Rory Calhoun

In 1943, while horseback riding in the Hollywood Hills, he accidentally met actor Alan Ladd, whose wife Sue Carol was an agent. She landed him a one-line role in the Laurel and Hardy comedy short The Bullfighters (1945) under his name of "Frank McCown".

Rory Calhoun was born Francis Timothy McCown in Los Angeles, the son of Elizabeth Cuthbert and James McCown. Rory starred in over 80 films and 1,000 television episodes. Before becoming an actor he worked as a boxer, a lumberjack, a truck driver and a cowpuncher. Tall and handsome, he benefited from a screen test at 20th Century-Fox, arranged for him by Sue Carol, a Hollywood agent and the wife of actor Alan Ladd, who is said to have spotted Calhoun while he was riding a horse in a Los Angeles park. He debuted on screen in Something for the Boys (1944), with Carmen Miranda, billed as "Frank McCown". David O.

Calhoun's better-known pictures include How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Lauren Bacall, Monroe and Betty Grable, and With a Song in My Heart (1952) with Susan Hayward.

Selznick changed his name to Rory Calhoun, and after playing small parts for a while, he graduated to starring in western films, including River of No Return (1954) with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum.

In 1955 his agent, Henry Willson, disclosed information about Calhoun's years in prison to "Confidential" magazine in exchange for the tabloid not printing an exposé about the secret homosexual life of Rock Hudson, another Willson client. The disclosure had no negative effect on Calhoun's career and only served to solidify his "bad boy" image.

His daughters with Lita Baron are Cindy (b. 1957), Tami (b. 1958) and Lorri (b. 1961). His daughter with Sue Rhodes is Rory Patricia (b. 1971).

From 1959 to 1960 he starred in the CBS television series The Texan (1958).

Was a registered Republican who campaigned for Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972.

The July 22, 1970, issue of "Variety", in the Hollywood Production Pulse column, states that the movie "The Low Price of Fame" had started filming May 18 in Iowa, starring Calhoun, Gardner McKay and Yvonne De Carlo. Jerry Schafer was producer / director and executive producer was Donald B. Running, for Carvel Productions. There is no evidence the film was completed or released.

The June 30, 1971, issue of Variety, in the Hollywood Production Pulse section, lists a movie "Everyman" directed by Jerry Schafer for Hollywood International Pictures with actors Rory Calhoun, Ruth Roman, Rosie Grier, Jim Mitchum, Tom Bosley, Jesse White, John Fiedler, and Percy Helton which started filming Jun 14, 1971, in Dallas. No evidence the movie was completed or released.

His appearance becoming increasingly gaunt, Calhoun was a regular guest on television series in the 1980s.

More than two decades later he returned to CBS for five years as Judge Judson Tyler on the daytime serial Capitol (1982).

He and Vitina Marcus had a daughter, Athena Marcus Calhoun, who became "The World's Most Beautiful Showgirl" and was awarded "The Key to the City of Las Vegas" in 1987.

Mentioned numerous times in the episode of The Simpsons (1989) where Mr. Burns steals the puppies from the Simpsons.

His young criminal career was rather extensive. A high school dropout, he stole a revolver at age 13, which landed him in the California Youth Authority's Preston School of Industry reformatory at Ione, CA. He escaped while in the adjustment center (jail within the jail). After robbing several jewelry stores, he stole a car and drove it across state lines. This offense sent him to the federal penitentiary in Springfield, MO, for three years. When he finished his sentence he was incarcerated in San Quentin State Penitentiary in California on other charges and remained there until he was paroled just before his 21st birthday.

On February 19, 2019, he was honored with a Sketch of the Day caricature on the Greg Joens website.