To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > People April 29, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/people/obit/1999/04/29/calhoun Rory Calhoun The cowboy actor, who starred in "The Yellow Tomahawk" and CBS's "The Texan," rides into the sunset. - - - - - - - - - - - - Associated Press Rory Calhoun, the stalwart hero of western movies and the TV series "The Texan," died Wednesday at the age of 76. He had been hospitalized with advanced emphysema and diabetes. The actor, whose real name was Francis Timothy Durgin, made the most of his chiseled face and sturdy physique playing supporting roles in early movies such as "Something for the Boys," "Sunday Dinner for a Soldier," "The Bullfighters" and other wartime films. But it was his portrayal of boxer James Corbett in "The Great John L." and collaboration with agent Henry Wilson -- who discovered and invented names for Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and Troy Donahue -- that launched Mr. Calhoun's career as a leading man. Mr. Calhoun starred in westerns such as "Massacre River," "The Yellow Tomahawk" and "Four Guns to the Border." In the late '40s and early '50s, he also appeared in "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Meet Me After the Show" and "With a Song in My Heart." From 1958 to 1960, Mr. Calhoun moved to the small screen, starring as Big Bill Longley, a fast gun who traveled from town to town helping the victims of bad men, in the CBS western, "The Texan." In his later career, Mr. Calhoun appeared in lower budget films, many of them made abroad. From 1982 to 1987, he appeared on the CBS soap opera "Capitol." He also hosted reruns of "Death Valley Days" in the syndicated "Western Star Theater." salon.com | April 29, 1999