Orme Caldara

Orme Caldara, born Frank Slocum on February 9, 1875, in Empire City, Oregon, was an American stage actor whose Broadway career spanned from 1904 to 1920. His father, Caleb Slocum, was originally from Peoria, Illinois. Before reaching Broadway, Caldara had already established himself as a working stage actor by 1898, when he was a leading member of the Lorraine Hollis Company. In addition to his theatrical work, he was also a professional swimmer.

Caldara's Broadway career encompassed a wide range of productions, including The Deserters, The Round Up, and The Aero Club. He developed a particularly notable professional association with actress Jane Cowl, appearing alongside her in several productions, among them Within the Law, which ran from 1912 to 1913, Common Clay from 1915 to 1916, Lilac Time in 1917, and Smilin' Through in 1919. Beyond the stage, Caldara appeared in one film, The Spreading Dawn, also with Cowl. He was married to actress Julia Dean from 1906 to 1913.

In the early 1920s, Caldara contracted tuberculosis, and the progression of the disease compelled him to retire from his stage career. He died on October 21, 1925, at a tuberculosis sanatorium in Saranac Lake, New York, at the age of fifty.