# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/61 "2023-09-26T17:58:58Z")
I thought he was fabulous! I’m sorry to see him gone, but at least he lived a full and wonderful life! ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/62 "2023-09-26T18:09:00Z")
When I was 11, I wanted to be Robin. I have since made many people laugh doing my impression of Burt Ward. I remember either _ **TV Guide** _ or some fan magazine doing an article on Burt Ward back in 1966. It was titled “Robin Is on the Beam” and had a photo of him in costume holding a Bat–walkie-talkie. For a while, he was a hot item. ---
**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, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/63 "2023-09-26T18:29:56Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > 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’. Full article from _ **MAD Magazine** _ (1965): > **[The Man From A.U.N.T.I.E. - The Sour Grapes Affair - Spy Guys And Gals](https://spyguysandgals.com/sgLookupParodies.aspx?id=18)** > > Facts about the parody 'The Man From A.U.N.T.I.E. - The Sour Grapes Affair' ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/64 "2023-09-26T18:31:37Z")
Never a big McCallum fan; in the classic “Bond era,” he always seemed a little too scrawny to be credible as a spy (_Man From UNCLE_) or action hero (_Sol Madrid_, 1968). He’s pretty bad as “Johnnie” in _Violent Playground_ (1958), a psycho gang leader who ends up holding a classroom of young children hostage with a machine gun. He’s not much better in the heavy-handed _Freud_ (1962) as a disturbed son who has feelings for his mother. Mention has been made of “The Sixth Finger,” but his other episode of _The Outer Limits_ is (imo) one of the very best of the series. “The Form of Things Unknown” (1964) was “filmed as a pilot for a new Joseph Stefano series. When it didn’t sell, it was partially re-shot (adding fantasy elements)” for _TOL_. - ["The Outer Limits" The Forms of Things Unknown (TV Episode 1964) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0667833/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv) Super-creepy, its impact has less to do with McCallum (or any of the cast) than with the brilliant cinematography of Conrad Hall. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/65 "2023-09-26T19:01:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > On NCIS he looked just like an older Ilya Kuryakin. The Man from Uncle made him famous, although some might recall him appearing in two Outer Limits episodes or on Perry Mason. I was just the right age for _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._. And I had a _serious_ crush on Ilya Kuryakin. The show tried to push Robert Vaughn as the romantic swoon-worthy hero, but, nah, the fans knew. It was Ilya all the way. The _Outer Limits_ episode I remember was the one where he was a scientist using a machine to increase his brain power (?), and it made his head HUUUUUGE. As corny as that sounds, it was a touching episode due to McCallum’s acting skill. R.I.P. > [@TriPolar](#): > > That episode is just another reason I think the Outer Limits was a better and more significant show than Twilight Zone. Agree completely. TOL was deeper, less sentimental, and more adventurous in attitude. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/66 "2023-09-26T19:15:26Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Full article from _ **MAD Magazine** _ (1965): That was pretty damn good. ---
**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, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/67 "2023-09-26T19:16:45Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I was just the right age for _The Man from U.N.C.L.E_… The show tried to push Robert Vaughn as the romantic swoon-worthy hero, but, nah, the fans knew. It was Ilya all the way. Like Chekov on _ **Star Trek** _, being a “good Russian” was part of Ilya’s appeal. ---
**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, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/68 "2023-09-26T19:20:33Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > The _Outer Limits_ episode I remember was the one where he was a scientist using a machine to increase his brain power (?), and it made his head HUUUUUGE. He also grew a sixth finger, IIRC. I saw that episode when I was six or seven, and it thoroughly creeped me out! 😳 ---
**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, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/69 "2023-09-26T19:36:55Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > That episode is just another reason I think the Outer Limits was a better and more significant show than Twilight Zone. > > Agree completely. TOL was deeper, less sentimental, and more adventurous in attitude. I gotta disagree. Although they had some wonderful episodes (including Harlan Ellison’s two), in most of the episodes they seemed to either get hold of a great concept and not know what to do with it, or else get all fantastical. I’d rather watch a random TZ episode than a random OL episode. But I don’t want to hijack… We can start another thread if w want to argue about it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/70 "2023-09-26T19:40:14Z")
Nah. I think it’s just _de gustibuts._ I remember a lot of clunkers in both shows along with the great ones, and certain TZ shows will make me weep buckets, but maybe it was my age when the show aired, but TOL always made me think. ---
**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, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/71 "2023-09-26T19:46:15Z")
I think there were other card sets that could form a poster. Beatles cards are popping up in my memory but I’m not really clear on that. Maybe Bond cards? There was toy merchandizing from the Bond films. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/72 "2023-09-26T19:55:54Z")
Big, big fan when it came out. Formed an U.N.C.L.E. club in 6th grade, complete with our own secret code for passing messages in class. I was kinda skinny and had blond hair so I certainly identified with Illya. Sent a fan letter in and got an “autographed” 8 x 10: [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHexhaUTwCPzX1LFQbnBBWuRVw2lFyFx7l9Th9UPkbyhrpXFdrOZ7spJnKkwha6pFtMpzZpeB3iD-cclUkDSztTNvMKIQIVpRLigE0tJ7E7VzDb-T41tgxoFsmUx1k79d1Zc6k4qw5wttGLa-Y2Pd2nLpyyRVlR5zS9429HFcNNazBUTCYoP8MHw7cHlevtHDpbv3pH0dximsZcja_b02uviTvqbEkyJfFBNjPgyculShVxvDEjiLehIGkOnHlzy4cU4m7SnFA1VJ2-oYa3loSS46poTh4uPjfrSnTuNAifwlDYdi1u3QOvyNX_rqg67uu6n2GNKbcbRmDCRdV-r523t0cM8gSNWtC_dEOx6UvbD3e1hr-c3MUzEaWz6DEojoI5od1lKFTnoqTum1IQC34CXSC_2AzayBHY5mnEK9Z6kaYbZX7QnkmUg7GdLQ4mgm1FqkdtRtJZfvpthT-B6wnDHitHT6NtIK7O9FuclLGu-VEcYHduudBrgKKH5RHew3uAhjAxuvfPqWYA2EFWj_HIxdSQ1kUfxynjYAvUnlXw_EN9RwzoQmYNpoKSPhD0xh51K123Y6IpVCQ_eKcyyZ_VpbCCot5cDYz16zQC80lnOPTrTA1KRynDqH8lkv0yOPMGGgTZvhGnNGURWmHNlKNq85hD9xzQmCq8Q1AUfq76dc2SPWn-98H5hQQAsXhQmCsqqXOzdMVnaUdtds_f1UsKqFaS2nufBLgHB-pwMtOH8twavRWwF5Rh0LrBhwohpWkiu8JYfganriETEWbc1k9HdwEoUyCJ988TIE4z2oj1CaYWcK_eMucl3OoU-75MtZF1IoTdpbMuntqBAXkzCIx3b-VdvigzzGezpe7gbnlhh6kwhryzdNUoKFveeTJdfJH_iLLNo-oNvLZZDVLCXCLdqfbQ=w540-h616-s-no?authuser=0) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHexhaUTwCPzX1LFQbnBBWuRVw2lFyFx7l9Th9UPkbyhrpXFdrOZ7spJnKkwha6pFtMpzZpeB3iD-cclUkDSztTNvMKIQIVpRLigE0tJ7E7VzDb-T41tgxoFsmUx1k79d1Zc6k4qw5wttGLa-Y2Pd2nLpyyRVlR5zS9429HFcNNazBUTCYoP8MHw7cHlevtHDpbv3pH0dximsZcja_b02uviTvqbEkyJfFBNjPgyculShVxvDEjiLehIGkOnHlzy4cU4m7SnFA1VJ2-oYa3loSS46poTh4uPjfrSnTuNAifwlDYdi1u3QOvyNX_rqg67uu6n2GNKbcbRmDCRdV-r523t0cM8gSNWtC_dEOx6UvbD3e1hr-c3MUzEaWz6DEojoI5od1lKFTnoqTum1IQC34CXSC_2AzayBHY5mnEK9Z6kaYbZX7QnkmUg7GdLQ4mgm1FqkdtRtJZfvpthT-B6wnDHitHT6NtIK7O9FuclLGu-VEcYHduudBrgKKH5RHew3uAhjAxuvfPqWYA2EFWj_HIxdSQ1kUfxynjYAvUnlXw_EN9RwzoQmYNpoKSPhD0xh51K123Y6IpVCQ_eKcyyZ_VpbCCot5cDYz16zQC80lnOPTrTA1KRynDqH8lkv0yOPMGGgTZvhGnNGURWmHNlKNq85hD9xzQmCq8Q1AUfq76dc2SPWn-98H5hQQAsXhQmCsqqXOzdMVnaUdtds_f1UsKqFaS2nufBLgHB-pwMtOH8twavRWwF5Rh0LrBhwohpWkiu8JYfganriETEWbc1k9HdwEoUyCJ988TIE4z2oj1CaYWcK_eMucl3OoU-75MtZF1IoTdpbMuntqBAXkzCIx3b-VdvigzzGezpe7gbnlhh6kwhryzdNUoKFveeTJdfJH_iLLNo-oNvLZZDVLCXCLdqfbQ=w540-h616-s-no?authuser=0) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/73 "2023-09-26T20:56:40Z")
Closing Channel “D”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/74 "2023-09-26T21:02:49Z")
Sounds like I’ll have to break out my _The Outer Limits_ boxed set… (I sure do have a lot of boxed sets of shows!) ---
**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, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/75 "2023-09-26T21:15:38Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I was just the right age for _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._. And I had a _serious_ crush on Ilya Kuryakin. The show tried to push Robert Vaughn as the romantic swoon-worthy hero, but, nah, the fans knew. It was Ilya all the way. I was more interested in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. and Honey West. Vaughn as Napoleon Solo did go over well in general though. At the time his character was competing with Sean Connery as Bond… James Bond. Vaughn didn’t stand a chance in that matchup. A TMFU book I read made him much cooler in a way Vaughn could not have pulled off. He looked old compared to McCallum, and I’d seen aging over a few years in movies and TV shows. I was pretty young at the time so a few years was like forever, and everybody seemed a lot older to me also, but Ilya still seemed youthful. Artemis Gordon was mentioned somewhere. He often lost the girl to Jim West at the end of the episode. I don’t know anybody who would rather be Artemis than Jim. The movie was an atrocity. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I gotta disagree. Although they had some wonderful episodes (including Harlan Ellison’s two), in most of the episodes they seemed to either get hold of a great concept and not know what to do with it, or else get all fantastical. I’d rather watch a random TZ episode than a random OL episode. > > But I don’t want to hijack… We can start another thread if w want to argue about it. I didn’t find a thread with that specific debate, plenty referenced both shows. It will be a debate about the better of two ground breaking shows, both often remembered for either their best or worst episodes. What do you think? Should we do a thread? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/76 "2023-09-26T21:29:46Z")
I saw Robert Vaugh a few months ago in _The Young Philadelphians_ which was a showcase for the rising star Paul Newman, but Vaughn stole the movie. And, man, does he have a big filmography. ---
**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, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/77 "2023-09-26T21:45:50Z")
I think I’d rather be partnered with John Drake than with Napoleon Solo. ---
**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 27, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/78 "2023-09-27T03:17:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So _The Great Escape_ tontine is down to John Leyton and William Russell. Oddly enough, this was posted on **Quora** two days ago: _One of two remaining survivors of World War II’s most famous prison break, known as The Great Escape, has died in a Perth hospital._ _Paul Royle was 101 years old when he died on Sunday at Hollywood Hospital in Perth, following surgery for a fractured hip._ _He was one of more than 70 men who broke out of a German prisoner of war camp in Poland called Stalag Luft III in 1944_ ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/79 "2023-09-27T14:46:46Z")
I actually remember that Mad Magazine issue, lol! They were spot on. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691/80 "2023-09-27T15:06:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > _I think there were other card sets that could form a poster. Beatles cards are popping up in my memory but I’m not really clear on that._ I still have a bunch of the Beatles cards but I never got nearly enough to make the poster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691.md?page=5)