Michael Callan
‘West Side Story’ star dead at 86
Michael Callan became a star thanks to “West Side Story”.
© imago/ZUMA Wire
Michael Callan, who became known on Broadway with the musical “West Side Story”, is dead. According to US media, he died at the age of 86.
The American actor, singer and dancer Michael Callan is dead. He passed away according to industry site The Hollywood Reporter last Monday (10 October) at the age of 86. Callan’s daughter, Rebecca Goodman, confirmed the news of her father’s death to the site.
Callan has been in show business for over 50 years. His breakthrough came in the 1950s in the famous Broadway play “West Side Story” by Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) and with the music of Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). Callan played the character Riff, the leader of the Jets street gang. The musical was first filmed in 1961, but actor Russ Tamblyn (87) mimed Callan’s Broadway part.
By his own admission, Callan had to audition several times before becoming the leader of the Jets. Allegedly he was “too handsome” for the role, as he revealed in a television interview in 2006. In the end he was able to convince Robbins.
Columbia Pictures signed him
“West Side Story” was Callan’s breakthrough in Hollywood. After about a year on Broadway, the film studio Columbia Pictures signed a multi-year contract with him. Among other things, he worked in the western “They Came to Cordura” (1959) alongside Gary Cooper (1901-1961) and Rita Hayworth (1918-1987), in 1960 he was awarded a Golden Globe for “The Flying Fontaines”. nominated. A year later he received the award for “Best Young Star of the Year” for “Because They’re Young”.
Another successful film with Callan appeared in 1965: “Cat Ballou”, a western comedy with Jane Fonda (84). From 1966 he played the leading role in the US sitcom “Occasional Wife”. Later in his career, Callan worked increasingly as a producer, his last on-camera appearance being in the 2006 film The Still Life.