Line #31 Creator/DavidMcCallum


1	[[quoteright:338:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/davidmccallum_1a.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:338:[[FunWithAcronyms U.N.C.L.E. or N.C.I.S.]] – You just gotta love this guy!]]
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4	->''"It’s interesting because I’ve done a few shows in my life that are still... 'extant' I think is the word. ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' seems to be absolutely timeless and go on forever. ''Series/{{The Outer Limits\|1995}}'' is another show.... ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' falls into that. And I think it’s because there is that element of 'cult'."''
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6	David Keith [=McCallum=] (September 19, 1933 – September 25, 2023) was a UsefulNotes/{{Scot\|land}}tish[=-born=] actor, musician, forensic science expert and author whose career spanned more than six decades. Many of his acting roles were in "genre" films and television; a few of his more famous roles are frankly iconic. His most famous 20th century role was that of [[FakeRussian Illya Kuryakin]] in ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'', but in the new millennium, he became equally or more well known as [[CoolOldGuy Dr Donald "Ducky" Mallard]] in ''Series/{{NCIS}}''.
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8	Although his roles were many and varied (he worked on stage, television and films on at least three continents: Europe/UK, North America and Australasia), some common themes cropped up from time to time. He once (or twice) joked that his tombstone would read "Here lies Illya Kuryakin" and not only did he reprise the role for the ReunionShow of ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' in the 80s, but also when he guest-starred on ''Series/TheATeam'' later that decade the character he played was a thinly disguised parody of Illya. His character in ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' was in some ways a supernatural version, being a coldly efficient transdimensional agent. However, many of his earliest roles were as often-delinquent teenagers in [[TheFifties 1950s]] British social realist dramas. Another theme would be UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Allied [=POWs=] intent on escaping, which describes his characters in ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Series/{{Colditz}}''. And he is one of only five actors to have appeared in both the [[Series/TheOuterLimits1963 1960s]] and [[Series/TheOuterLimits1995 1990s]] versions of ''The Outer Limits''.
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10	His musical exploits are less well known, but were also varied. (Both his parents were professional musicians.) He played oboe and guitar, sang, composed and was known to conduct the occasional orchestra. During the height of his fame with ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'', he [[TheCastShowOff wrote and played guitar on a duet he sang]] with Music/NancySinatra in one episode and also released four instrumental albums. His 1967 instrumental tune "The Edge" was famously sampled by Music/DrDre on his 2000 single "The Next Episode".
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12	[=McCallum=] also wrote a novel, a crime thriller called ''[[http://sandstonepress.com/news/2015/7/27/david-mccallum-publishes-debut-crime-novel-with-sandstone-press Once a Crooked Man]]'', which was published in January 2016.
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14	[=McCallum=] died of natural causes in 2023, just six days after his ninetieth birthday.
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17	!!Selected Works:
18	* ''Robbery Under Arms'' (1957) - [[AntiVillain Jim Marston]]
19	* ''Film/HellDrivers'' (1957) - Jimmy Yately
20	* ''Violent Playground'' (1958) - [[TeensAreMonsters Johnnie Murphy]]
21	* ''Freud'' (1962) - Carl von Schlossen
22	* ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' (1963) - Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal"
23	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' - Gwyllim Griffiths in [[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S1E5TheSixthFinger "The Sixth Finger"]] and Tone Hobart in [[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S1E32TheFormsOfThingsUnknown "The Forms of Things Unknown"]]
24	* '' Film/TheGreatestStoryEverTold'' (1965) - Judas Iscariot
25	* ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' - [[{{Lzherusskie}} Illya]] [[MrFanservice Kuryakin]]
26	** Also reprised the role for the ReunionShow ''The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair''.
27	* ''Teacher, Teacher'' (1969 TV Movie) - Hamilton Cade
28	** ''Series/HallmarkHallOfFame'' presentation, based on a play by Ellison Carroll. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYEfiw7hPxE Excerpt here]].
29	* ''Series/{{Colditz}}'' - Flt. Lt. Simon Carter
30	* ''Film/FrankensteinTheTrueStory'' - Dr. Henry Clerval
31	* ''The Invisible Man'' (1975 U.S. TV Series) - Dr. Daniel Westin
32	* ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}'' as Clarence
33	* ''Literature/{{Kidnapped}}'' (1978 TV Mini-Series) - Alan Breck Stewart
34	* ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' - Steel
35	* ''Film/TheWatcherInTheWoods'' (1981) - Paul Curtis
36	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' - Joshua Hayward in [[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E17FeasibilityStudy "Feasibility Study"]]
37	* Creator/NationalGeographicChannel's ''Taboo'' (2002) - Narrator
38	* ''Series/VR5'' - Dr. Joseph Bloom
39	* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' - Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard
40	** He also played the same role in the precursor series ''Series/{{JAG}}'' and successor ''Series/NCISNewOrleans''.
41	* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', ''Creator/CartoonNetwork Universe: [=FusionFall=]'': [[{{Expy}} Professor]] [[DoctorWhomage Paradox]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight'', ''WesternAnimation/SonOfBatman'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsRobin'': Alfred Pennyworth

Context Creator / DavidMcCallum