William Callahan

Dancer/performer William Henry Callahan was born on August 23, 1926, in New York City, the son of a real estate man. He started in show business at the age of 13 when, after taking dancing lessons, gained a bit part in a small musical stage comedy.

A few years later in 1943, he took his first Broadway bow in Cole Porter's "Something For The Boys" starring Ethel Merman. The following year Bill was featured in "Mexican Hayride" starring Bobby Clark and June Havoc.

Bill was spotted by a Fox talent agent in 1946 while appearing on Broadway as a specialty dancer in multiple roles in the musical "Call Me Mister" with Betty Garrett. Brought West as a possible dancing Fox version of Van Johnson, he returned to Broadway to appear opposite Mary Martin in the classic "Annie Get Your Gun" when no film offers opened up.

He returned and was billed eighth in his first (and only) movie Chicken Every Sunday (1949) in which he had a non-singing role. The film starred Dan Dailey and the studio deemed Dailey's talents as a leading man/hoofer as having more potential and being more profitable than Bill's. Fox quickly lost interest in the dancer. Bill returned to New York and Broadway where he appeared in such musicals as "As the Girls Go" (again with Bobby Clark), "On Your Toes" and "Top Banana" (as a replacement in the Phil Silvers starrer).

Married in 1952 to Eleanor Rao, an heiress, Callahan finally left show business and joined his millionaire father-in-law's company, Arc Construction, where he rose to the top corporate positions of executive vice president and treasurer in a company that employed over 600 people. He and his wife had two New York estates, one in Scarsdale and one in New Rochelle, and had three children. Callahan, however, got into hot water over time, overspending on "gifts" both for himself and his steady stream of mistresses using company money. Discovered to have embezzled millions of dollars from the company, Bill disappeared and relocated in secret to the West Indies with one of his mistresses, Wendy McDade (21 years his junior), before he could be brought to trial.

He also put together a nightclub act and began appeared regularly on such variety shows as "The Jack Carter Show," "The Steve Allen Show," "The Kate Smith Hour," "Cavalcade of Stars," "Arthur Murray Party" "The Paul Whiteman Revue," "The Ken Murray Show," "This Is Show Business" and "Guest House" In 1953 he was cast in the Broadway musical "Two's Company" starring a singing Bette Davis. Callahan's dancing career ended with this production.

Hiding out, and without divorcing wife Eleanor, William Callahan "married" McDade on January 9, 1981.

According to Laura Wagner in her article on Bill Callahan in Films of the Golden Age, Issue #79, Winter 2014-2015, it was Callahan's eldest son, William Jr., who discovered that his father was embezzling millions from Arc Construction. Threatened by his father, the son nevertheless informed an aunt, who was also a member of the board, and a suit was filed against Callahan.