David McCallum is a very talented actor who has been associated with two of the best TV series ever, The Man From Uncle, where he portrayed a Russian spy and of late in a CSI series.
I remember him and Napoleon Solo in the Man From Uncle series doing stuff that would make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. By today's standards those stunts are mild, but at the time they were spectacular and exciting!
Below is a great coverage of his life and career through wikipedia:
David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian secret agent, in the television series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68), as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and for his current role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series NCIS.
Early life[edit]
McCallum was born in Glasgow, the second of two sons of Dorothy Dorman, a cellist, and orchestral leader David McCallum Sr. When he was three, his family moved to London for his father to lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Early in World War II, he was evacuated back to Scotland, where he lived with his mother at Gartocharn by Loch Lomond.[1]
McCallum won a scholarship to University College School, a boys' independent school in Hampstead, London, where, encouraged by his parents to prepare for a career in music, he played the oboe.[1] In 1946 he began doing boy voices for the BBC radio repertory company.[1] Also involved in local amateur drama, at age 17, he appeared as Oberon in an open-air production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Play and Pageant Union. He left school at age 18 and, following military service with theRoyal West African Frontier Force, attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (also in London), where Joan Collins was a classmate.[1]
Career[edit]
He next did his National Service, where he was commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment and seconded to the Gold Coast Regiment.[2]
He began his acting career doing boy voices for BBC Radio in 1947[3] and began taking bit parts in British films from the late 1950s. His first acting role was in Whom the Gods Love, Die Young playing a doomed royal.[4] A James Dean–themed photograph of McCallum caught the attention of the Rank Organisation, who signed him in 1956.[5] However, in an interview with Alan Titchmarsh broadcast on 3 November 2010, McCallum stated that he had actually held his Equity card since 1946.
Early roles included a juvenile delinquent in Violent Playground (1957), an outlaw in Robbery Under Arms, (1957) and as junior RMS Titanic radio operatorHarold Bride in A Night to Remember (1958). His first American film was Freud the Secret Passion (1962),[6] directed by John Huston, which was shortly followed by a role in Peter Ustinov's Billy Budd. McCallum played Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal' in The Great Escape, which was released in 1963. He took the role of Judas Iscariot in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. Other television roles included two appearances on The Outer Limits and a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1964 as defendant Phillipe Bertain in "The Case of the Fifty Millionth Frenchman."
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.[edit]
The Man From U.N.C.L.E., intended as a vehicle for Robert Vaughn, made McCallum into a sex symbol, his Beatle-style blond haircut providing a trendy contrast with Vaughn's clean cut appearance. McCallum's role as the mysterious Russian agent Illya Kuryakin was originally conceived as a peripheral one. However, McCallum took the opportunity to construct a complex character whose appeal rested largely in what was shadowy and enigmatic about him.[5] Kuryakin's popularity with the audience and Vaughn's and McCallum's on-screen chemistry were quickly recognized by the producers, and McCallum was elevated to co-star status.
Although the show aired at the height of the Cold War, McCallum's Russian alter ego became a pop culture phenomenon. The actor was inundated with fan letters, and a Beatles-like frenzy followed him everywhere he went.[5] While playing Kuryakin, McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor inMGM's history.[7] Hero worship even led to a record, Love Ya, Illya, performed by Alma Cogan under the name Angela and the Fans, which was a pirate radio hit in Britain in 1966. A 1990s rock-rap group from Argentina named itself Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas in honor of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. character.
McCallum received two Emmy nominations in the course of the show's four-year run (1964–68) for playing the intellectual and introverted secret agent.[5]
McCallum reprised the role of Kuryakin in a 1983 TV movie, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair. In 1986 McCallum reunited with Robert Vaughn again on an episode of The A-Team entitled The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair, complete with "chapter titles," the word "affair" in the title, the phrase "Open Channel D," and similar scene transitions.
In an interview for a retrospective television special, David McCallum told of a visit to the White House during which, while he was being escorted to meet the U.S. president, a Secret Service agent told him, "You're the reason I got this job."[8]
After The Man From U.N.C.L.E.[edit]
McCallum never quite repeated the popular success he had gained as Kuryakin until NCIS, though he did become a familiar face on British television in such shows as Colditz (1972–74),Kidnapped (1978), and ITV's science-fiction series Sapphire & Steel (1979–82) opposite Joanna Lumley. In 1975 he played the title character in a short-lived U.S. version of The Invisible Man.
McCallum appeared on stage in Australia in Run for Your Wife (1987–88), and the production toured the country. Other members of the cast were Jack Smethurst, Eric Sykes, and Katy Manning.
McCallum starred with Diana Rigg in the 1989 TV miniseries Mother Love. In 1991 and 1992 McCallum played gambler John Grey, one of the principal characters in the television seriesTrainer.
In the 1990s McCallum guest-starred in two U.S. television series. In season 1 of seaQuest DSV, he appeared as the law-enforcement officer Frank Cobb of the fictional Broken Ridge of the Ausland Confederation, an underwater mining camp off the coast of Australia by the Great Barrier Reef; he also had a guest-star role in one episode of Babylon 5.
In 1994 McCallum narrated the acclaimed documentaries Titanic: Death of a Dream and Titanic: The Legend Lives On for A&E Television Networks. This was the second project about theTitanic on which he had worked: the first was the 1958 film A Night to Remember, in which he had had a small role.
In the same year McCallum hosted and narrated the TV special Ancient Prophecies. This special, which was followed soon after by three others, told of people and places historically associated with foretelling the end of the world and the beginnings of new eras for mankind.
NCIS[edit]
"It was frustration and anger that someone should just walk out on us," said McCallum, who plays Donald 'Ducky' Mallard. "I just don't understand how a leading lady in a show that's worldwide, who ostensibly wants to have a career as an actress, suddenly walks away from such a gem and just vanishes a couple of days before we start production." The veteran star revealed to DS that de Pablo's sudden departure forced the NCISwriters to revise the first five episodes of season 11. "This business is merciless so right away the whole team of writers gets in and rewrites the first five shows," he explained. "When it happened, you think, 'This is a dangerous road to go down' - but they pulled it off."[9]
—McCallum, on Cote de Pablo's decision to quit the show. (2014)
Since 2003 McCallum has starred in the CBS television series NCIS as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the team's chief medical examiner and one of the show's most popular characters. In one episode, NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is asked, "What did Ducky look like when he was younger?" Gibbs's response: "Illya Kuryakin."[10]
According to the behind-the-scenes feature on the 2006 DVD of NCIS season 1, McCallum became an expert in forensics to play Mallard, including appearing at medical examiner conventions. In the feature, Donald P. Bellisario says that McCallum's knowledge became so vast that at the time of the interview he was considering making him a technical adviser on the show.
McCallum appeared at the 21st Annual James Earl Ash Lecture, held May 19, 2005 at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, an evening for honoring America's service members. His lecture, "Reel to Real Forensics," with Cmdr. Craig T. Mallak, U.S. Armed Forces medical examiner, featured a presentation comparing the real-life work of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner staff with that of the fictional naval investigators appearing on NCIS.[11]
In late April 2012 it was announced that McCallum had reached agreement on a two-year contract extension with CBS-TV. The move means he could remain an NCIS regular past his eightieth birthday.[12] In May 2014 he signed another two-year contract.[13]
Music[edit]
In the 1960s, McCallum recorded four albums for Capitol Records with music producer David Axelrod: Music...A Part of Me (Capitol ST 2432, 1966), Music...A Bit More of Me (Capitol ST 2498, 1966), Music...It's Happening Now! (Capitol ST 2651, 1967), and McCallum (Capitol ST 2748, 1968). The best known of his pieces today is "The Edge," which is one of the most sampled pieces[citation needed] in Hip-Hop, including Dr. Dre as the intro and riff to the track "The Next Episode," "M.I.A" by Missin' Linx, and "No Regrets" by Masta Ace.
His approach[edit]
McCallum did not sing on these records, as many television stars of the 1960s did when offered recording contracts. As a classically trained musician, he conceived a blend of oboe, English horn, and strings with guitar and drums, and presented instrumental interpretations of hits of the day. The official arranger on the albums was H. B. Barnum. However, McCallum conducted, and contributed several original compositions of his own, over the course of four LPs. The first two, Music...A Part of Me and Music...A Bit More of Me, have been issued together on CD on the Zonophone label. On Open Channel D, McCallum did sing on the first four tracks, "Communication," "House On Breckenridge Lane," "In The Garden, Under The Tree" (the theme song from the movie Three Bites Of The Apple), and "My Carousel." The music tracks are the same as the Zonophone CD. This CD was released on the Rev-Ola label. The single release of 'Communication' reached No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1966.[14]
Personal life[edit]
McCallum was first married to actress Jill Ireland (1956–67). In 1963 he introduced Ireland to Charles Bronson when both were filming The Great Escape. She subsequently left McCallum and married Bronson in 1968. McCallum and Ireland had three sons: Paul, Jason (an adopted son who died from an accidental drug overdose in 1989),[15] and Val (short for Valentine).Val McCallum is a successful guitar player, currently[when?] playing with Jackson Browne and a member of the faux country band Jackshit.[16]
He has been married to Katherine Carpenter since 1967. They have a son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie. David and Katherine are active with charitable organizations that support theUnited States Marine Corps: Katherine's father was a Marine who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and her brother lost his life in the Vietnam War.
David McCallum has six grandchildren.[15]
Filmography[edit]
- n.b. for credit listings reference[17]
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Ill Met By Moonlight | Sailor |
|
| 1957 | These Dangerous Years | Also known as Dangerous Youth | |
| 1957 | Robbery Under Arms | Jim Marston | British Crime film |
| 1957 | Hell Drivers | Jimmy Yately | Directed by Cy Endfield |
| 1957 | The Secret Place | Mike Wilson | Directorial debut of Clive Donner |
| 1958 | A Night to Remember | Harold Sydney Bride | British drama |
| 1958 | Violent Playground | Johnnie Murphy | Directed by Basil Dearden |
| 1961 | The Long and the Short and the Tall | Private Samuel "Sammy" Whitaker | Released as Jungle Fighters in the USA and Canada |
| 1961 | Jungle Street | Terry Collins | Later retitled Jungle Street Girls |
| 1962 | Freud the Secret Passion | Carl von Schlossen | Also known as Freud |
| 1962 | Billy Budd | Steven Wyatt | A CinemaScope film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov |
| 1963 | The Great Escape | Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt | Based on an escape by British & Commonwealth prisoners of war from a German POW camp duringWorld War II |
| 1964 | To Trap a Spy | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1965 | The Spy with My Face | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Judas Iscariot | Retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection |
| 1966 | One Spy Too Many | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1966 | The Spy in the Green Hat | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1966 | Around the World Under the Sea | Dr. Philip Volker | |
| 1966 | One of Our Spies Is Missing | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1967 | The Karate Killers | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1967 | Three Bites of the Apple | Stanley Thrumm | |
| 1968 | The Helicopter Spies | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1968 | Sol Madrid | Sol Madrid | Released in the UK as The Heroin Gang |
| 1968 | How to Steal the World | Illya Kuryakin | A The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film |
| 1969 | Mosquito Squadron | Squadron Leader Quint Monroe,RCAF | British war film |
| 1969 | La Cattura | Sergeant Stephen Holmann | Italian film |
| 1969 | Rascal | Ice Cream Man |
|
| 1972 | She Waits | Mark Wilson | Horror film |
| 1975 | The Kingfisher Caper | Benedict Van Der Byl | Released as Diamond Hunters in South Africa and as Diamond Lust on video |
| 1976 | Dogs | Harlan Thompson | |
| 1977 | King Solomon's Treasure | Sir Henry Curtis | British-Canadian low-budget film based on the novel King Solomon's Mines |
| 1980 | The Watcher in the Woods | Paul Curtis |
|
| 1985 | Terminal Choice | Dr. Giles Dodson | |
| 1986 | The Wind | John | Released in 1987 in the USA |
| 1990 | The Haunting of Morella | Gideon | Set in colonial America |
| 1991 | Hear My Song | Jim Abbott | |
| 1993 | Fatal Inheritance | Brandon Murphy | |
| 1993 | Dirty Weekend | Reggie | Based on the novel of the same name by Helen Zahavi |
| 1994 | Healer | The Jackal | |
| 1999 | Cherry | Mammy | |
| 2008 | Batman: Gotham Knight | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | Son of Batman | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2015 | Batman vs. Robin | Alfred Pennyworth (voice) | Direct-to-video |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Sir Francis Drake | Lord Oakshott | Episode: "The English Dragon" (S 1:Ep 6) |
| 1963 | The Outer Limits | Gwyllm Griffiths | Episode: "The Sixth Finger" (S 1:Ep 5) |
| 1964 | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters | Prophet | Episode: "The Day Of The Search"(S 1:Ep 18) |
| 1964 | Perry Mason | Phillipe Bertain | Episode: "The Case of the Fifty-Millionth Frenchman"(S 7:Ep 19) |
| 1964 | The Great Adventure | Captain Hanning | Episodes:
|
| 1964 | The Outer Limits | Tone Hobart | Episode: "The Forms of Things Unknown" (S 1:Ep 32) |
| 1964 | Profiles in Courage | John Adams | Episode: "John Adams" (S 1:Ep 7) |
| 1964–68 | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | Illya Kuryakin | Main cast |
| 1965 | Hullabaloo | Host |
|
| 1966 | Please Don't Eat the Daisies | Illya Kuryakin | Episode: "Say U.N.C.L.E."(S 1:Ep 18) |
| 1969 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Hamilton Cade | Episode: "Teacher, Teacher" (S 18:Ep 3) |
| 1969 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Kenneth Canfield | Episode: "The File On Devlin" (S 19:Ep 1) |
| 1970 | Hauser's Memory | Hillel Mondoro |
|
| 1971 | Night Gallery | Dr. Joel Winter | Episode: "The Phantom Farmhouse" (S 2:Ep 16) |
| 1971 | The Man and the City | Guest star | Episode: "Pipe Me A Loving Tune" (S 1:Ep 12) |
| 1972–74 | Colditz | Simon Carter | Main cast |
| 1973 | Frankenstein: The True Story | Dr. Henry Clerval | Made for TV Movie |
| 1973 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Alexi Kaslov | Episode: "Wine, Women and War" (S 1:Ep 3) |
| 1975–76 | The Invisible Man | Daniel Westin | Main cast |
| 1978 | Kidnapped | Alan Breck Stewart | TV Miniseries |
| 1979–82 | Sapphire & Steel | Steel | Main cast |
| 1982 | Strike Force | Roderick Howard Hadley III | Episode: "Ice" (S 1:Ep 9) |
| 1983 | As the World Turns | Maurice Vermeil | Contract role |
| 1983 | The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E | Illya Kuryakin | Made for TV Movie |
| 1986 | Hart to Hart | Geoffrey Atterton | Episode: "Hunted Harts" (S 4:Ep 11) |
| 1984 | The Master | Castile | Episode: "Hostages" (S 1:Ep 4) |
| 1986 | Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense | Frank Lane | Episode: "The Corvini Inheritance" (S 1:Ep 10) |
| 1986 | The A-Team | Ivan | Episode: "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" (S 5:Ep 6) |
| 1987 | Matlock | Phil Dudley | Episode: "The Billionaire" (S 2:Ep 1) |
| 1988 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Guest star | "Murder Party" (S 3:Ep 11) |
| 1988 | Monsters | the fever man | Episode: "The Feverman" (S 1:Ep 1 - "Pilot") |
| 1989 | The Man Who Lived at The Ritz | Charlie Ritz | Made for TV movie |
| 1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Cyril Grantham | Episode: "From Russia...With Love" (S 5:Ep 14) |
| 1989 | Mother Love | Sir Alexander "Alex" Vesey | Main cast |
| 1989 | McCloud | Inspector Craig | Episode: "The Return of Sam McCloud" (S 7:Ep 7) |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Drew Garrison | Episode: "Deadly Misunderstanding" (S 7:Ep 2) |
| 1990 | Boon | Simon Bradleigh | Episode: "The Belles of St. Godwalds" (S 6:Ep 4) |
| 1990 | Lucky/Chances | Bernard Dimes | TV miniseries |
| 1990 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Guest star | |
| 1991–92 | Trainer | John Grey | Main cast |
| 1991 | Cluedo | Professor Plum | U. K. Game show |
| 1993 | seaQuest DSV | Frank Cobb | Episode: "seaWest" (S 1:Ep 11) |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Dr. Vance Hendricks | Episode: "Infection" (S 1:Ep 5) |
| 1994 | Titanic: The Complete Story | Narrator | |
| 1994 | Heartbeat | Cooper | Episode: "Arms and the Man" (S 4:Ep 10) |
| 1995 | VR-5 | Dr. Joseph Bloom | Main cast |
| 1996 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Ian Felton | Episode: "The Impossible Mission" (S 1:Ep 11) |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Craig Holland | Episode: "Past Imperfect" (S 7:Ep 22) |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Joshua Hayward | Episode: "Feasibility Study" (S 3:Ep 17) |
| 1997–98 | Team Knight Rider | Mobius | Main cast |
| 1998 | Coming Home | (TV serial) | Billy Fawcett |
| 1999 | Sex and the City | Duncan | Episode: "Shortcomings" (S 2:Ep 15) |
| 2000 | Deadline | Harry Hobbs | Episode: "Lovers and Madmen" (S 1:Ep 2) |
| 2001–02 | The Education of Max Bickford | Walter Thornhill | Main cast |
| 2002 | Jeremiah | Clarence | Episode: Things Left Unsaid" (S 1:Ep 19) |
| 2002–03 | Taboo | Narrator | Episodes:
|
| 2003 | JAG | Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard | Episodes:: |
| 2003–present | NCIS | Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard | Main cast |
| 2006–09 | The Replacements | The voice of C.A.R. | Main cast |
| 2008–10 | Ben 10: Alien Force | Paradox | Recurring |
| 2009 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Merlin Ambrosius | Episode: "Day of the Dark Knight!" (S 1:Ep 5) |
| 2010–12 | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Paradox | Recurring |
| 2013–14 | Ben 10: Omniverse | Paradox | Recurring |
| 2014 | NCIS: New Orleans | Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard | Episode: "Musician Heal Thyself" (S 1:Ep 1) |
Video Games[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Diablo III: Reaper of Souls | The Grand Maester / King Rakkis (voice) | His voice only appears in the Diablo III expansion DLC, Reaper of Souls. |
NCIS the video game plays himself and narrates the game too
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