IRISH BEFORE SHE WAS QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE

She was born Nellie Elizabeth McCalla, one of eight brothers and sisters in Pawnee, Nebraska on December 25, 1928. "Irish" McCalla frequently moved around the country while growing to the Amazonian height of 5' 9 1/2" by the age of fourteen. At 16, she filled out her statuesque, athletic frame into a 39 1/2-24-37 figure.

She graduated from High School in 1946 and moved to Los Angeles, landing a job at a McDonnell Douglas Aircraft factory, also working a waitress. During this period she was "discovered" (some reports say by a photographer who saw her throwing a bamboo spear on Malibu Beach) and signed a contract with Global Photo Syndicate.

Astoundingly photogenic, she quickly found herself on and in dozens of men's magazines, men's cartoon digests and became one of California's top pinup models.

Although she had no experience in acting, her break came when she was offered the role of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle for a TV series. Sheena, of course, originated in Fiction House's JUMBO COMICS and later in her own title. The show was cancelled after just 26 episodes, but during that short time she became the idol of untold numbers of adolescent boys and her likeness wearing her leopard-skin bikini has since entered the halls of popular culture. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.

After a few roles in B-movies (SHE DEMONS, THE BEAT GENERATION, HANDS OF A STRANGER) and various TV shows, she failed to further her acting career. Moving to Malibu, she concentrated on raising her two sons and pursuing her love of painting. After marrying her third husband, she relocated to Prescott, Arizona. For a number of years she battled cancer and after suffering a stroke, Irish McCalla passed away on February 1, 2002 at the age of 73.

In the February 2008 issue of PLAYBOY, an article covered her career and included several nude shots never published before, taken in 1951 by Bruno Bernard (the famed photographer "Bruno of Hollywood") at the behest of Peruvian artist, Alberto Vargas to use as reference shots for one of his legendary pinups. McCalla never posed nude and this was the single exception. Vargas' finished product appeared in the men's magazine, CAVALIER. Needless to say, the aforementioned article and pictorial caused a sensation and brought McCalla back in the pinup culture limelight over 50 years later.

Her biography, "TV's Sheena Irish McCalla", was written by Bill Black and Bill Feret and published in 1992. In the book, looking back at her career, she modestly said:

"I never figured why it was so important to be bigger busted than someone else. I was full grown in height and had a thirty-nine-and-a-half inch bust at the age of 16 and I was very embarrassed by it all. I was always proud of my long hair and my flat stomach, but no one seemed to mention them, did they? But let's face it, if it hadn't been for my measurements I would have been just another pretty gal and possibly lived an average life, which wouldn't have been half as much fun."

TV Show Trivia:

• Anita Ekberg was originally chosen for the role of Sheena, but opted at the last minute to sign with movie production company. Debra Paget was also considered. McCalla actually signed Anita Ekberg's contract with her name scratched over Ekberg's.
• Both Will Eisner and Jerry Iger wrote numerous scripts for the series. The Eisner and Iger studio had originally packaged the JUMBO and SHEENA comic books for Fiction House.
• Brother of world boxing champion Max Baer, actor Buddy Baer was in two episodes. Baer played the "Diablo Giant" in GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (1958).
• Charles Horvath was in two episodes. Horvath starred as "Mike" in THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE (1958).

Irish McCalla before SHEENA:

Photo-feature from EYE magazine (March 1954):

Irish McCalla models for Alberto Vargas (note Bruno Bernard in one of the photos) in 1951:

Irish McCalla as Sheena:

SHEENA TV show trailer (1955)

SHEENA TV (full episode) "Crash in the Jungle (1956):

"Sheena Battles the Vampire Vultures" from SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #2 (Fiction House, Winter 1942), scripted by W. Morgan Thomas and drawn by Bob Webb. Included is a Sheena text story by Lynn Saunders.

See the Irish McCalla PLAYBOY article HERE.

HAPPINESS IS BEING IRISH

In the 1950's, numerous TV shows were developed that featured characters from radio, comic books and other popular sources. Luckily enough for young boys just coming of age, one of them was Fiction House comics' SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE. The star was a statuesque blonde by the name of Irish McCalla with a 39 1/2-24-37 figure. A virtual female version of Tarzan, Sheena fought man and beast through 26 episodes of the show until it was cancelled. It went on into heavy syndication for years. I remember watching these as a kid, mesmerized by the leopard skin-wearing beauty, always ending each story with a laugh at Chim the Chimpanzee doing something humorous.

Before Ms. McCalla was Sheena, she was a popular post-war pin-up model and appeared on the cover and in the pages of many under-the-counter men's magazines of the day. However, she never posed nude except once, at the behest of the great Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas, who wanted the shots to use as reference photos for her picture that would end up on calendars and playing cards.

In this article from PLAYBOY (February, 2008) by famous film critic Leonard Maltin the story of Irish McCalla and Sheena are revealed. The nude photos that are included are the first time that they were ever published. Following is Sheena's first appearance in a comic book.

Here's Sheena's first appearance in a comic book, JUMBO COMICS #1 (September, 1938). The script is by W. Morgan Stanley with art by Mort Meskin.

More Irish HERE.