Herbert Alonzo "Lon" McCallister Jr. (April 17, 1923 – June 11, 2005) was an American actor. According to one obituary, he was best known for "playing gentle, boyish young men from the country."Obituaries: LON MCCALLISTER Anonymous. Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 399, Iss. 5, (Jun 20 – 26, 2005): 44. Another said he "had an ingenuous appeal that made him a favourite of family audiences, and was particularly at home in outdoor settings featuring dogs and horses. Ultimately his perennial boyishness and slight stature became a handicap for more mature roles."OBITUARY: LON MCCALLISTER; Actor of perennial boyishness: irst EditionVallance, Tom. The Independent July 1, 2005: 47.

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, Lon McCallister was the son of a real estate broker. He attended Marken Professional School, which trained children for show-business careers and began appearing in movies at the age of 13. He had uncredited appearances in '' Let's Sing Again'' (1936) and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (1936), directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...

who, gave McAllister a large close up, and became a friend.

Career

He was uncredited in '' Stella Dallas'' (1937), '' Souls at Sea'' (1937), '' Make a Wish'' (1937), ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (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 ''Confessions of a Nazi Spy'' is a 1939 American spy political thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak for Warner Bros. It was the first explicitly anti-Nazi film to be produced by a major Hollywood studio, being released in May 1939, four ...

'' (1939), ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work ...

'' (1939), '' First Love'' (1939), and '' Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President'' (1939). McCallister could also be glimpsed in ''

Susan and God ''Susan and God'' is a 1940 American comedy-drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer directed by George Cukor and starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March. The screenplay was written by Anita Loos and was based upon a 1937 play by Rachel Cr ...

'' (1940), '' Henry Aldrich for President'' (1941), ''

Dangerously They Live ''Dangerously They Live'' is a 1941 American World War II spy thriller film directed by Robert Florey and starring John Garfield, Nancy Coleman and Raymond Massey.Gelman p.100 The plot concerns Nazi spies who try to pry information out of a Briti ...

'' (1941), '' Always in My Heart'' (1942), ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical drama film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, Geo ...

'' (1942), ''

Spy Ship A spy ship or reconnaissance vessel is a dedicated ship intended to gather intelligence, usually by means of sophisticated electronic eavesdropping. In a wider sense, any ship intended to gather information could be considered a spy ship. Sp ...

'' (1942), ''

Night in New Orleans ''Night in New Orleans'' is a 1942 American crime film directed by William Clemens and loosely adapted by Jonathan Latimer from the 1940 novel ''Sing a Song of Homicide'' by James R. Langham. The film stars Preston Foster, Patricia Morison, Alb ...

'' (1942), ''

That Other Woman ''That Other Woman'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Ray McCarey, written by Jack Jungmeyer, and starring Virginia Gilmore, James Ellison, Dan Duryea, Janis Carter, Alma Kruger and Lon McCallister. It was released on November 13, 1942 ...

'' (1942), '' Gentleman Jim'' (1942), ''Quiet Please: Murder'' (1942), '' Over My Dead Body'' (1942), '' The Hard Way'' (1943), and ''

The Meanest Man in the World ''The Meanest Man in the World'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield, starring Jack Benny and Priscilla Lane, based upon a play that starred George M. Cohan, who produced it on Broadway and released by 20th Century F ...

'' (1943). Columnist

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

called him "the cutest boy the movies have hauled up out of obscurity since Mickey Rooney."

Stardom

At 20, he appeared in the World War II morale booster ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers w ...

'', where he played a star struck serviceman with theater actress and producer

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893 – June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by cri ...

. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said he stole the film with "his bashful smile and winning ways". McCallister leapt to fame playing the lead as Sparke in the horse-racing tale ''Home in Indiana'' (1944), also starring

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Come and Get It (1936 film), Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky (film), Kentucky'' (19 ...

and

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

. This led to a contract with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. He followed it with ''

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Niké of Samothrace'', is a Votive offering, votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Helleni ...

'' (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 June Haver (born Beverly June Stovenour; June 10, 1926 – July 4, 2005) was an American film actress, singer and dancer. Once groomed by 20th Century Fox to be "the next Betty Grable," Haver appeared in a string of Musical film, musicals, but sh ...

in '' Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!'' (1948). McCallister had the lead in another animal story '' The Big Cat'' (1949) and co-starred with

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

in '' The Story of Seabiscuit'' (1949). He was in ''The Boy from Indiana'' (1950).

Television

McCallister began appearing on TV in episodes of ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'' ("Lunch Box", "Collector's Item"), and ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...

'' ("Down Bayou DuBac"). He had the lead in

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financi ...

's '' A Yank in Korea'' (1951) and a Western, ''

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

'' (1952). However he was mostly seen in TV: ''

Tales of Tomorrow ''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''Frankenstein'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' ...

'' ("Verdict from Space"), "The Last Man on Earth", ("Enemy Unknown"), ''

The Ford Television Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

'' ("My Daughter's Husband"), ''

Schlitz Playhouse ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playh ...

'' ("Operation Riviera"), and '' Footlights Theater'' ("My Daughter's Husband"). His last feature film was '' Combat Squad'' (1953). McCallister and William Eythe were producers of the stage musical revue ''Lend an Ear'', which began at Los Angeles' Las Palmas Theater and launched

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

's career.

Post-acting career

In 1953, at the age of 30, McCallister retired from acting. Later, he became a successful real estate manager, wealthy from his investments. After retirement, he still appeared in two

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, as Coley Wilks in the 1961 episode "The Hostage" of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series, '' The Rebel'', starring Nick Adams; and as Willie in the 1963 episode "Triple Indemnity" of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, ''

The New Phil Silvers Show ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1 ...

''. In 1963 he said, "I'm happy. I'm doing what I want". In a 1992 interview, McCallister said, "Being a movie star was great, but I never considered doing it for a lifetime. I wanted to be myself, to go where I pleased without causing a traffic jam. I've succeeded in this, and I'm happy".LON McCALLISTER, 82 ''The Globe and Mail'' July 1, 2005: S.7.

Personal life

McCallister was a long time romantic partner of fellow actor William Eythe, up until Eythe's death in 1957. He died from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

at the age of 82.Obituary: Lon McCallister: Child and teen actor: 'the cutest boy the movies hauled up out of obscurity' Bergan, Ronald. The Guardian July 9, 2005: 21.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCallister, Lon 1923 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male child actors American gay actors LGBTQ people from California Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American LGBTQ people