David McCallum is a well-recognized Scottish-American actor and musician who is famous for his role of Illya Kuryakin as a secret agent in the television series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”. In his early years, he gained renewed international recognition and popularity for his role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the American television series “NCIS”. He started his career as the assistant manager of Glyndebourne Company in 1956. His first acting role was in Whom the “Gods Love, Die Young” playing a doomed royal which was followed by Violent Playground, Robbery Under Arms, A Night to Remember, Freud: The Secret Passion, Billy Hudd, The Great Escape, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Outer Limits, and more. In the year 2016, he published a crime novel entitled “Once a Crooked Man”.
What is David McCallum Famous For?
- For being a Scottish-American actor as well as a musician.
- For his role in the TV series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” as Illya Kuryakin.
Source: @digitalspy
What Nationality is David McCallum? Details about his Parents, Family, Education
David McCallum was born on 19th September 1933 with the birth name of David Keith McCallum Jr. His place of birth is in Maryhill, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. By nationality, he is Scottish-American and his ethnicity is Scottish-White. His race is White. His present age is 87 as of 2020. He was born as the second of two sons of David McCallum Sr., first violinist for the London Philharmonic and of Dorothy Dorman, a cellist. The family moved to London for his father to play as concertmaster in the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Early in the Second World War, he was evacuated back to Scotland, where he lived with his mother at Gartocharn by Loch Lomond. His Zodiac sign is Virgo and his religion is Christian. On 27th August 1999, he was naturalized as a United States citizen.
About his education, David McCallum attended 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. 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 was conscripted for National Service. Then, he joined the British Army’s 3rd Battalion the Middlesex Regiment, which was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force. He was promoted to lieutenant in March 1954. After he left the army, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
David McCallum Career Timeline
- David McCallum’s career began when he became assistant stage manager of the Glyndebourne Opera Company in the year 1951.
- He then started his acting career by doing boy voices for BBC Radio in 1947 and began taking bit parts in British films from the late 1950s.
- He made his debut acting role in “Whom the Gods Love, Die Young”. Later, he was signed by the Rank Organization in 1956.
- His early roles included a juvenile delinquent in “Violent Playground” (1957), an outlaw in “Robbery Under Arms” (1957) and as junior RMS Titanic radio operator Harold Bride in “A Night to Remember” (1958). Whereas his first American film was “Freud: The Secret Passion” (1962) which was then followed by “Billy Budd”.
- Additionally, he played Lt Cdr Eric Ashley-Pitt in “The Great Escape” (1963). He also later took the role of Judas Iscariot in 1965’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told”.
- His other TV 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”.
- He appeared in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” as the mysterious Russian agent Illya Kuryakin. He also received two Emmy Award nominations in the course of the show’s four-year run (1964–68) for playing the intellectual and introverted secret agent. Then, McCallum and Vaughn reprised their roles of Kuryakin and Solo in a 1983 TV film, “Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.”. He also reunited with Robert Vaughn again in an episode of ‘The A-Team’ entitled “The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair” in 1986.
- Not only this but also he appeared 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 the year 1975, he played the title character in a short-lived U.S. version of “The Invisible Man”. Moreover, he appeared on stage in Australia in “Run for Your Wife” (1987-1988).
- He then played supporting parts in a number of feature films, although he played the title role in the 1968 thriller, “Sol Madrid”.
- After then, he starred with Diana Rigg in the 1989 TV miniseries “Mother Love”. He appeared as gambler John Grey, one of the principal characters in the television series “Trainer”.
- In a 1989 episode of “Murder, She Wrote”, he appeared as an English literature teacher. He guest-starred in two U.S. television series in season 1 of “seaQuest DSV” in the 1990s. He also had a guest-star role in one episode of “Babylon 5”.
- Likewise, he narrated the acclaimed documentary “Titanic: The Complete Story” for A&E Networks in the year 1994. He also hosted and narrated the TV special “Ancient Prophecies”.
- Since the year 2003, he starred in the CBS television series “NCIS” as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. In late April 2012, it was announced that he had reached an agreement on a two-year contract extension with CBS-TV. In May 2014, he again signed another two-year contract. He has since signed extensions in 2016, beginning a limited schedule in 2017 and renewing the same for seasons 15, 16 & 17 – each one separately.
David McCallum Music Career
- David McCallum is also active in the music industry. He 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 was sampled by Dr. Dre as the intro and riff to the track “The Next Episode”, “M.I.A” by Missin’ Linx, “No Regrets” by Masta Ace, and “Actions” by John Legend.
- His version of “The Edge” appears on the soundtrack to the 2017 film “Baby Driver” as well.
- 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 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”, he did sing on the first four tracks, “Communication”, “House on Breckenridge Lane”, “In the Garden, Under the Tree” (the theme song from the film Three Bites of the Apple), and “My Carousel”. The single release of “Communication” reached No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1966.
- In the ‘Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ episode “The Discotheque Affair”, he plays the double bass as part of a band in a nightclub. In addition, he also played guitar and sang his own composition, “Trouble,” with Nancy Sinatra on “The Take Me to Your Leader Affair,” and played several instruments in “The Off-Broadway Affair”.
- In the 1970s, he recorded three H. P. Lovecraft tales for Caedmon Records, an imprint of August Derleth’s Arkham House publishing venture: “The Rats in the Walls” (TC 1347, 1973); “The Dunwich Horror” (“slightly abridged”; TC 1467, 1976); and “The Haunter of the Dark” (TC 1617, 1979).
David McCallum Novel
- David McCallum published a crime novel entitled “Once a Crooked Man” in the year 2016. He also has stated that a second novel is in progress.
David McCallum: Net Worth and Salary Earnings
David McCallum is a successful and talented actor as well as a musician. He has appeared in many movies, TV shows. His major source of wealth comes from the entertainment industry whereas he is also making a cool amount of money from the music industry as well. As of 2021, the net worth of this famous actor is estimated to have $10 Million. He is making a salary per episode of $75K at present. He is one of the richest actors on the show “NCIS”. He is living a lavish lifestyle as of today. At present, he is enjoying his life to the fullest.
David McCallum Personal Life: Who is David McCallum Wife?
David McCallum is a married man. On 11th May 1957, he married his first wife, Jill Ireland. Jill is an actress by profession. Their wedding was held in London, the United Kingdom. The couple had met during the production of the film Hell Drivers. They are also the proud parents of three sons namely Paul, Jason, and Valentine (Val). Jason, who was adopted, died from an accidental drug overdose in 1989. Val McCallum is a guitar player, playing on and off with Jackson Browne since 2002, Lucinda Williams from 2011 to 2016, and many others. He is a member of the faux country band, Jackshit. Daid and Jill’s marriage lasted for ten years. After their split, David married Katherine Carpenter in the year 1967. With the marriage, they have a son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie. David and Katherine, both are active in charitable organizations that support the United States Marine Corps. He has six grandchildren from his children. As of today, the happily married couple is enjoying their present life happily without any disturbances. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay.
Source: @fanpop
David McCallum: Height, Weight, Hair Color, Health
David McCallum, being at the age of 87, still looks young and handsome. He has an average height of 5 ft 7 in with a bodyweight of around 80 KG. His hair color is salt and pepper, and he has a pair of dark brown eyes. His body type is average. Whereas the other body size of David McCallum is still to get disclosed yet. Overall, he has got a healthy body as of now. He also wears a spectacle which suits him well.
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