Joseph Calleia Movies and Career Information

Joseph Calleia (August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975), was a Maltese born American singer, composer, 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, Jane Russell, Mario Lanza, Charlton Heston, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Orson Welles, Tyrone Power, Alan Ladd and Anthony Quinn. Born at Saqqajja Square, Rabat, 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. 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: By 1931, Calleia had landed an MGM contract in Hollywood, where he successfully pursued a career in the