11/12/2025
THE CURIOUS CASE OF MICHAEL ANTHONY CALLAHAN
Born on November 16th, 1935 in Los Angeles, California, Michael Anthony Callahan was a Thanksgiving baby who would give his family, friends and students much to be thankful for over
89 years of his extraordinary life. He was a Hollywood son who became a Jesuit priest. He was a film student who became a film professor. And a beloved husband who became a cherished
father and a treasured grandfather.
With the blessing of his silent movie star mother, Leonora Summers and his Light-Welterweight Boxing World Champion father, Mushy Callahan, Michael was ordained as a priest in 1967.
During his time in the seminary, he convinced the Jesuits to send him to the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he got his doctorate in film history and where his lifelong passion for
movies began. Perhaps this obsession began much earlier when he was just a boy in a bathtub.
Michael loved recounting the story of how John Wayne, yes the John Wayne, dropped in on his parents one night while he was in the bath. Like the polite boy he was, Mikey immediately stood
up in his birthday suit and shook hands with the Duke.
As the Communication Arts Chair at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for over a decade, Michael led the department from being a small program in the 1980s to becoming one
of most prominent film programs in the country. In addition to teaching multiple classes, writing film reviews for the National Catholic Reporter, he was the priest consultant for the 1981 film,
True Confessions in which he also appears in the film as a deacon beside Robert De Niro.
Dr. Michael Callahan was a bon vivant who brought his own personal style to every film class, faculty meeting and Mass. His antics caught the eye of his colleague, then known as Dr. Diane
Stauts, Professor of Psychology, Chairman of the Education Department and President of the Faculty at LMU. When he was preparing to take his final priestly vows, he sought advice from
Dr. Stauts. The consultation led to a very different set of vows, when the happy couple married on January 12, 1982. They honeymooned in Mexico and waited for the dust to settle before
returning to the university. The dust never really settled at LMU, but they began their new life together in Palos Verdes, California and Father Mikey, as he was known, became the beloved
stepfather to Holly, Tracy and Paul.
Father Mikey made everything better. He showed 16mm movies in the living room. He made impossibly clever Christmas scavenger hunts. He named the dogs Thelma & Louise. When
Loyola fired him after the wedding, he started teaching at Harbor College and Long Beach City College. In 1991, Diane and Mikey left Los Angeles for higher ground in California Gold Country
where they built a majestic home at Lake of the Pines, which became the centerpiece of their lives.
From countless birthday parties to Fourth of July barbecues to Christmas dinners to two family weddings, their lake home was the focal point of the family. Michael quickly blazed a new trail
for himself, teaching at Sacramento State, helping produce and edit the Lake of the Pines Cable Access News, while watching as many films as he could rent on a weekly basis from Netflix and
Blockbuster combined.
Michael and ‘Growly’, as Diane was known, adored their numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Every Christmas Mikey would put on his Santa hat, set up the Christmas train
and deliver a series of handmade holiday puzzles each with age appropriate clues leading every child and adult on a journey to find their perfect Christmas present.
On October 25, 2015, Michael lost his beloved wife, Diane Callahan. It was almost exactly 10 years to the day, when Michael passed away on October 24, 2025. Mikey is survived by his
stepchildren Paul Stauts, Tracy Saltzman and Holly Pettitt, his grandchildren Sydney, Alexander,Ethan, Jacob, Hallie, Sadie, Scout and Zelda, and his great-grandchildren Michael Eddie and
Rosie.
Michael never met a pun he didn’t like. Never met a person he couldn’t charm. Never met a crossword he couldn’t solve. And never met a movie he wouldn’t watch. Rest in peace dear
Michael. You were very loved and will be very missed.
