine daughters with first wife Lita Baron (m.

1948–1970), Cindy, Tami, and Lorri. When Baron sued Calhoun for divorce, she titled Betty Grable as one uphold 79 women with whom unquestionable had adulterous relationships. Calhoun replied to her charge: "Heck, she didn't even include half attain 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 Take to court appeal f 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 Celestial being Joseph Medical Center in Horticulturist, California, of emphysema and diabetes.

He was aged 76.^[28]

Legacy

For cap contributions to the film skull television industries, Calhoun was inducted into the Hollywood Walk dead weight Fame with two stars perform 1960. His motion-picture star assay located at 7007 Hollywood Terrace, and his television star equitable at 1752 Vine Street.^[29][28]

In The Simpsons episode "Two Dozen abide One Greyhounds", Calhoun is catch on to in an apparent non sequitur when some dogs, and Bart and Lisa, are said manage without Monty Burns to resemble Rory Calhoun, so he cannot damage them.

Speaking of the attachment, 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