Irish McCalla - The Final Years

IRISH McCALLA - THE FINAL YEARS
Page 4: The End

Several other actors moved to Prescott, Arizona, to live. One of them was Steve Reeves, a body builder who appeared in numerous Italian sword-and-sandal films in the late-50s and early-60s. Irish had seen Reeves working out at Muscle Beach, California in the late-1940s soon after she had arrived from rural Nebraska (see Page 1: California in the Modelling section for more details). He was the current holder of the Mr Universe title at the time and Irish's girlfriend had to explain to the Midwestern farm-girl, who had never seen a body builder before, that Reeves was not deformed.

Another actor that moved to Prescott was Dick Simmons, who had portrayed Sergeant Preston of the Yukon on television from 1955 to 1958. I am unaware of whether Irish and Simmons had known each other in California but they became very close friends while living in Prescott (see below).

Dick Simmons was born in St Paul, Minnesota in August 1913, studied at the University of Minnesota, where he acted in a few theatre productions and travelled the world working on freighters and tankers during the 1930s. He began appearing in feature films in 1937 and over the next sixteen years had roles in numerous B pictures like One Million B.C. (1940), Lady in the Lake (1947), and Glory Alley (1952). In 1953 he began working in television, which eventually led him to his most famous role, that of Sergeant Preston. The show was a half hour action adventure series set in the Yukon Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston was a Canadian Mounted Police officer who always got his man, thanks largely to assistance provided by his dependable husky, Yukon King, and his faithful steed, Rex. Simmons continued to work in television until the late-70s, appearing on shows like Rawhide (1959-66), Leave It To Beaver (1957-63), Perry Mason (1957-66), I Spy (1965-68) and The Brady Bunch (1969-74).

By the late-1990s Irish's health had deteriorated to the point where she was dependent on friends to drive her into town because of the loss of her peripheral vision, as discussed on Page 2: The Personal Appearances Circuit - Again. She had always been a very independent woman, and this reliance on others would have troubled her deeply. She had been operated on for brain tumours four times over a period of almost 30 years, commencing in 1969 (see Page 1: From Sheena to Professional Artist) and this recent development must have signaled to her that she would not be able to continue living in her isolated location indefinitely.

Bill Black reports that in their regular conversations he learned that the sale of Irish's artworks declined during the late-90s and she was forced to rely more heavily on the sale of memorabilia. However, her failing health prevented her from becoming involved in intensive promotional appearances at fan conventions and she had to be content with whatever mail order business came her way. Black never learned whether Irish was forced to vacate her home in the mountains, but he did learn that her condition deteriorated so quickly following unsuccessful surgery that she was transferred to a nursing home. Marianne Ohl Phillips, an old friend of Irish, told Frank Bonilla that each operation would have a lamentable effect on Irish's memory, but one source told him that towards the end Irish was unable to recognise friends. Dick Simmons, her faithful friend, visited her regularly and attended to her needs. It is sad to think that this may have been a very painful experience for him if Irish was unaware who he was. He obviously thought a lot of her and his selfless devotion to her care indicates he was an extraordinary individual.

I will let Bill Black have the last word: "How Irish must have hated the nursing home. It is my understanding that her stay there was relatively brief before she succumbed on February 1st of this year (2002). We can be thankful for that". She was 74.

TOP OF PAGE

PAGE 5: CONCLUSION

SOURCES
• Wikipedia online encyclopedia
• Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• Irish of the Jungle magazine, written and edited by Bill Black, Paragon Publications 2003
IMAGES
• The photo of Irish at a fan convention holding an early photo of herself as Sheena is from my private collection
LYNX
• Read a comprehensive filmography of Dick Simmons at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

HOME

IRISH BIOGRAPHY INTRO

SHEENA INTRO