# David McCallum dies age 90 (NCIS and Man From Uncle) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, celebrity-death\ **Created:** [September 25, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691 "2023-09-25T22:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/41 "2023-09-26T04:15:37Z")
The NYT article linked above includes many raves from readers who remember him in _The Great Escape._ And @Little_Nemo the last time I saw the term tontine was in an Agatha Christie mystery, but supposedly she uses it inaccurately: [Tontine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tontine#In_popular_culture) @terentii Harold Bride was 22: [Harold Bride - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Bride) And David McCallum was 24 when he played him. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/42 "2023-09-26T05:14:13Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Harold Bride was 22: [Harold Bride - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Bride) > And David McCallum was 24 when he played him. Noted, thanks for the correction. The last time I saw the movie, I was surprised by how thin David was in 1958. I don’t know if I would have recognized him if he hadn’t spoken. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/43 "2023-09-26T05:25:45Z")
Look at you all talking about David McCallum as though you have never even heard of _Sapphire And Steel_. You guys! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_gjHmEUiaxo/hqdefault.jpg "Sapphire and Steel - TV intro HQ (1979-82)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gjHmEUiaxo) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/44 "2023-09-26T05:56:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Look at you all talking about David McCallum as though you have never even heard of _Sapphire And Steel_. You guys! I don’t blame them for not mentioning _The Invisible Man_, though. > **[The Invisible Man (1975 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Man_(1975_TV_series))** > > The Invisible Man, the second television series with this title, debuted in the US in 1975 on NBC and starred David McCallum as the scientist Daniel Westin and Melinda Fee as his wife, Dr. Kate Westin. The series was created by Harve Bennett. A pilot TV movie initially aired in May 1975 and was followed by a 12-episode series later that year. A TV tie-in novel based on the script of the pilot episode was written by Michael Jahn and published by Fawcett Gold Medal in 1975. > Inspired by the origina... ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/45 "2023-09-26T11:48:42Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I was a little kid in the Man from U.N.C.L.E. days, but I had a wee crush on Ilya Kuryakin. My dad was a big fan of the show. > > NCIS didn’t catch my attention, but I did watch an episode or three some years after the show began running. I had no idea David McCallum was in it, but I recognized him instantly when I saw him in his Ducky character. He’d lost nothing of his original attractiveness. Uncanny. > > I’m glad he enjoyed good health until near the very end. R.I.P, Mr. McCallum. You seemed like a good 'un. Other than never having seen an episode of NCIS, I could have written this post. He was one of my very first crushes as a young girl. :swoon: RIP, Mr. McCallum. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/46 "2023-09-26T12:04:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The Man from Uncle made him famous, although some might recall him appearing in two Outer Limits episodes or on Perry Mason. Some of us also remember him from _The Invisible Man_ (one-season 1970’s version) and _Sapphire and Steel_, too. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not very familiar with Man from U.N.C.L.E. I do know David was a notable star on that show. A career come back 40 years later is remarkable. The truth is, he never stopped working. If you check out his Wikipedia entry you’ll find that he worked steadily in both TV and film, and later voice-over for video games, for decades. He was fortunate to have two roles that were notable to the general US audience forty years apart, but “come-back” isn’t how I’d describe his body of work. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Married for 56 years. That is a good haul. Especially for a _second_ marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/47 "2023-09-26T14:13:42Z")
He did a small guest role on _Law & Order_ back in the '90s. He’s the guy at the beginning of the episode who finds the dead body. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/48 "2023-09-26T14:24:13Z")
i remember that show. i enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/49 "2023-09-26T14:25:21Z")
I was desperately in love with Ilya Kuryakin back in the day. In comparison, Robert Vaughn was a smarmy, oily, dated-looking ‘James Bond Wanna-Be’. I never saw NCIS but am impressed he worked so long! (He was once married to Jill Ireland, who later married Charles Bronson). RIP, Mr. McCallum. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/50 "2023-09-26T14:31:28Z")
I also kind of remember him from a guest role on _Babylon 5_. I vaguely recall it not ending well for him. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/51 "2023-09-26T14:31:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Look at you all talking about David McCallum as though you have never even heard of _Sapphire And Steel_. You guys! We’ve heard of it. We were just saving him the embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/52 "2023-09-26T15:38:24Z")
Don’t diss S&S! Why, it had some of the _finest_ BBC special effects of the 1970’s. Do you think a non-existent time-traveling capsule on top of a London roof happens by _accident?_😝 😂 More seriously - S&S was better than _The Invisible Man_ series, which just couldn’t decide if it was a serious drama or a comedy. This really feels like an end of an era for me. McCallum was on TV and in film all of my life, even when he wasn’t in a starring role he was still a frequent visitor in my entertainment life. He will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/53 "2023-09-26T15:52:58Z")
He was a classically trained musician, anyone who listened to 90s hip hop and rap will recognize elements of his 1968 song “The Edge”: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jHiifI74Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jHiifI74Q) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/54 "2023-09-26T16:10:45Z")
Since looking into my genealogy I have been tuned into David McCallum. I have no reason to think we are related but one branch of my family is from the same clan. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Married for 56 years. That is a good haul. He was married to Jill Ireland for 10 years and 3 kids before that. It put a damper on his friendship with Charles Bronson when she married him less than a year later. It didn’t take McCallum to marry his wife either. That was a man who liked being married. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/55 "2023-09-26T16:56:10Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I remember buying loads of chewing gum mainly to collect the Man From UNCLE cards in the packs… When you laid them out in order, the backs formed a poster of Illya and Napoleon. I had the complete set, but lost it over time. ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/56 "2023-09-26T17:03:08Z")
When I heard that they were making a movie of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” I thought that he was an obvious choice to play Mr. Waverly, Leo G. Carroll in the TV series. I understand that many people dislike that kind of cameo, but I can’t imagine why. But the movie didn’t do very well, anyway. Is anyone else who appeared in “The Great Escape” still with us? John Leyton, one of the Tunnel Kings, with Charles Bronson, seems to be still alive at 87. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/57 "2023-09-26T17:29:49Z")
He reprised his role as Ilya Kuryakin in **The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.** in 1983, when he was 50 (!) Still did the stunts, too. Hard to believe that was forty years ago. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return\_of\_the\_Man\_from\_U.N.C.L.E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_the_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E). And does anyonme recall his two _Outer Limits_ appearances? He played the Welsh miner who gets mutated into Future Man in “The Sixth Finger” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/58 "2023-09-26T17:35:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And does anyonme recall his two _Outer Limits_ appearances? He played the Welsh miner who gets mutated into Future Man in “The Sixth Finger” Didn’t I mention that? ‘The Sixth Finger’ is the one I’ve found most people remembered him from. Most old people anyway, doesn’t seem like many younger had heard of him at all unless they were NCIS fans. That episode is just another reason I think the Outer Limits was a better and more significant show than Twilight Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/59 "2023-09-26T17:46:53Z")
Doesn’t hold for Robin. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/60 "2023-09-26T17:56:29Z")
Was it only one poster? I vaguely recall they made up into one each. But maybe they were just at opposite sides of a single picture. Mine also vanished long ago… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691.md?page=4)