Rory Calhoun Movies and Career Information

Rory Calhoun (August 8, 1922 – April 28, 1999) was an American television and film actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for his roles in Westerns. Born Francis Timothy McCown in Los Angeles, California, Calhoun spent his early years in Santa Cruz, California. The son of a professional gambler, he was of Irish and Spanish ancestry. He was only nine months old when his father died. Calhoun's mother remarried, and he occasionally went by Frank Durgin, using the last name of his stepfather. At age thirteen, he stole a revolver, for which he was sent to the California Youth Authority's Preston School of Industry reformatory at Ione, California. He escaped while in the adjustment center (jail within the jail). After robbing several jewelry stores, he stole a car and drove it across state lines. This made it a federal offense, and when he was recaptured, he was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary at Springfield, Missouri. After finishing his sentence, he was transferred to San Quentin prison on other charges. He remained there until he was paroled shortly before his twenty-first birthday. After his release from San Quentin, Calhoun worked at a number of jobs. In 1943,