# Talk:Joseph Calleia

By the way, the reason behind this edit was the copyright violation, see http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=205293&pid=73. - Akamad 10:10, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

The following is unsourced information:

In Tough Guy, Calleia, together with child-star Jackie Cooper, sings a couple of bars of a Maltese folk tune "Ah, Lilek tal-Gallerija" (Ah! To you, up there on your balcony).  This is possibly the only time that a ballad in Maltese has ever been heard in a Hollywood movie.
The 1958 film Touch of Evil was re-released in 1998.
It is said that Francis Ford Coppola had originally wanted Calleia to play the leading part of 'Il Padrino', the Sicilian Mafia boss in the immortal film  The Godfather.
Calleia's first cousin, Ċensu Tabone, was Malta's 4th President.
While this is interesting, we can't use it unless you provide a source. Also, none of this is really trivia, as trivia by its definition is "unimportant information" - it therefore shouldn't be in a trivia section but instead the information should be incorporated into the main article. - Tbsdy lives (talk) 11:57, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
(*I saw the documentry on Malta Tv chanel Education 22 and they said about this and about his first cousin Censu Tabone.*)These ARE facts and NOT trivia as the first hand witnesses still living one of which is a famous gornalist here in Malta Afton M. Jagoob.

It's sure that Calleia sang that piece of folk tune. It's popular in Malta and some time ago there was a documentary on TV and played that clip from the film. I'm not sure if that is the only time that a Maltese folk tune was sang during a Hollywood film but most probably it is.
Malteseman1983 (talk) 06:37, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
Yesterday confirmed the part that Joseph Calleia sang a Maltese folk tune altough I'm not sure if it was "Lilek int tal-gallarija" during the movie tough guy. I saw that piece of film during a documentary on Joseph Calleia on the national TV of Malta. It should be added as a verified source. Michaelb1983 (talk) 19:07, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
I am Maltese I believe we should make him a proper burial with a monument dedicated to a man who honored us as a country and managed to put his Maltese roots in a movie! I do not agree with the Maltese born American actor statement as aged 17 he left like we say here 'ta fuqu senduqu'= with only what he had on him and left the family here in Malta.He was originally a waiter in fact he wrote a play called 'Joe the waiter' as I read in the body of the artical in Wiki. He used to sing some songs in the Restaurants that is how he was discovered by a client who in fact was a Director the offered him a job as an actor with Golden Meyer.When his father leared that he became an actor he got very angry and as in those days to be an actor was a taboo too told him to renounce his surname and he was originally known as Spurrin with his grandmother's surname (link http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0130407/ ) later after having done lots of movies he told him he should use his surname as he saw he was no faliure and was in fact successful. The people where a bit confused so he wrote both but than the endtitles where too long to write so he wrote Joseph S. Calleia. He did not renew the contract and than worked as a freelance actor accepting other types of jobs as he got stuck with a certain type of characters and got bored. He than came here and Married a Maltese woman and had some 4 children who lived in an at that time futuristic place that was the very first to have an airconditioner installed *the people used to look sternly at them and at the house instead of being proud he was Maletese in their eyes he was a sinner* (The house does not look anything like before today it is being left to crumble into pieces without even a small writing on a bronze plate on the wall saying he lived there!) In the documentary pics where shown of the interiors of the original state of the house that looked like a Beverly Hills movie star home! Most of the free time he had he used to escape (as he said to his friends still living here in Malta) and come visit every chance he got they than went to live in America than he came back to Malta and was asked to go to film another movie (his last movie) agian in his 50s circa and retired in Malta so he considered himself as being Maltese.He spoke fluent Spanish often used as a Mexican in movies English and Italian (Most of the movies he made which range to about 60 where kept from viewing by the Malta censor (that time 100 percent in the hands of the Church as even off shoulder tops where a taboo I have cuttings from 40's and 50's magazines that where torn if seen by a woman that show only a woman with an all in one shorts dress swimsuit or a 'naked' shoulder LOL!) beautiful movies like 'The Noose' and 'The Knife Murders' (I think it was called)and others where kept away from Maltese people to see they should bring them and make a Classics special movie week on Maltese tv or in the Cinema! I saw that folk song that was going to be cut from the movie as Joseph Calleia = Calleja was being questioned by the Director or Producer if the song had copywrite or not but thanks to Calleia's quick reply that it was a song for everyone that it wasen't owned by anyone it is still in the film today. It is called as they said in the documentary , 'Int sabiha hatt ma jridek' means= You are beautiful and nobody wants you. Another folk singer in Malta recetly titled it 'Ah! lilek fil-gallarija' so it;s a bit of a puzzle but this is the whole verse he sang: Aw lilek tal-gallarija ithol gewwa hobb dnubitek! Ghax il-koroh kollha izewgu u int Sabiha, hadd ma jridek. Translation= Hey You in the balchony go inside love your sins as all the ugly women are married off and you are beautiful and nobody wants you. As I saw and translated from Tough Guy clip in this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6z792jWdjY here you can find some of his movies http://www.openculture.com/freemoviesonline
Afton M. Jagoob. Maltese.
P.S (*I saw the documentry on Malta Tv chanel Education 22 and they said about this and about his first cousin Censu Tabone.*)These ARE facts and NOT trivia as the first hand witnesses still living one of which is a famous gornalist here in Malta Afton M. Jagoob.

 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.71.181.163 (talk) 21:28, 6 September 2011 (UTC) 

Joseph Calleia - Malta’s Hollywood actor (1897–1975).
The above enclosed source supports all arguments below, put forward by previous editors, which were uncited. The source also gives further information. Apparently he was from Rabat, Malta not Mdina (Notabile) right? Please if someone has time to add some information to the article which is not already there and add once ready add something more to the lead of the article. This should not be difficult to achiceve GA. When I will have time I will go take a photo of the house in Rabat and his monument.Continentaleurope (talk) 05:03, 9 September 2016 (UTC)

The article says that Callie’s "stared" in the 1948 London production of the play. But the article on the play (linked by title) doesn’t list the cast of that production. I think this article should have named the part he played. It’s an important piece of information. Wis2fan (talk) 03:23, 4 August 2024 (UTC)

That detail is in the Theatre credits section of the article. — WFinch (talk) 22:57, 6 August 2024 (UTC)