"Actors don't retire," K Callan ('64) says. "They're retired all the time in between shows."

There wasn't a time when Callan wasn't acting. She played her first role when she was a baby. She won significant parts in the 1970 movie Joe and in TV classics like All in the Family and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. But in the last decade, she snagged big attention -- first, in the 2019 movie Knives Out, stealing the film from an all-star cast, and now at 90, with a pivotal role in this summer's buzziest show, Apple TV's Widow's Bay.

"My goal was to be a working actor, and thank God, I am. I just am happy to still be working. Every job is a happy surprise. You never know what's going to happen. That's one of the things I like about it."

Taking the Stage

Callan's first appearance on stage was in the Christmas play at Sacred Heart Cathedral School in her native Dallas.

"I was the baby Jesus. No lines, but lead part," she says. That and Betty Grable movies inspired her choice of a career. "I can't remember when I didn't want to be an actress, but just know that I was going to be one."

In 1955, while a drama major at North Texas, Callan was attending a rehearsal of Inherit the Wind at the famed Margo Jones Theatre in Dallas. In addition to building Dallas' theater scene and having her name on the theater itself, the legendary Jones was directing the world premiere of the play.

"I was just sitting there, and somebody didn't show up. And Margo turned to me and said, 'Are you an actor?' And I said, 'Yes,' and she said, 'Get up there!' And so I was like, 'OK.' I didn't understand the importance of who she was and who her theater was. And it was a little part -- it's a member of the crowd. Well, I thought, 'I won't get to do this. I have to be back in the dorm at 10:50 at night. The dean's never going to let me do this.' I was fine, I wasn't nervous, I just got up there, so I was perfectly natural and did a great job. Then I went back to campus, and Imogene Bentley, who was the dean of women, was like, 'No, this is a wonderful thing. Of course, you should do it.' And then I got to ride back and forth with (student) Tommy Jack Wright. I did two more shows there that summer, so I had my professional beginnings. What a gift! And that was because of Tommy Jack and North Texas."

Callan also got help from Reginald Holland, head of the speech and drama department. He required students to have a degree plan and obtain their teaching certificate. Callan attended North Texas for two years, then went back to teach drama and physical education at Our Lady of Good Counsel Academy in Dallas.

She planned to move to New York City to pursue her career, but she stayed at the school to build a theater in the round. ("I loved my students so much.") She completed her degree from North Texas a decade later by taking summer classes and courses by mail. Holland's advice on writing down the credentials for her degree plan paid off.

"There were many more things I would have needed by the time the 11 years were over, but this was already in black and white, and they honored this," she says. "If you have a teacher who helps you along, thank them, because a teacher who makes an impression on you and moves you forward is a magnificent thing."

'Beyond Grateful'

At age 32, Callan finally was pursuing her professional goals.

"When I first went to New York in 1968, I was alone, and with three kids. But then I got this independent film that everybody was sent in for. When I got there that day, there were people on the floor and all over the place. I was going to have to be there all day long, and I was like, 'I can't stay here for this, I got to go make a living.'

"I came back at the end of the day, and I auditioned, and I got it. That was a film called Joe, with Peter Boyle, that made everybody's 10 best list, and that was just, like 'Wow!' It didn't make me a star, but it put me in the system."

Callan continued to work consistently through the decades. She played the lesbian partner of Edith's cousin in All in the Family, Clark Kent's mom in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Lily's grandmother in How I Met Your Mother, a political candidate in Veep, Elizabeth in The Chosen and Daniel Craig's secret weapon in Knives Out. She's appeared in Rhoda, One Day at a Time, ER, Carnivàle and Justified.

She acted with Glenda Jackson and George Segal in A Touch of Class, Anthony Hopkins and Shirley MacLaine in A Change of Seasons, and Richard Gere in American Gigolo.

When she read for Widow's Bay, a combination of mystery, horror and comedy, she only had access to the pilot and had no idea where the story was going. She recurs on the show as secretary to the mayor, played by Matthew Rhys.

The show lit up social media, with fans coming up with theories about all the cast members, and Callan earning TVLine's Performer Of The Week. (Both links contain spoilers.)

Widow's Bay has been picked up for a second season, but Callan doesn't know what will happen. For now, she's looking forward to the release of her next movie, Bad Day with Cameron Diaz, and is appreciative for all the love coming her way online.

"I am beyond grateful. What a gift to get to play Ruth and to receive all the love. Sometimes I just sit and cry happy tears."