Nellie Elizabeth "Irish" McCalla (December 25, 1928 – February 1, 2002) was an American film and television actress and artist best known as the title star of the 1950s television series ''

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine, originally published primarily by Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was the first female comic book character with her own title, with he ...

''. She co-starred with actor

Chris Drake Chris Drake (born James Christian Droste, December 11, 1923 – July 9, 2006) was an American actor best known for his co-star role of the 1950s television series ''Sheena, Queen of the Jungle'', in which he co-starred with Irish McCalla. Earl ...

. McCalla was also a " Vargas Girl" model for

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

artist

Alberto Vargas Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez (9 February 1896 – 30 December 1982) was a Peruvian-American painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists. Numerous Vargas paintings have sold and continue to se ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Pawnee City, Nebraska Pawnee City is a city and county seat of Pawnee County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 878 at the 2010 census. History Pawnee City was incorporated in 1858, and is named after the Pawnee Native Americans. By the 1880s, Pawnee Cit ...

, she was one of eight siblings born to Lloyd, a butcher, and Nettie (''née'' Geiger) McCalla. The family moved often, settling in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, in late 1939, when Lloyd began working for Condon Bros. meat dealers. The family lived at 1070 10th Street. The family moved to

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, in November 1941, and to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

in September 1942, before returning to Pawnee City, where she completed high school. At age 17, she joined some of her siblings in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, where she worked as a waitress and at an aircraft factory. In 1951, she married insurance salesman Patrick McIntyre, with whom she had two sons. McCalla was already a popular pinup model by 1952, when several other models and she appeared in the film ''River Goddesses'', comprising voluptuous young women frolicking in

Glen Canyon Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by a length of the Colorado River, mostly in southeastern and south-central Utah, in the United States. Glen Canyon starts where Narrow Canyon ends, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Dirty D ...

Sheena

McCalla recalled being discovered by a Nassour Studios representative while throwing a bamboo spear on a

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

, beach, adding of her ''Sheena'' experience, "I couldn't act, but I could swing through the trees". Her 26-episode series aired in first-run syndication from 1955-56. The athletic McCalla said she performed her own stunts on the series, filmed in Mexico, until the day she grabbed an unsecured vine and slammed into a tree, breaking her arm. Her elder son, Kim McIntyre, once told the press he remembered watching his mother swinging from vine to vine and wrestling mechanical alligators. Following the one-season ''Sheena'', McCalla appeared in five films from 1958 to 1962, and guest roles on the TV series '' Have Gun — Will Travel'' and '' Route 66''.

Later life and art career

McCalla and McIntyre divorced in 1957, and the following year, McCalla married English actor and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

/ Sherlock Holmes scholar Patrick Horgan. They divorced in January 1969. In 1982, McCalla, then living in

, married Chuck Rowland, a national sales manager for an auto-glass firm, and moved with him to

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona ...

, where she lived out her days. They separated in 1989. As an artist, she drew numerous oil paintings and collector plates, and sold prints of her work. She was a member of Woman Artists of the American West, and her work has been displayed at the Los Angeles Museum of Arts and Sciences. She made personal appearances at autograph conventions, appearing as late as 1996 in a faux-leopard Sheena costume.

Death

At age 73 in 2002, Irish McCalla died of a stroke and complications from her fourth

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

Legacy

* McCalla has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

, at 1722 Vine Street. * As one writer described the effect of McCalla's signature character on girls growing up in that era, "Sheena was the only female portrayed on the tube who didn't conform to the fifties stereotype. Sheena was a real rugged individualist. Watching her struggle with a new adventure every week made me feel more capable at a time when everything was so unexplored. If she could handle the jungle, I felt sure that I could handle my world". * Asteroid 83464 Irishmccalla, discovered by astronomer Roy A. Tucker in 2001, was named in her memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on September 18, 2005 ().

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1955–1956) TV series, 26 episodes — Sheena * ''

Queen of the Jungle ''Queen of the Jungle'' is a 1935 independent film serial produced by Herman Wohl and released theatrically by Screen Attractions. Plot David Worth travels into Africa to find his old friend Joan Lawrence, who disappeared in a hot air balloon a ...

'' (film) (1956) First official Sheena, Queen of the Jungle movie'' Never released in the USA. Not to be confused with a serial using the same title.'' - Sheena * ''

She Demons ''She Demons'' is a 1958 American independent black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Arthur A. Jacobs and Marc Frederic, directed and co-written by Richard E. Cunha, that stars Irish McCalla, Tod Griffin, and Victor Sen Yu ...

'' (1958) — Jerrie Turner * ''

The Beat Generation ''The Beat Generation'' is a 1959 American crime film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren, with Ray Danton, Fay Spain, Maggie Hayes, Jackie Coogan, Louis Armstrong, James Mitchum, Vampira, and Ray Anthony. It i ...

'' (1959); reissued as ''This Rebel Age'' — Marie Baron * ''

Five Gates to Hell ''Five Gates to Hell'' is a 1959 American adventure film written and directed by James Clavell in CinemaScope. The film stars Dolores Michaels, Patricia Owens, Neville Brand, Ken Scott, Nobu McCarthy and Benson Fong. It was Clavell's direct ...

'' (1959) — Sister Magdalena * ''

Hands of a Stranger ''Hands of a Stranger'' is a 1962 American horror film directed by Newt Arnold and is unofficially the fourth film adaptation of '' The Hands of Orlac''. Plot When the hands of pianist Vernon Paris are destroyed in a taxicab accident, he recei ...

'', also known as ''The Answer'' (1962) — Holly * ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

'' (1963) episode "Bob Wire" — Anna Anderson

Magazine bibliography

Cover

* ''Eve'' October 1950, December 1950 * ''Cavalier'' (back cover) 1951 Vargas "4 of Diamonds" McCalla nude * ''Night and Day'' January 1951, September 1951 * ''Show'' November 1952 * ''Jest'' May 1957 * ''Fabulous Females'' No. 1 1955 * ''People Today'' August 11, 1954 * ''Focus'' September 1954 * ''Vue'' March 1956 * ''Blighty'' (UK), 6April1957, Iss. 910 * ''Snappy'' March 1957 (back cover) * ''Ultra Filmfax'' Apr-May 1998 * ''

Scarlet Street ''Scarlet Street'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang. The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' (literal ...

'' No. 23

Interiors

;1950s * ''Night and Day'' – August and September 1950; January, March, April & September 1951; February, April, May and August 1952; January, February, March, July, and October 1953; and February 1956 * ''Famous Models'' – Sept.-October 1951 * ''Frolic'' – July and May 1951, February 1955 * ''Man'' (UK) – August 1952 * ''Pagent'' – August 1952 * ''People Today'' – 1952 Vol.5, No.6, December 1957 * ''T.V. Star Parade'' – February 1956 * ''Gala'' – March 1952 (vol.2, #6, pg.25) and January 1955 (vol.5, #5) * ''Vue'' – October 1952 and March 1956 * ''Photo'' – October 1954 * ''Point'' – March 1954, December 1955 * ''Tempo'' – March 21, 1955 * ''Man's'' – June 1955 * ''Picture week'' – March 27, 1956 * ''Show'' – October 1956 ;1980s * ''Starweek'' – August 1982 ;1990s * ''Preview Pin Up Special 2'' – Aug.-October 1994 * ''Tease'' – No.3, 1995 * ''Femme Fatales'' – January 1999 * ''Playboy'' – March 1997 ("Glamourcon" by Kevin Cook), January 1999 ("Sex Stars of the Century"), ''Special Edition'' (August 1999, "Sex Stars of the Century") * ''Celebrity Sleuth'' – 1991 (vol.5, #1, "Separate But Sequel: Irish McCalla"), 1996 (vol.9, #9, "Sheena Lives") and 1997 (vol.11, #1, "Star-Tistics") * ''Irish of the Jungle'' –

AC Comics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.

, 1992 * ''Jungle Girls'' #4 & #5 – AC Comics, 1992 * ''TV's Original Sheena: Irish McCalla'' – AC Comics, 1992 * ''Good Girl Quarterly'' #11 – AC Comics, 1993 * ''The Golden Age of Sheena'' – AC Comics, 1999 * ''Wild Woman'' #1 – AC Comics, 1999 ;2000s * ''Playboy'' – December 2001 ("Sheena's World") and February 2008 ("Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Without Her Wrap" by Leonard Martin) * ''Femforce'' #118 Special Edition – AC Comics, 2003 * ''Alberto Vargas: Works from the Max Vargas Collection'' by Reid Stewart Austin & Hugh Hefner (2006, ). A painting and sketch of McCalla