Michael Callan, 'Murder, She Wrote' and 'West Side Story' Actor, Dead at 86

By Allison Schonter

Michael Callan, the actor and dancer who portrayed Riff in the original Broadway production of West Side Story and is also known for his appearance in Murder, She Wrote, has died. Callan passed away of pneumonia at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California on Monday night, his daughter, Rebecca Goodman, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 86.

Born in Philadelphia in November 1935, Callan's talents began early, and he studied ballet and tap and also learned acrobatics in exchange for free milkshakes from dancers who frequented his father's luncheonette. By the age of 15, Callan, who was a regular on the local radio program Horn & Hardart's Children's Hour, was performing in local nightclubs, billed as Mickey Calin. His career took off after he moved to New York after graduating high school and got a small part in The Boy Friend in 1954. After appearing in that and Catch a Star!, Callan landed one of the most memorable roles of his career – Riff, the leader of the Jets, in the original production of West Side Story from 1957-1959.

Callan went on to sign a seven-year deal with Columbia in 1958, which led to him landing starring roles in They Came to Cordura co-starring Gary Cooper in 1959, the lead in The Flying Fontaines that same year, Gidget Goes Hawaiian opposite Deborah Walley and James Darren in 1960, Mysterious Island in 1961, and The Interns in 1962, per Deadline. He returned to play Dr. Alec Considine again in The New Interns in 1964 before starring as Clay Boone in Cat Ballou opposite Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin.

Callan also had a bustling career on the small screen. He appeared as the lead in the TV series Occasional Wife from Screen Gems, which ran for 30 episodes over two seasons, and also appeared on the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. His other TV credits include Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Love, American Style, Police Story, Barnaby Jones, S.W.A.T., Quincy M.E., Hunter, The Bionic Woman, Vega$, Charlie's Angles, Simon & Simon, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, E/R, T.J. Hooker, One Life to Live, Hardcastle and McCormick, Knight Rider, and Murder, She Wrote.

Callan is survived by his daughters, Rebecca and Dawn, whom he shared with his first wife, Carlyn Chapman, sisters Sheri and Sandy, grandchildren Michael, Ella and Asher, and a close companion at the MPTF home, Susan.

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