30. He Became A Television Trailblazer
In 1958, studio boss Desi Arnaz handpicked Calhoun to co-produce and star in The Texan. The Monday-evening Western ran for 79 episodes and two solid years and could have gone on for longer if Calhoun hadn’t yearned to return to the big screen. In the meantime, however, he focused on his marriage.
Desilu Sales Inc., Hollywood, Wikimedia Commons
31. He Expanded His Family
That same year, 1958, proved to be a big year for Calhoun. On top of his television success, he became a father once again. He and his wife, Lita Baron, welcomed their second daughter, Tami. However, Calhoun was about to prove that he was one bronco that couldn’t be tamed.
Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, Wikimedia Commons
32. He Had A Secret Set Romance
While filming The Texan, Calhoun began a secret affair with the actress Vitina Marcus. But it didn’t stay secret for long. The romance, lasting just seven months, burst out into the open when Marcus gave birth to their daughter, Athena Marcus Calhoun. The affair, however, only seemed to improve Calhoun’s bad boy reputation.
33. He Earned Two Stars In Hollywood
By 1960, Calhoun’s name was literally written in stone—or brass, to be exact. For his work in both film and television, he received not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But no amount of fame or fortune could protect him from real-life bad guys.
Photographer not credited, Wikimedia Commons
34. He Was The Victim—Not The Villain
In 1961, Calhoun traveled to Spain to film The Colossus of Rhodes. But he ended up coming back home with less than he had traveled with. His Spanish adventure turned sour when robbers made off with his belongings during production. For once, the former outlaw was the victim, not the villain.
His fortunes were beginning to turn.
Screenshot from The Colossus of Rhodes, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1961)
35. He Lost Out On A Legendary Role
Calhoun nearly landed one of television’s most iconic parts: James West in The Wild Wild West. Unfortunately, the show’s producers hadn’t been too impressed with his screen test and went with Robert Conrad instead. It was a rare miss for Calhoun—but in true cowboy fashion, he rode on unfazed.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
36. He Called On An Old Friends
By 1969, Calhoun had traded film sets for footlights. He called on his former co-star and good friend Betty Grable to headline a Western musical called “Belle Starr”, which he planned to produce for London’s West End. During production, however, his personal life unraveled.
Movie studio, Wikimedia Commons
37. He Had Affairs—Lots Of Them
Instead of grabbing headlines for his role in producing “Belle Starr”, Calhoun was getting attention for the shocking revelations in his personal life. In June 1969, his wife, Baron, filed for divorce. And she had good reasons—79 of them, to be exact. In the proceedings, Baron claimed that Calhoun had had affairs with 79 women, including Grable.
Calhoun’s response to the accusation was telling.
38. His Wife Was Only Telling Half The Story
When reporters asked Calhoun about his wife’s explosive claims, he didn’t dodge the question—he doubled down on it. “Heck,” he said with a grin, “she didn’t even include half of them”. Even so, both Calhoun and Grable denied ever having an affair. That, at least, appeared to be the truth.
Photographer not credited, Wikimedia Commons
39. He Left His Partner High And Dry
Whatever goodwill remained between Calhoun and Grable didn’t last. When “Belle Starr” flopped, Calhoun and his business partner allegedly skipped town—and dodged their bills. Calhoun didn’t pay Grable or the chorus members their final week’s wages. The fallout ended their friendship.
His marriage wouldn’t last much longer.
Studio Publicity, Wikimedia Commons
40. He Paid The Price For His Past
After 21-one years of marriage, Calhoun and Baron went their separate ways. And, for a time, Calhoun hung up his hat, not appearing in any films or television shows. But it wasn’t because of a broken heart. “I figured the more I worked, the more alimony I had to pay her,” Calhoun told The New York Times. “So I stayed idle”.
But not single.
41. He Went Down Under In London
Calhoun might not have been working on camera—but he was working in the bedroom. On April 19, 1971, he married Sue Rhodes. He had first met the Australian journalist when she interviewed him while he was in London. Rhodes, it seemed, was the only woman who could wrangle Calhoun. For a time.
42. He Had One Last Family Ride
Calhoun and Rhodes welcomed a daughter, Rory Patricia, before their relationship hit a rough patch. The couple divorced in 1979 after eight turbulent years together. True to form, Calhoun took the split in stride—by turning to a new creative outlet instead of a new romance.
43. He Tried His Hand At Writing
Like a true cowboy riding off into the sunset, Calhoun shifted gears in the late 1970s and began writing Western novels. His books The Man From Padera (1979) and Cerrado (1980) drew on his trademark mix of grit, charm, and gruffness. A little time alone with his own thoughts might actually have been exactly what he needed.
44. He Married His Ex-Wife
Just when it seemed like Calhoun was a true lone ranger, he surprised the entire world. In 1982, after a few years of being divorced, Calhoun rode back into town and got married. Again. To the same woman. He and Rhodes rekindled their romance and the second time was the charm as they remained married for the rest of his life.
45. He Found Redemption On Daytime TV
1982 was the year that Calhoun righted old wrongs. Not only did he remarry Rhodes, but he landed a steady gig on CBS’s Capitol, playing the stern but sympathetic Judge Judson Tyler. Ironically, he had almost passed on the role but his family convinced him to take it, reminding him that he regretted not having taken a role in Dallas.
Pretty soon, he was saying, “Yes,” to everything.
46. He Became A Cult Movie Legend
To a new generation of moviegoers and TV watchers, Calhoun was no longer the Western heartthrob of the 1950s. He managed to transition into a new phase of his career. Throughout the 70s and 80s, he racked up credits in cult favorites like Night of the Lepus, Motel Hell, Avenging Angel, and Hell Comes to Frogtown.
47. He Raised A Star Of His Own
Calhoun didn’t pass along much to his children. Except, that is, for his roguish goodlooks. Calhoun’s daughter, Athena Marcus Calhoun from his affair with Vitina Marcus, followed her father into showbiz as a showgirl. And not just any showgirl. In Paris, she was crowned “The World’s Most Beautiful Showgirl” and awarded “The Key to the City of Las Vegas”.
Even the best rides, however, have to come to an end.
48. He Rode Into His Final Role
After a career spanning nearly five decades, Calhoun had his final on-screen appearance in Pure Country in 1992. As the grizzled rancher Ernest Tucker, Calhoun proved that he still had something special. In fact, Calhoun’s performance was so magnetic that critics called him “the best thing in the film”. Oddly, Calhoun was never that kind to himself.
49. He Was His Own Harshest Critic
Despite his fame and success, Calhoun wasn’t blinded by it. In fact, he was strangely humbled by it. In a 1959 interview, he confessed that out of all his movies, only two—With a Song in My Heart and How to Marry a Millionaire—were truly good. “The rest,” he admitted, “were terrible”. True or not, he deserved to ride off into the sunset at last.
20th Century Fox, Wikimedia Commons
50. He Fought Until The End
Calhoun spent his final days in the hospital battling emphysema and diabetes. Then, on April 28, 1999, at the age of 76, he passed on at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The onetime outlaw, the heartthrob, the cowboy—Rory Calhoun—had taken his final ride into the sunset. It was, however, the best ride of his life.
51. He Was Just A Kid Again
Reflecting on his career in 1979, Calhoun summed himself up best: “By and large, I suppose my image is Western. If the two or three dozen Western features I made didn't do it, the 79 episodes of my television series, The Texan, certainly set it…I always enjoyed putting on the hat, strapping on the [revolver] and feeling like a kid again”.
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