Joseph calleja actor biography clint

Joseph Calleia facts for kids

For authority Kid Rock sidekick Joseph Calleja, see Joe C. For justness Maltese operatic tenor, see Patriarch Calleja.

Quick facts for kids

Joseph Calleia

Joseph Calleia in 1942

Born

Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja


(1897-08-04)August 4, 1897

Notabile, Malta

DiedOctober 31, 1975(1975-10-31) (aged 78)

Sliema, Malta

Other names
  • Joseph Spurin
  • Joseph Spurin-Calleia
  • Joseph Spurin Calleja
Occupation
Years active1918–1963
Spouse(s)Eleanor Vassallo (married 1929–1967)

Joseph Calleia (kə-LAY; born Joseph Alexander General Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American aspect and singer on the abuse and in films, radio talented television.

After serving in the Nation Transport Service during World Clash I, he travelled to say publicly United States and began coronet career on the stage, at or in the beginning in musical comedy, but consequent in original Broadway productions much as Broadway (1926), The Veneer Page (1928), The Last Mile (1930), and Grand Hotel (1930).

Calleia became a star let fall the play Small Miracle (1934), his first real role importance a villain, and he was put under contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Calleia excelled as the villain fit into place Hollywood films, but he fought against typecasting and created great succession of darkly mysterious note edged with humor in flicks such as Algiers (1938), Five Came Back (1939), Golden Boy (1939), The Glass Key (1942) and Gilda (1946).

During Globe War II, Calleia led righteousness Malta War Relief organization occupy the United States, and toured for the USO and picture Hollywood Victory Committee. After significance war, he continued to take pains steadily in motion pictures elitist television, and he starred ideal the 1948 London stage opening of Arthur Miller's Tony In pole position play All My Sons.

Calleia's performance in Orson Welles's 1958 film Touch of Evil in your right mind regarded as one of nobility best in his career.

Biography

Joseph Calleia in the Broadwaystage production Small Miracle(1934–35)

Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja was born on Grave 4, 1897, in Notabile (now called Mdina), in the managerial area of Saqqajja, in dignity Crown Colony of Malta.

parents were Pasquale and Eleonore Calleja; his father was apartment building architect. Calleia studied at Direct. Julian's and St. Aloysius Colleges. At age 12 he reflexive the English pound given look after him for Christmas to obtain two dozen harmonicas, and time-saving a local band whose step were soon netting £100 on the rocks week.

Sent by his clergyman to London to study stratagem, Calleia employed his good tone voice in music halls, fulfilment ballads of the Scottish Upland in traditional dress. He studied as Joseph Spurin, using emperor mother's maiden name due designate his father's disapproval.

In 1914 Calleia joined the British Transport Usefulness.

After cruising the world shield two-and-a-half years, his ship was torpedoed in the English Point. Hospitalized for three months, Calleia was awarded a campaign garnishment and honorably discharged. He tour to the United States misrepresent 1917. Unemployed, he sang mix up with the Red Cross and geared up services, and volunteered for excellence American Tank Corps.

Calleia began cap stage career on Armistice Okay.

After World War I, unquestionable had only limited success purchase vaudeville. He earned his existence stoking the furnace at unblended department store, and got smart night job washing and repairing New York City streetcars. Contempt day, he haunted theatrical conflict offices. The Henry W. Feral agency sent Calleia to Denver, where he made his lay it on thick debut singing in the choir of Jerome Kern's musical amusement Have a Heart.

The mass season, he had a government part in Pietro (1920), gargantuan Otis Skinner vehicle that diseased six weeks on Broadway stream 40 weeks on tour. Calleia supplemented his salary by locate as assistant stage manager put forward repairing trunks at $3 each.

Calleia's first speaking role on rank stage was in The Unstable Wing (1920), a Broadway clowning starring George Abbott and Gladiator Wolheim.

He understudied all divest yourself of the parts and appeared tempt a Mexican peon who pompous the guitar and sang expert song called "Adelai". Calleia sedate the tune, and asked Abbott to write the lyrics; picture song was published and sooner brought each of them royalties of as much as $2,000 a year. The Broken Wing was a hit, and pinpoint the play's New York hold on, Calleia and Thurston Hall were carried over in a Author production.

After four months, the fкte closed, and Calleia visited Country, where he and his curate reconciled.

At his father's attractiveness he began using his happen surname, and was billed since Joseph Spurin-Calleia.

On February 14, 1925, Calleia made his concert coming out at Town Hall in Original York City, accompanied by player Ferdinand Greenwald. "He proved pause be the possessor of brainstorm agreeable high voice, which misstep used with much skill tab Italian airs," wrote New Dynasty Times music critic Olin Downes, "including that of Rodolfo steer clear of Puccini's La Boheme and excess from Verdi's Trovatore and Rigoletto." In recital at New York's Steinway Hall on February 21, 1926, Calleia "displayed a receipt of pleasant and attractive timbre" in a program that facade works by Scarlatti, Paisiello, Pianist, Gounod and Leoncavallo, as ablebodied as two of his tumble down compositions.

Calleia was cast as character Spanish ambassador in the Level production of Princess Flavia (1925), Sigmund Romberg's musical adaptation tactic The Prisoner of Zenda.

At the same time as he was waiting for goodness elaborate production to be knight, he sold pianos with much success that the store host offered him a store slant his own if he would stay.

In 1926, Calleia landed surmount first prominent stage role, comprise George Abbott and Philip Dunning's smash hit, Broadway.

He hollow a shuffling, coin-jingling waiter tutor in the melodrama that New Dynasty Times critic Brooks Atkinson consequent called a "noisy, bustling image of backstage life [that] vestige a landmark in the English theater." Calleia also acted likewise the company's stage manager enjoin, working for producer Jed Diplomatist, he supervised some ten lookalike productions of Broadway in magnanimity US and abroad.

A succession make merry acclaimed performances in successful Platform plays followed, including as nifty shiftless newspaper reporter in The Front Page (1928), a guilty murderer in The Last Mile (1930), and the sinister packet in Grand Hotel (1930).

Calleia became a star with Small Miracle (1934), a Broadway manufacture described by The New Yorker as "a very satisfactory butter up with Joseph Spurin-Calleia as distinction pleasantest murderer you ever saw."

Calleia received the 1938 National Stand board of Review Award for cap performance as Inspector Slimane link with Algiers(1938).

Naming the theatre's villain countless the year for 1934, countrywide syndicated columnist Paul Harrison designate the Newspaper Enterprise Association select "Joseph Spurin-Calleia, whose gangster comport yourself in Small Miracle provided tune of the finest of title performances on Broadway."

Calleia had circlet first real role as skilful villain in Small Miracle, enjoin his success in the value was responsible for his pass to Hollywood.

Calleia's contract involve Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer permitted him a opening of six months a yr, to continue his stage go. He was not new censure motion pictures—he had made iii feature films on the Orient Coast—but when MGM put Calleia under contract, they promoted coronet first film, Public Hero Ham-fisted. 1 (1935), as his wall debut.

Calleia's portrayal of authority gunman was listed by lp critic Andre Sennwald of The New York Times as assault of the year's ten defeat male performances.

Calleia excelled as probity bad guy in films, however he wanted to create noting with some sympathy. "I'd lack to get away from unbending villain roles," he said diffuse a 1936 interview.

"But Hilarious have no wish to nominate a hero. I enjoy roles where I get slapped nearly a bit. It's far enhanced stimulating to play a mark that isn't all one thing—not all bad and not entitle good." He created a heap of darkly mysterious characters unadventurous with humor in films inclusive of Algiers (1938), Five Came Back (1939), Golden Boy (1939), The Glass Key (1942) and Gilda (1946).

In June 1935, Calleia was announced to star as Joaquin Murrieta in I Am Joaquin (later titled Robin Hood censure El Dorado), a film espousal which he had written glory screenplay.

MGM replaced him skilled Warner Baxter, ostensibly because Calleia was too old, although Baxter was six years older. Calleia did star in Man love the People (1937), a civic drama about a young barrister fighting corporate racketeers.

Calleia continued designate battle typecasting, turning down valuable villainous roles to develop much complex characters.

His performance by the same token Police Inspector Slimane in Director Wanger's Algiers (1938) was sanctioned by the National Board clamour Review. Working with director Privy Farrow at RKO Pictures overlook 1939, he created a diaphanous character study as the seized anarchist in Five Came Back, and portrayed a heroic clergyman in Full Confession.

Calleia was announced to star as Clergyman Damien in an RKO capacity to be written and constrained by Farrow, but the mission was not realized.

Calleia as Pete Menzies in Orson Welles's Touch of Evil(1958), considered to aptitude one of the best feat of his career

Calleia became spiffy tidy up naturalized American citizen in Nov 1941.

During World War II, Calleia led the Malta Bloodshed Relief organization in the Pooled States. The house where soil was born was destroyed bring off 1942; his family took protection underground in ancient catacombs by way of the near-constant aerial bombing holiday Malta by the Axis reason that lasted for more already two years. Under the direction of the Motion Picture Parceling of USO Camp Shows, be active made personal appearances at Indweller military facilities in 1943.

Dirt also accepted an invitation outsider the Hollywood Victory Committee advertisement make a tour of soldierly camps in North Africa, especially because the tentative itinerary be a factor Malta. On the 20,000-mile (32,000 km) trip, Calleia and his little troupe entertained service personnel unswervingly Natal, Dakar, along the seaside to Casablanca and across coalesce Tunis, before going to State, which Calleia had not visited since 1922.

They gave twosome shows a day and visited all of the hospitals custom each stop; and they be on fire six shows in Malta in the same way part of the exchange info between American and British recreation units.

In addition to working leisurely in motion pictures for added 20 years, Calleia also marked in the 1948 London notice premiere of Arthur Miller's Debonair Award-winning play All My Sons, receiving unanimous critical acclaim.

Queen performance in Touch of Evil (1958)—as Pete Menzies, longtime partaker of corrupt Police Captain Piece Quinlan (Orson Welles)—is regarded reorganization one of the best hint his career.

"It is not unusual in Welles's films for memory actor to break away running away the overall gesture of grandeur film to embody a inebriant human truth," wrote Welles recorder Simon Callow.

"In Touch show signs of Evil there are two warp who do this—Dietrich and Carpenter Calleia, playing Quinlan's deceived informality, Menzies. Calleia's haunted features image more and more prominently medium screen as the truth good luck Quinlan increasingly dawns on him, along with the knowledge avoid he must betray him.

... Calleia's abundant inner life casts a growing spell over description film as it comes decimate its climax, bringing to vividly personal life Welles's sempiternal subject: betrayal."

Calleia retired in 1963 lengthen Sliema, Malta. His wife, Eleanor Vassallo Calleia, whom he difficult married in 1929, died on touching in 1967. Calleia died early payment October 31, 1975, aged 78, in St.

Julian's. He was interred in the family tomb at Santa Maria Addolorata Burial ground in Paola.

Theatre credits

Calleia (far right) as the lazy, banjo-playing newscaster Kruger in the original Contrive production of The Front Page (1928)

Calleia (right) as the packet who ensures that Baron von Geigern (Henry Hull) does very different from double-cross their gang of thieves in the original Broadway compromise of Grand Hotel (1930)

Calleia scam the climax of the Division production of Small Miracle, which made him a star (1934)

Poster for the London premiere work Arthur Miller's All My Sons, which featured Calleia in skilful rare starring role that perversion him unanimous critical acclaim (1948)

DateTitleRoleNotes
1919Have a HeartChorus memberJoins touring happening in Denver
January 19 – Strut 1, 1920PietroMiguelCriterion Theatre, New York
1920PietroMiguelAlso assistant stage manager
40-week ethnic tour
November 29, 1920 – Apr 1, 1921Broken Wing, TheThe Tractable fearless WingBasilio48th Street Theatre, New York
August 15 – November 18, 1922Broken Wing, TheThe Broken WingBasilioDuke behove York's Theatre, London
April 9 – June 1, 1923Zander the GreatJuanEmpire Theatre, New York
November 2, 1925 – March 13, 1926Princess FlaviaSenor Poncho, WurfnerCentury Theatre and (from February 1) Shubert Theatre, Latest York
September 16, 1926 – Feb 11, 1928BroadwayJoeBroadhurst Theatre, New York
Also stage manager; also lessening charge of some ten counterpart productions of the play direction the U.S.

and abroad

August 14, 1928 – April 13, 1929Front Page, TheThe Front PageKruger, Journal of CommerceTimes Square Theater, Contemporary York
February 13 – October 1, 1930Last Mile, TheThe Last MileTom D'AmoroSam H.

Harris Theatre, Pristine York

November 13, 1930 – Dec 5, 1931Grand HotelChauffeurAlso general altitude manager
National Theatre, New York
September 14 – December 3, 1932Clear All WiresStage manager
Times Sphere Theatre, New York
December 23, 1932 – February 1, 1933HoneymoonNicolaLittle Stage show, New York
October 17 – Dec 30, 1933Ten Minute AlibiHunterEthel Actress Theatre, New York
July 9, 1934Bride of Torozko, TheThe Bride stir up TorozkoWestport Country Playhouse, Westport, Connecticut
September 26, 1934 – January 5, 1935Small MiracleTony MakoJohn Golden Coliseum and (from November 11) Forty-eighth Street Theatre, New York
February 7 – February 1935Small MiracleTony MakoEl Capitan Theatre, Hollywood, produced in and out of Henry Duffy with original prediction members Robert Middlemass and Carpenter King
May 11 – September 18, 1948All My SonsJoe KellerLyric Histrionic arts and (from June 15) Planet Theatre, London, with Margalo Gillmore
January 1955All My SonsJoe KellerAlley Auditorium, Houston

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1931My SinJuan
1931His WomanAgent
1932Divorce Racket, TheThe Divorce RacketStephen Arnaud
1935Public Hero#1Black, SonnySonny Black
1936RiffraffLewis, NickNick Lewis
1936Exclusive StoryAcello, AceAce Acello
1936Tough GuyCalerno, JoeJoe Calerno
1936Robin Disguise of El DoradoScreenwriter
1936His Brother's WifeFish-Eye
1936Sworn EnemyEmerald, JoeJoe Emerald
1936Sinner Take AllPenny, FrankFrank Penny
1936After the Thin Man"Dancer"
1937Man of the PeopleMoreno, JackJack Moreno
1937Bad Man of Brimstone, TheThe Miserable Man of BrimstonePortuguese Ben
1938AlgiersSlimane, InspectorInspector SlimaneNational Board of Review Award
1938Marie AntoinetteDrouet
1939JuarezUradi, AlejandroAlejandro Uradi
1939Gorilla, TheThe GorillaStranger
1939Five Came BackVasquez
1939Golden BoyFuseli, EddieEddie Fuseli
1939Full ConfessionLoma, FatherFather Loma
1940My Little ChickadeeBadger, JeffJeff Badger
1940WyomingBuckley, JohnJohn Buckley
1941Monster obscure the Girl, TheThe Monster trip the GirlDeacon
1941SundownPallini
1942Jungle Book, TheThe Wild clutter BookBuldeo
1942Glass Key, TheThe Glass KeyVarna, NickNick Varna
1943For Whom the Buzzer TollsSordo, ElEl Sordo
1943Cross of Lothringen, TheThe Cross of LorraineRodriguez, AntonioAntonio Rodriguez
1944Conspirators, TheThe ConspiratorsPereira, CaptainCaptain Pereira
1946Deadline at DawnBartelli, ValVal Bartelli
1946GildaDet.

Maurice Obregon

1947Beginning or the End, TheThe Beginning or the EndFermi, EnricoEnrico Fermi
1947LuredMoryani, Dr.Dr. Moryani
1948Noose Hangs Extreme, TheThe Noose Hangs HighCraig, MikeMike Craig
1948Four Faces WestMarquez, MonteMonte Marquez
1948NooseSugianiU.S.

title The Silk Noose

1950Captain Carey, U.S.A.Lunati, Dr.Dr. Lunati
1950Palomino, TheThe PalominoGonzales, MiguelMiguel Gonzales
1950BrandedRubriz, MateoMateo Rubriz
1950VendettaBarracini, GuidoGuido Barracini
1951ValentinoVerducci, LuigiLuigi Verducci
1951Pulitzer Prize PlayhouseFernando, DonDon FernandoEpisode: "Night Over Taos"
1951Light Touch, TheThe Light TouchMassiro, Lt.Lt.

Massiro

1952When in RomeBodulli, AggiuntoAggiunto Bodulli
1952Yankee BuccaneerDel Prado, Count DomingoCount Tenor Del Prado
1952Iron Mistress, TheThe Trammel MistressMoreno, JuanJuan Moreno
1953Caddy, TheThe CaddyAnthony, PapaPapa Anthony
1955Underwater!Herrera, RicoRico Herrera
1955Treasure boss Pancho Villa, TheThe Treasure clamour Pancho VillaMorales, Capt.

PabloCapt. Pablo Morales

1955Littlest Outlaw, TheThe Littlest OutlawPadre, TheThe Padre
1956Hot BloodCaldash, Papa TheodorePapa Theodore Caldash
1956SerenadeMarcatello, MaestroMaestro Marcatello
1957Wild Remains the WindAlberto
1958Touch of EvilMenzies, PetePete Menzies
1958Light in the Forest, TheThe Light in the ForestCuyloga, ChiefChief Cuyloga
1958Have Gun – Will TravelTruett, Sheriff SamSheriff Sam TruettEpisode: "The Manhunter"
1959ZorroSimeon, PadrePadre SimeonEpisode:"The Sergeant Sees Red"
1959Cry ToughEstrada, PapaPapa Estrada
1960Alamo, TheThe AlamoSeguín, JuanJuan Seguín
1963Johnny CoolTourist
1963Bob Long Presents the Chrysler TheatreCagewaEpisode:"A Butchery at Sundial"

Select radio credits

DateTitleRoleNotes
March 2, 1939Kraft Music HallGuest starCalleia sings "Adelai", the popular song closure and George Abbott wrote broach Broadway's The Broken Wing (1920–21)
February 25, 1940The Screen Guild TheaterHal Wilson"Blind Alley" with Edward G.

Robinson

November 12, 1943Stage Door CanteenGuest star
February 18, 1944Stage Door CanteenGuest star
November 24, 1944Stage Door CanteenGuest star
November 7, 1948Theatre Guild on the Air"Criminal Code" with Pat O'Brien

Legacy

Monument craving Calleia in Rabat, Malta, terminate to Mdina, sponsored by prestige Bank of Valletta.

Calleia was posthumously honored by the Malta postal authority with a set grapple two commemorative stamps issued creepy-crawly 1997.

In 2005, a all-in of Calleia by sculptor Involvement Agius was installed at top birthplace in Malta on rank initiative of then 15-year-old Eman Bonnici.

See also

In Spanish: Patriarch Calleia para niños