Robert Calhoun(1930-2008)

Born November 24, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, Robert Calhoun graduated from the University of Maryland then went on to serve three years in the US Navy. His early work in the theater included a stint as production supervisor for Eva Le Gallienne's National Repertory Theater, during productions of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," where he met his lifelong partner, the actor Farley Granger, in 1963. Calhoun subsequently moved to Southern California, where he worked on early productions at the Mark Taper Forum. In 1970, Calhoun moved to Italy with Granger, and spent several years living in Rome where he translated Italian film scripts into English. He went back in the mid-1970s to Southern California and the Mark Taper, where he directed plays for the New Theater for Now program.

In the late 1970s Calhoun took a new route in his career by shifting to television and garnering great recognition at the soap operas of Procter&Gamble Productions. Starting off as a director on the Emmy-nominated directorial team of Another World (1964) in 1979 and 1980, Robert went on to produce the show's short-lived spin-off Texas (1980) in 1981 before heading over to produce_ As the World Turns (1956)_. His reign as executive producer from 1984 to 1988 coincided with that of head-writer Douglas Marland and was a great success in terms of viewership (the soap's ratings skyrocketed to first place for a while) and critical acclaim as the series was awarded "Best Drama Series" honors at the 1987 Daytime Emmy Awards in addition to three nominations. Following his successful 5-year-run Calhoun was then sent over to Guiding Light (1952). Serving as executive producer from 1989 to 1992 he received two more Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991. After his retirement, Calhoun served as co-author of his lifetime partner actor Farley Granger's 2007 memoir "Include Me Out". He died of lung cancer in New York on May 24, 2008 at age 77.