Future Favorites — Joseph Calleia (1936) 🇺🇸
But don't get any mistaken ideas about him ... he is only that way on the screen ... Born on the Island of Malta, young Calleia was destined to become a business man and follow in his father's footsteps ... But Joe turned a deaf ear to his father's plans and organized a harmonica band with a group of youngsters ... The band made a hit, and proved to Joe that his fortunes lay in following the stage.
Joe Calleia was educated by priests but it was not until he entered St. Julian's College in Malta that he took to the stage in seriousness ... At St. Julian's, he studied singing and developed a marvelous tenor voice ...
After leaving college, he made a concert tour of continental Europe ... It was while he passed through England that he chanced to see Sir Harry Lauder ... The next day, Joe forgot all about singing and turned Scotch comedian ... He changed his name to that of his mother's family, Spurin, at the time, because his father objected to having a Scotch comedian in the family.
In 1918, Joe brought his Scotch act to America, but it proved to be a terrible flop. Joe then went to work in the car barns of New York. Then something happened ... By coincidence, he met stage producer Henry W. Savage and ended up with a part in his Have a Heart road company ... This led to other roles with other companies ...
Strange as it may seem, Joe was selected for several important roles on the stage because of his distinct Latin type, but at the same time, landed several important parts because of his ability to be a perfect Scotchman ... Between theatre jobs, he fired furnaces ...
It was not until Joe landed the starring part in Sin-all Miracle that he was seen by studio scouts ... Now he's playing "menace parts" ... The jobs he did in “Public Hero“ and “Tough Guy“ are enough to prove that he is on the way up in Hollywood! ...
He is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and has flashing black eyes and black hair ... He lives in a modest home in Beverly Hills and loves to play the piano for his friends ... He's a great golfer ... Joe says that he likes golf because of the Scotch in him ... There isn't any, however, Joe is a mixture of English, Italian, German and Spanish.
Collection: Motion Picture Magazine, October 1936
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