A professional actor from childhood, Lon McCallister made his screen debut in 1936 as a church chorister in MGM's Romeo and Juliet. He didn't achieve stardom until 1943, when he was cast as one of the four leads in Stage Door Canteen. Signed to a 20th Century Fox contract, he spent the next several years playing ingenuous teenage and young adult roles. Frustrated that his short stature limited his selection of screen assignments, he retired from films at the age of 30. Like many former film favorites, Lon McCallister enjoyed a successful second career in real estate, deliberately keeping a low profile in his later years; he also produced a series of travel films in the 1950s with his friend and former 20th Century Fox associate William Eythe.