Caldara was born Frank Slocum on February 9, 1875 in Empire City, Oregon. Caldara was working as a stage actor by 1898, when he was a leading member of the Lorraine Hollis Company. He began appearing on Broadway in 1904, and performed in numerous productions until 1920. Caldara appeared in one movie, The Spreading Dawn with Jane Cowl. He often appeared with Cowl in the theatre co-starring with her in several influential Broadway plays, including Within the Law (1912–1913), Common Clay (1915–1916), Lilac Time (1917), and Smilin' Through (1919–1920). Caldara contracted tuberculosis in the early 1920s, and his ailing health forced him to retire from his stage career. He died of the disease in a sanatorium in Saranac Lake, New York, in 1925. In addition to acting, Caldara was also a professional swimmer.