Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, Aug 8, 1922–April 28, 1999), the American film and TV actor, starred in many Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s.
He appeared in supporting roles in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), River of No Return (1955), both hits starring Marilyn Monroe.
Of Irish ancestry, Francis Timothy McCown was born in Los Angeles, the son of Elizabeth Cuthbert and Floyd Conley McCown, a professional gambler. He spent his early years in Santa Cruz, CA.
At 13, he stole revolver, for which he was sent to the California Youth Authority’s Preston School of Industry reformatory at Ione, CA. He escaped while in the adjustment center (jail within the jail).
He left home at 17 to escape beatings from his stepfather and began hot-wiring cars.
After robbing jewelry stores, he stole a car and drove it across state lines. This was a federal offense, so when he was recaptured, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He served his sentence at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. He remained there until he was paroled shortly before his 21st birthday.
Calhoun worked at odd jobs, mechanic, logger in California’s redwoods, hard-rock miner in Nevada, cowboy in Arizona, fisherman, truck driver, crane operator, and forest firefighter.
Spotted by Alan Ladd
In January 1944, he met actor Alan Ladd while riding horseback in Hollywood Hills. Impressed with Calhoun’s physique, Ladd introduced him to his wife Sue Carol, a talent agent. She arranged for him to have screen test at 20th Century Fox, and he was cast in uncredited roles for Something for the Boys (1944) and Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944). He had a one-line role in a Laurel and Hardy comedy, The Bullfighters (1945), credited as Frank McCown.
He also appeared in Where Do We Go from Here? (1945), The Great John L. (1945) (as Gentleman Jim Corbett), and Nob Hill (1945).
“I liked the money it brought in,” said Calhoun. “And I felt it would be nice to go back to forestry with a neat bank roll when these fellows found me out. I never had any feeling I’d make good.”
Shortly afterward, the Ladds hosted a party attended by David O. Selznick employee Henry Willson, an agent known for representing young actors. Willson signed McCown to a contract with Selznick’s company Vanguard and his name was changed to Rory Calhoun.
According to Calhoun, Selznick told him his first name should be “Rory… because you’re a Leo, Leos are lions and lions roar.” Selznick suggested Donahue, Calhoun, or Callahan as a surname, and he picked Calhoun. In another account, Selznick named him “Rory” because he helped put out roaring fire blazes when a firefighter and “Calhoun” because it sounded Irish.
Calhoun was under contract with Selznick’s company Vanguard, being used to do screen tests and make public appearances. His first public appearance in the film capital was as Lana Turner’s escort to the premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945), a Selznick production. The glamorous blonde and her handsome companion attracted the paparazzi, and photos appeared in newspapers and fan magazines.
In 1945, Calhoun returned to prison after punching a detective.
Calhoun did not appear in a film for a year before being lent to producer Sol Lesser for The Red House (1947) with Edward G. Robinson.[11] He was then loaned to Paramount’s Pine-Thomas second feature studio to play the lead in Adventure Island (1947) with fellow Selznick contractee Rhonda Fleming.
Calhoun was announced for a film called Jet Pilot with Fleming, Guy Madison, and other Selznick contract players, but it was not made. Instead, he was third lead in That Hagen Girl (1947) with Ronald Reagan and Shirley Temple.
Sam Newfield, who used Calhoun in Adventure Island, cast him in Miraculous Journey (1948). For Monogram, Guy Madison and he were in Massacre River (1949). At Fox, Calhoun played a second lead in Sand (1949)
In February 1949, Selznick made deal with Warner, lending them 7 of his stars, including Calhoun; they took over half his pictures for the rest of his contract with Selznick. He played the villain in Return of the Frontiersman (1950) and was hero of Monogram’s County Fair (1950).
In August 1950, Calhoun signed a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox.He had made no films for Selznick. “I didn’t worry about it because it was like a long vacation with pay,” he said later.
During Calhoun’s contract with Fox, he was in A Ticket 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 in a Western Rogue River (1951).
He was promoted to co-star for With a Song in My Heart (1952) with Hayward and Way of a Gaucho (1952) with Gene Tierney, directed by Jacques Tourneur.
Calhoun was promoted to star in the Westerns The Silver Whip (1953) with Dale Robertson and Robert Wagner and Powder River (1953) with Corinne Calvet.
He was in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) as Betty Grable’s love interest, then was back to second male leads in River of No Return (1954) as Marilyn Monroe’s boyfriend, who loses her to Robert Mitchum. Both films were big hits.
Calhoun starred in a Western, The Yellow Tomahawk (1954). He went to Columbia for A Bullet Is Waiting (1954).
Calhoun went to Universal for a Western, Four Guns to the Border (1954). He stayed there to star in the musical Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1955). Also in 1955, Calhoun and Julie Adams co-starred in The Looters. He then co-starred with Jeff Chandler in The Spoilers (1955).
While filming The Spoilers, Calhoun’s conviction history became public–his mugshot appeared on the May 1955 cover of Confidential magazine. When the news came out, he received offer to play The Champion on Climax! and RKO asked him to be in The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955).
The conviction disclosure had no negative effect on Calhoun’s career; it served to solidify his “bad boy” image.
In 1956, he appeared on the TV show Zane Grey Theatre.
At Universal, he was in Red Sundown (1956) and Raw Edge (1956). He wrote the story for the film Shotgun (1955) made by Allied Artists and tried to star in it, but Universal would not lend him. In late 1956, he arranged to pull out of his contract with Universal where his fee was $75,000 per film.
In 1957, Calhoun formed Rorvic Productions, a production company, with his partner, Victor Orsatti.
He helped produce and starred in Flight to Hong Kong (1956), The Hired Gun (1957), Domino Kid (1957), and Apache Territory (1958).
He made Utah Blaine (1957) for Sam Katzman and The Big Caper (1957) for Pine-Thomas.
For Kirk Douglas’ company, he appeared in Ride Out for Revenge (1958), and he returned to Universal for The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958).
In 1958, Calhoun co-produced and starred in the TV series The Texan, which aired on Monday evenings until 1960.
He said that the only two good films he made were With a Song in My Heart and How to Marry a Millionaire, with the rest being “terrible.”
Calhoun produced and wrote screenplays throughout his career. The Texan could have filmed a third year, but Calhoun wanted to concentrate on films.
On March 26, 1959, he appeared as himself in the episode “Rory Calhoun, The Texan” on the sitcom December Bride, starring Spring Byington.
After The Texan ended, Calhoun starred in Thunder in Carolina (1960).
He appeared on the TV shows Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days, and Bonanza.
Calhoun went to Spain for The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) directed by Sergio Leone. (He was robbed during filming.[21]) He did The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961) in Britain, then did Marco Polo (1962) in Italy.
He returned to the U.S. to make several films for producer A.C. Lyles, such as The Young and The Brave (1963), Young Fury (1965), and Apache Uprising (1965), as well as other films such as Face in the Rain (1963).
Calhoun was considered for the lead of James West in the 1965–1969 CBS series The Wild Wild West, but the producers were not impressed with his screen test and instead chose Robert Conrad. He returned to Europe to make Our Men in Bagdad (1966) and The Emerald of Artatama (1969).
Calhoun continued to appear in both TV and film in the 1970s and 1980s, Thunder in Carolina, Rawhide, Gilligan’s Island, Hawaii Five-O, Alias Smith and Jones and Starsky and Hutch.
He also wrote the novels The Man From Padera (1979) and Cerrado (1980).
In 1982, Calhoun had a regular role on the soap opera Capitol, having been persuaded to accept the role by his family after his regret over turning down a part on CBS’s Dallas. He stayed with the series until 1987.
Calhoun became known to a new generation in cult films, Night of the Lepus (1972), Motel Hell (1980), Angel (1984), and its sequel Avenging Angel (1985), as well as Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987).
His final role was that of grizzled family patriarch and rancher Ernest Tucker in the film Pure Country (1992).
Calhoun was married three times: once to his first wife Lita Baron (1948–1970) and twice to his second wife Sue Rhodes (1971–1979 then again in 1982).
He had three daughters with Baron: Cindy, Tami, and Lorri. When Baron sued Calhoun for divorce, she named Betty Grable as one of 79 women with whom he had adulterous relationships. Calhoun replied to her charge: “Heck, she didn’t even include half of them”. He had one daughter, Athena Marcus Calhoun, with actress Vitina Marcus. He had one daughter, Rory, with second wife journalist Sue Rhodes.
Calhoun supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
Calhoun died on April 28, 1999, in Burbank, California, of emphysema and diabetes. He was aged 76.
For his contributions to the film and television industries, Calhoun was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars in 1960. His motion-picture star is located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, and his television star is at 1752 Vine Street.
In The Simpsons episode “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds”, Calhoun is mentioned in an apparent non sequitur when some dogs, and Bart and Lisa, are said by Monty Burns to resemble Rory Calhoun, as someone who would stand up and walk, so he cannot harm them. Speaking of the inclusion, writer Josh Weinstein advised this was because writers believed “Rory Calhoun” to be a “perfect name for a ’50s heartthrob”.[30] Rifftrax made a reference to this Simpsons reference in their commentary to Night of the Lepus, which starred Calhoun.
Filmography
Something for the Boys (1944) as Soldier (uncredited)
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944) as Soldier in Truck (uncredited)
The Bullfighters (1945, billed as Frank McCown) as El Brillante – Disgusted Matador (uncredited)
Where Do We Go From Here? (1945) as Soldier Leaving Canteen (uncredited)
The Great John L. (1945) as James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett
Nob Hill (1945) as Jose – Boxer Sparring with Tony (uncredited)
The Red House (1947) as Teller
Adventure Island (1947) as Mr. Herrick
That Hagen Girl (1947) as Ken Freneau
Miraculous Journey (1948) as Larry Burke
Massacre River (1949) as Phil Acton
Sand (1949) as Chick Palmer
A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950) as Dakota
Return of the Frontiersman (1950) as Larrabee
County Fair (1950) as Peter Brennan
Rogue River (1951) as Ownie Rogers
I’d Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) as Jack Stark
Meet Me After the Show (1951) as David Hemingway
With a Song in My Heart (1952) as John Burn
Way of a Gaucho (1952) as Martin Penalosa
The Silver Whip (1953) as Sheriff Tom Davisson
Powder River (1953) as Chino Bullock
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) as Eben
River of No Return (1954) as Harry Weston
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) as Adam Reed
Dawn at Socorro (1954) as Brett Wade
A Bullet Is Waiting (1954) as Ed Stone
Four Guns to the Border (1954) as Cully
Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1955) as Jesse Hill
The Looters (1955) as Kenneth Post
The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955) as Tom Bryan
The Spoilers (1955) as Alex McNamara
Red Sundown (1956) as Alec Longmire
Raw Edge (1956) as Tex Kirby
Flight to Hong Kong (1956) as Tony Dumont
Utah Blaine (1957) as Utah Blaine
The Big Caper (1957) as Frank Harper
The Hired Gun (1957) as Gil McCord
Domino Kid (1957) as Domino
Ride Out for Revenge (1957) as Tate
The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958) as Hemp Brown
Apache Territory (1958) as Logan Cates
Thunder in Carolina (1960) as Mitch Cooper
The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) as Dario
The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961) as Captain Adam Corbett
Marco Polo (1962) as Marco Polo
The Young and The Brave (1963) as MSgt. Ed Brent (escaped POW)
The Gun Hawk (1963) as Blaine Madden
Face in the Rain (1963) as Rand
Young Fury (1964) as Clint McCoy
Finger on the Trigger (1965) as Larry Winton
Black Spurs (1965) as Santee
Apache Uprising (1966) as Jim Walker
Our Men in Bagdad (1966) as Alex
Operation Delilah (1967) as Rory
Operation Cross Eagles (1968) as Sgt. Sean McAfee
The Emerald of Artatama (1969) as Jack Cooper
Las Virgenes de la nueva ola (1969)
Night of the Lepus (1972) as Cole Hillman
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Philip Hart
Mission to Glory: A True Story (1977) as Capt. Juan Monje
Love and the Midnight Auto Supply (1977) as Len Thompson
Mule Feathers (1977) as Bonaparte Shelby
Flatbed Annie and Sweetie Pie: Lady Truckers (1979) as Farmer
Revenge of Bigfoot (1979) as Bob Spence
The Rebels (1979) as Breen
Bitter Heritage (1979) as Manuel
Runnin’ Hot (1980)
Motel Hell (1980) as Vincent Smith
Smokey and the Judge (1980) as Matt Polsky
Angel (1984) as Kit Carson
Avenging Angel (1985) as Kit Carson
Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) as Looney Tunes
Roller Blade Warriors: Taken by Force (1989) as Old Turkel
Bad Jim (1990) as Sam Harper
Pure Country (1992) as Ernest Tucker
