MEMOIRS OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
From a Glasgow childhood to one of the world’s most famous secret agents (who used to get more fan mail than Elvis)...
HE shot to stardom in the 1960s, attracting a cult following akin to that of The Beatles for his role as dashing, blond-haired secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the cult TV drama The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Now, five decades on, Glasgow-born actor David McCallum is proof that age is no barrier to success after fans of one of the most-watched series on US television campaigned to have the 84-year-old returned to their favourite show.
McCallum, whose distinguished career also includes such high-profile films as The Great Escape, will reappear in the 15th season of crime drama NCIS, reprising his role as pathologist Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard.
Today, in a rare interview, the veteran thespian recalls with affection his long journey from Glasgow to Hollywood, including fond memories of his childhood in Scotland and his starstudded career – as well as revealing the price of fame, which saw him lose his first wife to his best friend, the late actor Charles Bronson.
At his adopted home in New York, McCallum said: ‘Probably my first memory as a child is being wheeled in a pram into Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens and the smell of those steamy plants in the Kibble Palace.’
At the age of three, in 1936, his family moved from Glasgow’s West End to London after conductor Sir Thomas Beecham invited his father, David McCallum Snr, to lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the Second World War, however, the young McCallum found himself back in his homeland, living with relatives when he became one of thousands of children evacuated to rural areas to escape German bombing raids.
Recalling the time in Gartocharn, near Loch Lomond, he said: ‘It was wonderful. There were lots of cousins all together. That was where we all hung out and all through the Trossachs.
‘We’d run through the heather, behave like kids and dam the burns in Sheriffmuir. At the same time there was a war on.
‘When they bombed Clydebank you were very aware of it. One bomb fell out of a German aircraft and landed on a farm nearby and killed a chicken. I remember all the farmers being very angry about that.’
On leaving school, he took up amateur dramatics before being conscripted into National Service at 18 and promoted to lieutenant before leaving the Army in 1954.
He went on to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, befriending classmate Joan Collins, and landed a role in the 1957 film Hell Drivers alongside Sean Connery and actress Jill Ireland, who would soon become McCallum’s wife.
‘Sean was wonderful,’ he said. ‘We went out occasionally but I’ve always been an intensely private person, which is not easy in this world that we live in.
‘I played his brother who had a broken leg so I was on crutches. I went to the hospital and got hold of a doctor and he taught me how to go up and downstairs on crutches. By the time it came to playing the role, I was an expert.’
His drive for accuracy perhaps stems from his National Service, when he was taught to ‘wear a uniform and how to march’ – helping him bring a realism to his breakthrough role in the 1963 all-star blockbuster The Great Escape and, later, TV series Colditz.
He said: ‘It’s always nice to know a little bit about what you’re doing for real, so that you can do it as thoroughly as possible.’
It is a trait he maintains to this day in his role in long-running drama NCIS, even taking part in real-life autopsies for ‘research’ purposes to make his role as Ducky appear more authentic.
At a time when many would be enjoying retirement, McCallum shows no sign of slowing down. He has even negotiated new living arrangements with the producers of the CBS show to ensure his return to the series will not affect the time he spends with his grandchildren in New York.
He said: ‘For 14 years I did NCIS, which meant being in Los Angeles. I lived in Santa Monica and was there ten months of the year for each of those 14 years. I would come home to New York for two months and for long weekends.
‘This year, we changed it so I basically got rid of all my rented housing and cars in California. I’m now based in New York and I go out to Los Angeles for short periods and they get all my scenes done at the same time, so I can do four shows in two weeks.
‘It’s wonderful. NCIS is the number one drama worldwide. We are up to 340 shows. It proves how creative the writers can be. Now I am only doing half the shows, but it allows me to spend my life with my wife and my six grandsons