‘Cat Ballou,’ Broadway’s ‘West Side Story’ actor Michael Callan dies

Silver screen star Michael Callan has died.

He was 86.

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Callan had a long career on the stage and screen, appearing in such movies as “Cat Ballou” and “Gidget Goes Hawaiian.” He also was in the original Broadway production of the classic “West Side Story,” Deadline reported.

Callan also had a long stint on the small screen in several guest roles in television hits such as “Dr. Kildare,” “That Girl” and “Murder, She Wrote,” according to his filmography on IMDB. He was still acting in the 2000s with appearances in 2006′s “The Still Life” and 2003′s “Stuck on You.”

But he was best known for his role as Clay Boone in “Cat Ballou” as an accused cattle rustler opposite Jane Fonda, his romantic interest in the film, and Lee Marvin, who won an Oscar for his performance.

Callan was born Martin Calinoff in Philadelphia on Nov. 22, 1935. He learned ballet, tap and acrobatics, the latter was taught to him by dancers who visited his father’s luncheonette exchanging lessons for free milkshakes.

Callan appeared on “Horn & Hardart’s Children’s Hour” as he grew up. At 15 he was a nightclub performer under the name Mickey Calin.

He went to New York after graduating high school and was cast in 1954′s “The Boy Friend,” which was the American debut of Julie Andrews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Talent agents saw him on Broadway and he eventually signed a seven-year contract with Columbia with a $650-a-week starting salary. Callan’s name was changed to his screen name — Michael Callan — by the company’s executives without his knowledge, the celebrity news outlet said.

Callan died Monday of pneumonia at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Campus in Woodland Hills, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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