Lon McCallister

Lon McCallister
From the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Born Herbert Alonzo McCallister, Jr.
(1923-04-17)April 17, 1923
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died June 11, 2005(2005-06-11) (aged 82)
South Lake Tahoe, California, U.S.
Years active 1936–1963
Partner(s) William Eythe

Herbert Alonzo "Lon" McCallister Jr. (April 17, 1923 – June 11, 2005) was an American actor.

Biography

Early career

Born in Los Angeles, Lon McCallister began appearing in movies at the age of 13. He had uncredited appearances in Let's Sing Again (1936), Romeo and Juliet (1936), Stella Dallas (1937), Souls at Sea (1937), Make a Wish (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Judge Hardy's Children (1938), Lord Jeff (1938), That Certain Age (1938), Little Tough Guys in Society (1939), The Spirit of Culver (1939), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), Babes in Arms (1939), First Love (1939), and Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939).

McCallister could also be glimpsed in Susan and God (1940), Henry Aldrich for President (1941), Dangerously They Live (1941), Always in My Heart (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Spy Ship (1942), Night in New Orleans (1942), That Other Woman (1942), Gentleman Jim (1942), Quiet Please: Murder (1942), Over My Dead Body (1942), The Hard Way (1943), and The Meanest Man in the World (1943).

Stardom

At 20, he appeared in the World War II morale booster Stage Door Canteen, where he played a star struck serviceman with theater actress and producer Katharine Cornell.

McCallister leapt to fame playing the lead as Sparke in the horse-racing tale Home in Indiana (1944), also starring Walter Brennan and Jeanne Crain. This led to a contract with 20th Century Fox.[1] He followed it with Winged Victory (1944) but then his career momentum was interrupted by war service.

Growing only to 5'6" he found it difficult to find roles as an adult. He appeared with Edward G. Robinson in 1947's The Red House and had the star role in Thunder in the Valley (1947), and supported June Haver in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948).[2]

McCallister had the lead in another animal story The Big Cat (1949) and co-starred with Shirley Temple in The Story of Seabiscuit (1949). He was in The Boy from Indiana (1950).

Television

McCallister began appearing on TV in episodes of Suspense ("Lunch Box", "Collector's Item"), and Lux Video Theatre ("Down Bayou DuBac").

He had the lead in Sam Katzman's A Yank in Korea (1951) and a Western, Montana Territory (1952) but was mostly in TV: Tales of Tomorrow ("Verdict from Space"), "The Last Man on Earth", ("Enemy Unknown"), The Ford Television Theatre ("My Daughter's Husband"), Schlitz Playhouse ("Operation Riviera"), and Footlights Theater ("My Daughter's Husband"). His last feature film was Combat Squad (1953).

Post-acting career

In 1953, at the age of 30, he retired from acting. Later in life he became a successful real estate manager. After retirement, he still appeared in two television series, as Coley Wilks in the 1961 episode "The Hostage" of the ABC western series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams, and as Willie in the 1963 episode "Triple Indemnity" of the CBS sitcom, The New Phil Silvers Show.[3]

Personal life

It is well known that he had an amorous idyll with actor William Eythe for many years, until W. Eythe 's death in 1957.[4]

Lon McCallister died from congestive heart failure at the age of 82.

Filmography

Lon McCallister (center) with Michael Harrison and Katharine Cornell in Stage Door Canteen (1943)

References

  1. ↑ "The SCREEN". The Mercury. CLVIII (22, 780). Tasmania, Australia. 4 December 1943. p. 12. Retrieved 30 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Hollywood REPORTS". Lithgow Mercury (CITY ed.). New South Wales, Australia. 13 January 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 30 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Lon McCallister". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ Mann, William (2001). Behind the screen: how gays and lesbians shaped Hollywood, 1910–1969. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-03017-1.
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