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Martin Harris Calinieff was born on the 22nd of November 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At age eleven, Michael Callan, known as Mickey to his close friends, was singing around the house. One day he asked his mother if he sounded like Frank Sinatra. She replied, "No, not really" and offered him singing lessons.
The singing lessons didn`t make Mickey sound like Sinatra but they did lead unexpected leaps in his future career. Included with his vocal training sessions were free dance lessons which he stuck with long after his voice had changed.
By age 15, Mickey was hoofing his way into local nightclubs. Two years later, he seemed to be following in the footsteps of his matinee idol, Gene Kelly, as he hoofed his way into the Royal Theatre in New York. He beat out 300 other kids to become the "swing boy" (even though he performed 27 times in seven months) for "The Boyfriend", starring 18-year old Julie Andrews in her Broadway debut.
From "The Boyfriend", Mickey and his dance partner, Grace Genteel, glided their way to the "Ed Sullivan Show" and "Chance of a Lifetime". Then, at the ripe old age of 21, he auditioned for legendary director/choreographer Jerome Robbins for the part which would become the chance of Mickey`s lifetime - the part of "Riff" in the original Broadway production of "Westside Story", Playing the leader of the Jets lead to meeting with talent agent led to meeting with talent, Joyce Selznick (who had discovered Tony Curtis and James Darren) and a seven year contact with Columbia`s leading man, Michael Callan, a name which stood out on movie theatre marquees.
Now nearly forty years after he came to Hollywood for his debut "They Came To Cordura" with Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, Michael`s career is still going strong. He has starred in nearly thirty feature films and guest starred in more than 20 television shows and movies of the week.
Michael has not only cobbled in such films as "Pepe" and "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" but has also flexed his comedic muscles in such cult classics as the whimsical British comedy, "You Must Be Joking" and the satire "Cat Ballou" with Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. He has also dazzled in such dramas as "The Victors" and "Lepke" with Tony Curtis and mesmerized audiences in the sci-fi adventure, Mysterious Island. In the late sixties, Michael even starred in his own top twenty television series "Occasional Wife". In the eighties, Michael starred in "Double Exposure" and took a behind the scenes role as the film`s producer. In recent years, Michael has also produced the hilarious hit musical "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah!" and has starred in films "The Last Road" and Leprechaun 3." He has also guest starred in Viper, The Adventures of Super Boy and E.R. For the past few years, Michael has returned to his theatre roots as he has toured Europe and the United States with international and regional groups performing "Killjoy, Love Letters, and Allen Ackborn`s "Absurd Person Singular."
Michael resides in California so he can be close to his two daughters, Dawn and Rebecca. He plays tennis, jogs , and plays an occasional game of backgammon with close friends. He`s still surprised and a little overwhelmed by the fact that old friends and fans still know him as Mickey.