Best Westerns Series: Rory Calhoun
The ruggedly handsome Rory Calhoun made a name for himself in Hollywood as a brooding cowboy in ’50s Westerns. He appeared in such films as Apache Territory, Domino Kid, River of No Return, Utah Blaine and Way of the Gaucho.
Born in 1922 in Los Angles as Francis McCown and raised in Santa Cruz by Irish Catholic parents (his father Floyd was a professional gambler), he was sent to reform school at 13 for stealing a gun and by 17 was arrested for robbery and sentenced to three years in jail, which he served in Oklahoma.
He told gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in 1957:
“I guess you could classify me as a thief with a pure joy of stealing. I enjoyed it because I knew I was doing something that I shouldn’t be doing.”
Reformed, McGown headed to Hollywood where Alan Ladd got him a screen test with producer David O. Selznick who dubbed him Rory because he was a Leo and “Leos are lions, and lions roar.” The up-and-coming actor was offered three possible surnames; he selected Calhoun. (And that’s how Hollywood names were born.)
Calhoun began his acting career with parts in movies like Adventure Island and Massacre River in the late-’40s. In 1979, he reflected about his career:
“By and large, I suppose my image is Western. If the two or three dozen Western features I…
