Joseph Calleia
Encyclopedia
Joseph Calleia was a Maltese
born American
singer, composer, screenwriter and actor, both on Broadway
and in film. Calleia played opposite some Hollywood greats, including John Wayne
, William Holden
, Errol Flynn
, Rita Hayworth
, Mae West
, Bette Davis
, Orson Welles
, Jane Russell
, Alan Ladd
, Mario Lanza
, Charlton Heston
, Dean Martin
and Jerry Lewis
, Tyrone Power
, and Anthony Quinn
.
, Malta
, to Pasquale and Elena Calleja, he was educated at St Julian's and St Aloysius colleges in Malta. He organised an harmonica band of boys which earned him sufficient money so that he left Malta
in 1914, aged 17, and began his career touring Europe as a teenage singer with a harmonica band, appearing in the cafés and music halls of many war-torn and weary capital cities. He later went to New York as a singer and then turned to drama.
He made his screen debut in 1935 with appearances in two B-films: His Woman (1931) and The Girl in the Cab (1933). He very quickly made his mark, playing the role of a criminal in Public Hero No. 1, followed by Riff Raff (1935) in which he played a womanizer, co-starring with Jean Harlow
, Spencer Tracy
and Mickey Rooney
. In 1936, Calleia wrote the screenplay for the western take on Robin Hood
with The Robin Hood of El Dorado. In 1943, he played El Sordo in For Whom The Bell Tolls
.
film Algiers
.
, Malta
on October 31, 1975, aged 78. He was interred in the family vault at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola
.
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, composer, screenwriter and actor, both on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and in film. Calleia played opposite some Hollywood greats, including John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
, Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
, Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
, and Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
.
Early years
Born at Saqqajja Square, RabatRabat, Malta
Rabat is a village just outside Mdina, Malta. The name of the village is derived from the Arabic word for 'suburb': الرباط, as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. Half of the present-day village core also formed part of the Roman city of Melita, before the latter was resized during the...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, to Pasquale and Elena Calleja, he was educated at St Julian's and St Aloysius colleges in Malta. He organised an harmonica band of boys which earned him sufficient money so that he left Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in 1914, aged 17, and began his career touring Europe as a teenage singer with a harmonica band, appearing in the cafés and music halls of many war-torn and weary capital cities. He later went to New York as a singer and then turned to drama.
Broadway
Although Calleia made over 50 films, he always claimed to enjoy stage performance to film acting. He was considered a "bright light" on Broadway between 1926 and 1945, and appeared in several hit plays, including:- BroadwayBroadway (play)Broadway is the title of a Broadway play produced by Jed Harris and written and directed by George Abbott and Philip Dunning. It was Abbott's first big hit on his way to becoming "the most famous play doctor of all time" after he "rejiggered" Dunning's play...
at the Broadhurst TheatreBroadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
, September 16, 1926 to February 11, 1928, as "Joe, a waiter" - The Front PageThe Front PageThe Front Page is a hit Broadway comedy about tabloid newspaper reporters on the police beat, written by one-time Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur which was first produced in 1928.-Synopsis:...
at Times Square TheatreTimes Square TheatreThe Times Square Theatre is a former Broadway theatre, located at 217 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, in New York City.-History:The Times Square Theatre was built in 1920 by the Selwyn brothers. It was one of three theatres they built and controlled on 42nd Street, including the Apollo and the Selwyn...
, August 14, 1928 to April 1929, as "Kruger (Journal of Commerce)" - The Last Mile at Sam H. Harris Theatre, February 13, 1930 to circa October 1930, as "Tom D'Amoro"
- Grand Hotel at the National Theatre, November 13, 1930 to December 1931, as "the chauffeur" ,and general stage manager
- Honeymoon at Little TheatreHelen Hayes TheatreHelen Hayes Theatre with 597 seats is the smallest Broadway theatre and is located at 240 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan....
, December 23, 1932 to circa. February 1933, as "Nicola" - Ten Minute Alibi at the Ethel Barrymore TheatreEthel Barrymore TheatreThe Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan, named for actress Ethel Barrymore....
, October 17, 1933 to January 1934, as "the hunter" - Small Miracle at John Golden TheatreJohn Golden TheatreThe John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...
, September 26, 1934 to January 1935, as "Tony Mako"
Hollywood
By 1931, Calleia had landed an MGM contract in Hollywood, where he successfully pursued a career in the film industry, appearing in a total of 57 movies between then and 1955, frequently playing cops or villains in gangster and western films.He made his screen debut in 1935 with appearances in two B-films: His Woman (1931) and The Girl in the Cab (1933). He very quickly made his mark, playing the role of a criminal in Public Hero No. 1, followed by Riff Raff (1935) in which he played a womanizer, co-starring with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
. In 1936, Calleia wrote the screenplay for the western take on Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
with The Robin Hood of El Dorado. In 1943, he played El Sordo in For Whom The Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As an expert in the use of explosives, he is assigned to blow up a...
.
Selected filmography
- After the Thin ManAfter the Thin ManAfter the Thin Man is a 1936 American film, starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and James Stewart, that is the sequel to the film The Thin Man. The movie presents Powell and Loy as Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles. The film was directed by W. S...
(1936) — Dancer, owner of the Lichee Club - RiffRaff (1936) - Nick Lewis
- Tough Guy (1936) - Joseph 'Joe' Calerno (Gangster)
- The Bad Man of BrimstoneThe Bad Man of BrimstoneThe Bad Man of Brimstone is a 1937 Western film starring Wallace Beery and Virginia Bruce, and directed by J. Walter Ruben. Beery's brother Noah Beery, Sr...
(1938) — Portuguese Ben - Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette (1938 film)Marie Antoinette is a 1938 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette...
— Drouet - AlgiersAlgiers (film)Algiers is a 1938 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr. The Walter Wanger production was a remake of the successful 1937 French film Pépé le Moko, which derived its plot from the Henri La Barthe novel of the same name...
— Inspector Slimane - Five Came BackFive Came BackFive Came Back is a 1939 melodrama and a precursor of the disaster film genre. The film was directed by John Farrow, photographed by renowned film noir cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, and written by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo and Nathanael West....
(1939) — Vasquez, the anarchist - JuarezJuarez (1939 film)Juarez is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie, John Huston, and Wolfgang Reinhardt is based on the novel The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel.-Plot:The film focuses on the conflict...
(1939) — Alejandro Uradi - Golden BoyGolden Boy (film)Golden Boy is a 1939 black-and-white Columbia Pictures drama film based on the Clifford Odets play of the same name. It features William Holden in the role that made him a star: a promising violinist who wants to be a boxer. Barbara Stanwyck plays his love interest. The supporting cast included Lee J...
— Eddie Fuseli - My Little ChickadeeMy Little ChickadeeMy Little Chickadee is a Universal comedy/western motion picture starring Mae West and W. C. Fields, with Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, George Moran, William B. Davidson, and Addison Richards. It was directed by Edward F. Cline...
(1940) — Jeff Badger - SundownSundown (film)Sundown is a 1941 war film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Bruce Cabot and Gene Tierney. The film's adventure story, set against a war backdrop was well received by critics, earning three Academy Award nominations and was a box office success....
(1941) - The Glass KeyThe Glass Key (1942 film)The Glass Key is a 1942 film noir, directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The story had previously been adapted for film in 1935.-Plot:...
(1942) — Nick Varna - The Jungle Book (1942) - Buldeo
- For Whom the Bell TollsFor Whom the Bell Tolls (film)For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 film in Technicolor based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. This was Ingrid Bergman's first technicolor film. Hemingway handpicked Cooper and Bergman for their roles. The film...
(1943) — El Sordo - The Cross of LorraineThe Cross of LorraineThe Cross of Lorraine is a 1943 war film about French prisoners of war held by the Germans in World War II. It stars Jean-Pierre Aumont and Gene Kelly and was adapted from Hans Habe's novel A Thousand Shall Fall.-Cast:*Jean-Pierre Aumont as Paul...
(1943) - GildaGildaGilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth , and...
(1946) — Detective Maurice Obregon - Deadline at DawnDeadline at DawnDeadline at Dawn is a 1946 film noir, the only film directed by stage director Harold Clurman. It was written by Clifford Odets and based on a novella by Cornell Woolrich . The RKO Radio Picture was the only cinematic collaboration between Clurman and his former Group Theatre associate,...
(1946) — Val Bartelli - LuredLuredLured is the title of a film noir released by United Artists, directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Boris Karloff, Charles Coburn, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.-Plot:...
(1947) - Four Faces WestFour Faces WestFour Faces West is a 1948 Western film starring Joel McCrea, his real-life wife Frances Dee, and Charles Bickford. It is based on the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes...
(1948) - Captain Carey, U.S.A.Captain Carey, U.S.A.Captain Carey, U.S.A. is a 1950 drama film starring Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, and Francis Lederer. An American returns to post-World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice.The film was based on the novel No Surrender by Martha Albrand...
(1950) — Dr. Lunati - Vendetta (1950) — Mayor Guido Barracini
- Valentino (1951) — Luigi Verducci
- The Light Touch (1952) — Lt. Massiro
- The CaddyThe CaddyThe Caddy is a 1953 American film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from November 24, 1952 through February 23, 1953. It was released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953...
(1953) — Papa Anthony - Underwater!Underwater!Underwater! is a 1955 adventure film directed by John Sturges and starring Jane Russell and Richard Egan.-Plot synopsis:Johnny and his wife Theresa , along with mercenary Dominic Quesada , priest Father Cannon and Gloria , the boat owner, go searching for sunken treasure in the Caribbean...
(1955) — Rico Herrera - The Littlest Outlaw (1955) — Padre
- The Treasure of Pancho VillaThe Treasure of Pancho VillaThe Treasure of Pancho Villa is a 1955 western film directed by George Sherman and starring Rory Calhoun, Shelly Winters and Gilbert Roland...
(1955) — Pablo Morales - Hot Blood (1956) — Papa Theodore
- Touch of EvilTouch of EvilTouch of Evil is a 1958 American crime thriller film, written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson...
(1958) — Police Sergeant Pete Menzies - The AlamoThe Alamo (1960 film)The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic released by United Artists. The film was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The cast also includes Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B...
(1960) — Juan SeguínJuan SeguínJuan Nepomuceno Seguín was a 19th-century Texas Senator, Mayor, Judge, and Justice of the Peace and a prominent participant in the Texas Revolution.-Early life and family:...
Awards
Calleia received the Critics' Award for his performance in the 1938 John CromwellJohn Cromwell (director)
Elwood Dager Cromwell , known as John Cromwell, was an American film actor, director and producer.-Biography:...
film Algiers
Algiers (film)
Algiers is a 1938 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr. The Walter Wanger production was a remake of the successful 1937 French film Pépé le Moko, which derived its plot from the Henri La Barthe novel of the same name...
.
Retirement
Calleia retired in 1963 and died in SliemaSliema
Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
on October 31, 1975, aged 78. He was interred in the family vault at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola
Paola, Malta
Paola, , is a town in the Grand Harbour area of Malta, with a population of 8,856 people . It is named after its founder, the Grandmaster Antoine de Paule, but is commonly known as Raħal Ġdid, which means new town in Maltese.Paola is renowned for its shopping centres, Good Friday procession, its...
.