Joseph Calleia

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Joseph Calleia


imagesize = 250px
caption = from the trailer for the film
"After the Thin Man" (1936).
birthdate = August 4, 1897
location = Saqqajja Square, Rabat, Malta
deathdate = October 31, 1975, age 78
deathplace = Sliema, Malta
birthname = Giuseppe Maria Spurrin-Calleja

Joseph Calleia (August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975), was a Maltese singer, composer, and actor, both on Broadway and in film. Calleia played against 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.

Early years

Joseph Calleia was born at Saqqajja Square, Rabat, Malta, to Pasquale and Elena Calleja. He left Malta in 1914, 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.

Broadway

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:

*"Broadway" at the Broadhurst Theatre, September 16, 1926 to February 11, 1928, as "Joe, a waiter" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=10121 "Broadway" at Internet Broadway Database] ]
*"The Front Page" at Times Square Theatre, August 14, 1928 to April 1929, as "Kruger (Journal of Commerce)" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=10656 "The Front Page" at "ibid".] ]
*"The Last Mile" at Sam H. Harris Theatre, February 13, 1930 to circa October 1930, as "Tom D'Amoro" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11052 "The Last Page" at "ibid".] ]
*"Grand Hotel" at the National Theatre, November 13, 1930 to December 1931, as "the chauffeur" ,and general stage manager [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11262 Internet "Grand Hotel" at "ibid"] ]
*"Honeymoon" at Little Theatre, December 23, 1932 to circa. February 1933, as "Nicola" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11547 "Honeymoon" at "ibid"] ]
*"Ten Minute Alibi" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, October 17, 1933 to January 1934, as "the hunter" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11769 "Ten Minute Alibi" at "ibid"] ]
*"Small Miracle" at John Golden Theatre, September 26, 1934 to January 1935, as "Tony Mako" [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11919 "Small Miracle" at "ibid"] ]

Hollywood

By 1931, Calleia had landed an MGM contract in Hollywood, where he successfully pursued a career in the film industry, appearing in a total of 57 movies between then and 1955, frequently playing cops or villains in gangster and western films. He made his screen debut in 1935 with appearances in two B-films: "His Woman" (1931) and "The Girl in the Cab" (1933). He very quickly made his mark, playing the role of a criminal in "Public Hero No. 1", followed by "Riff Raff" (1935) in which he played a womanizer, co-starring with Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney.

In 1936, Calleia wrote the screenplay for the western take on Robin Hood with "The Robin Hood of El Dorado".

elected filmography

*"After the Thin Man" (1936) — Dancer, owner of the Lichee Club
*"The Bad Man of Brimstone" (1938) — Portuguese Ben
*"Algiers" — Inspector Slimane
*"Five Came Back" (1939) — Vasquez, the anarchist
* "Juarez" (1939) — Alejandro Uradi
*"Golden Boy" — Eddie Fuseli
*"My Little Chickadee" (1940) — Jeff Badger
*"The Glass Key" (1942) — Nick Varna
*"For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943) — El Sordo
*"The Cross of Lorraine" (1943)
*"Gilda" (1946) — Detective Maurice Obregon
*"Deadline at Dawn" (1946) — Val Bartelli
*"Lured" (1947)
* "Captain Carey, U.S.A." (1950) — Dr. Lunati
* "Vendetta" (1950) — Mayor Guido Barracini
*"Valentino" (1951) — Luigi Verducci
*"The Light Touch" (1952) — Lt. Massiro
*"The Caddy" (1953) — Papa Anthony
*"Underwater" (1955) — Rico Herrera
*"The Littlest Outlaw" (1955) — Padre
*"Hot Blood" (1956) — Papa Theodore
*"Touch of Evil" (1958) — Police Sergeant Pete Menzies
*"The Alamo" (1960) — Juan Seguín

Awards

Calleia received the Critics' Award for his performance in the 1938 John Cromwell film "Algiers".

Retirement

He retired in 1963 in Malta, died in Sliema on October 31, 1975, and was buried in the family vault at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola, Malta. He was posthumously honoured by the Malta postal authority with a set of two commemorative stamps issued in his memory in 1997. In October 2005, a monument consisting of a bust of Joseph Calleia on the initiative of Eman Bonnici, aged 17, was erected in front of the house where Calleia was born, in Rabat. The work was done gratis by sculptor Anton Agius.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=60728 Joseph Spurin-Calleia at The Internet Broadway Database]

Persondata
NAME= Calleia, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Spurrin-Calleja, Giuseppe Maria
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= August 4, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH= Saqqajja Square, Rabat, Malta
DATE OF DEATH= October 31, 1975, age 78
PLACE OF DEATH= Sliema, Malta