Trivia

In an interview for a retrospective television special, he 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.".

While making The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's history, including such popular MGM stars as Clark Gable and Elvis Presley.

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Robert Vaughn: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965) and The A-Team (1983).

Father was concertmaster and violinist David McCallum Sr.; a black & white photograph from the mid-'60s of David, Sr. and David, Jr. was used during one episode of NCIS (2003). The photo can be seen in Victoria's (Ducky's mother's) bedroom in The Meat Puzzle (2005).

As a child, he was an evacuee during WWII to Stewarton, Ayrshire.

He has a daughter, Sophie, and son, Peter, from his marriage to Katherine Carpenter. Jill Ireland and he had three children, Paul McCallum, Valentine McCallum, and an adopted son, Jason, who died on 7th November 1989 from an accidental drug overdose.

Best known by the public for his starring roles as secret agent Illya Kuryakin on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and as chief medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on NCIS (2003).

In The Meat Puzzle (2005), Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is asked what Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum) looked like as a young man. Gibbs replies: "Illya Kuryakin". Ilya Kuryakin is the name of McCallum's character in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), a role for which he was nominated for two Emmys and a Golden Globe.

David met Katherine Carpenter (his widow) quite by accident. On a Sunday in New York in 1965, he and Robert Vaughn were posing for Glamour magazine and were accompanied by several high fashion models to various landmarks in the city. One of the models was Katherine, who he would marry two years later.

Became a close acquaintance of Donald Pleasence and James Garner while filming The Great Escape (1963).

He has played the same character (Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard) in three different series: JAG (1995), NCIS (2003) and NCIS: New Orleans (2014).

One of the first British actors to study method acting.

He was diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture (a common benign condition which involves the thickening and contracture of the fibrous connective tissue beneath the skin of the palm). He underwent surgery in mid-2009 to alleviate the condition. Other sufferers of the condition are Bill Nighy and Ronald Reagan.

He wrote the book "Once a Crooked Man" (2016), which mixes an espionage novel and a mystery thriller with some light comedy thrown in. The book was published by Minotaur, and the hardcover is 337 pages long.

Of the three original stars of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), he is the only one who never appeared on the spin-off series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966).

Was among those briefly considered by the BBC as a potential Doctor in Doctor Who (1963) before Tom Baker was chosen instead for budgetary reasons. He was again briefly considered in the 1980s but not approached as by then he was living full time in the USA. He was also considered for the guest role of Dr. Judson in the 1989 serial The Curse of Fenric: Part One (1989).

His hobbies include golf and computing.

Was stricken with rheumatic fever as a child.

Primary residence is in Atlantic Beach, New York.

Son, Valentine McCallum, is a respected guitarist and session musician, recording and performing with artists Jonatha Brooke, Vonda Shepard and Sheryl Crow.

In the 1960s, McCallum recorded four albums for Capitol Records with music producer David Axlerod. 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, and "No Regrets" by Masta Ace.

Has an intense fear of heights.

With the deaths of Karl-Otto Alberty on April 25, 2015, he is one of the three surviving cast members of The Great Escape (1963), along with John Leyton and William Russell.

At 14 he was a theatre electrician's assistant.

Insisted that people often mispronounce his last name: it's pronounced "MC-Kal-Lumb", not "MC-col-lumb".

His first wife, Jill Ireland, met her second husband, Charles Bronson, during the filming of The Great Escape (1963).

Along with Leonard Nimoy, Cliff Robertson, Barbara Rush and Peter Breck, he is one of only five actors to appear in both The Outer Limits (1963) and The Outer Limits (1995). He played Gwyllim Griffiths in The Sixth Finger (1963) and Tone Hobart in The Forms of Things Unknown (1964) and Joshua Hayward in Feasibility Study (1997).

He was considered for Joe Dawson in Highlander (1992).

Attended RADA 1949 - 1951.

Of Clan Malcolm.

In Hear My Song (1991) he played Chief Constable Jim Abbott, a senior policeman attempting to track down and arrest the famous Irish singer (and tax fugitive) Josef Locke when a nightclub entrepreneur smuggles Locke back into the UK on a fishing boat for one last payday performance in Liverpool. Whilst the film was part fact and part fiction, in real life McCallum's father was a famous violinist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and actually played for the real Josef Locke in his career. McCallum recalled this story during publicity interviews for the film.

David attended the 1982 COMDEX (Computer Dealer Expo) computer convention.

Is the first NCIS (2003) main cast member to die.

When he did his National Service he spent 18 months on West Africa.

He doesn't smoke but likes wine.

He is a Republican.

Best remembered as Illya Kuryakin in The Man From Uncle.

He was friends with Tibor Rubin.

He was living in Hampstead, London when World War 2 started.

Coincidentally died on the same day as NCIS (2003) 20th anniversary mini-marathon aired.