Trivia of Rory Calhoun

Trivia of Rory Calhoun (8 August 1922 - 28 April 1992)

*Before become an actor, he was a criminal. His criminal career was rather extensive. A high school dropout and 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.

*His good look spotted by actor Alan Ladd while he was riding a horse in a Los Angeles park.Alan Ladd's wife was Sue Carol, a Hollywood agent who later arranged Calhoun for screen test at 20th Century-Fox in 1944.She landed him a one-line role in the Laurel and Hardy comedy short The Bullfighters (1945) under his name of "Frank McCown".

*Henry Willson, an agent known for a stable of young, attractive, marginally talented actors with unusual names (Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter) signed Rory to a contract and initially christened him "Troy Donahue", then changed it to "Rory Calhoun". He used the Troy Donahue name later on another up-and-coming actor, with excellent results.

*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. Calhoun's agent, Henry Willson, suggested that Turner wear white fur, "to play up the contrast between the actress' blondness and Calhoun's wolfish, black-Irish good looks and dark suit".The glamorous blonde and her handsome companion attracted the paparazzi, and photos appeared in newspapers and fan magazines.

*In 1955, Willson gave Confidential magazine, a scurrilous scandal sheet, information on the criminal past of Calhoun in exchange for burying a story about the homosexuality of Rock Hudson, a more successful Willson client. The story in Confidential did not harm Calhoun's bad boy image or his career.

*In 1957, Rory opened a production company called ‘Rorvic’ with his partner, Victor Orsatti. He helped in production of movies like ‘Flight to Hong Kong’ (1956), ‘The Hired Gun’ (1957), ‘Domino Kid’ (1957), Apache Territory’ (1958), ‘Fists of Steel’ (1991) etc.He also wrote a techni-color movie called ‘Shotgun’ (1955). In 1957, he wrote another movie called ‘Domino Kid’.

*Though he starred in numerous Westerns, he said in a 1959 article that the only two good films he had made were "With a Song in My Heart (1952)" and "How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)".