Person Biography:
John Calley was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to a car salesman father. He attended Columbia University before serving in the Army. Calley started his career in the mail room at NBC and worked his way up to director of nighttime programming from 1951 to 1957.
Calley then moved to Henry Jaffe Enterprises, where he developed and produced musical programming. He later served as the radio and TV programming VP at Ted Bates Advertising Agency until 1960.
At Filmways, Calley developed or produced appealing fare, including Catch-22, The Americanization of Emily, The Cincinnati Kid, and The Loved One. When Warner Bros. merged with Filmways, Calley was promoted to executive VP of worldwide production and later rose to president and vice chairman.
In addition to All the President's Men, Calley's Warner Bros. years featured hits like Superman, Chariots of Fire, and Woodstock. However, after falling victim to an unhappy marriage and burnout, he dropped out of Hollywood for 10 years to pursue a quieter life.
Calley returned to the film industry in the 1990s, producing Merchant-Ivory's The Remains of the Day, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He then returned to the executive suite at United Artists, where he produced GoldenEye and Leaving Las Vegas.
Calley's greatest triumph came with The Birdcage, a comedy that grossed over $100 million. He then moved on to Sony Pictures Entertainment as president and COO, where he achieved another turnaround.
After retiring from executive duties, Calley returned to producing, working with director Mike Nichols on Closer, The Da Vinci Code, and Angels & Demons. He received the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in 2009.
John Calley died on September 13, 2011, at the age of 81, leaving behind a legacy as a brilliant and influential film executive who headed three major movie studios and produced dozens of popular and influential films.
