What was David McCallum's Net Worth and Salary?
David McCallum was a Scottish actor, musician, and author who had a net worth of $15 million at the time of his death. McCallum was best known for starring as secret agent Illya Kuryakin on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964–1968) and medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on "NCIS" (2003–2023). His "NCIS" salary was $175,000 per episode.
David has more than 130 acting credits to his name, including the films "Billy Budd" (1962), "The Great Escape" (1963), and "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965) and the television series "Colditz" (1972–1974), "Sapphire & Steel" (1979–1982), "Trainer" (1991–1992), "VR-5" (1995), and "The Education of Max Bickford" (2001–2002). McCallum has released the albums "Music…A Part of Me" (1966), "Music…A Bit More of Me" (1966), "Music…It's Happening Now!" (1967), and "McCallum" (1968), and he published the crime novel "Once a Crooked Man" in 2016.
David McCallum died on September 25, 2023 at the age of 90.
Early Life
David McCallum was born David Keith McCallum Jr. on September 19, 1933, in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. His mother, Dorothy, was a cellist, and his father, David Sr., was an orchestral violinist. At a young age, David and his older brother, Iain, moved to London with their parents so their father could take a job as the leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. During World War II, McCallum's mother took him back to Scotland, and they lived with her sister until they found a home by Loch Lomond.
David earned a scholarship to London's University College School, where he played the oboe. He soon discovered a love of acting, and he told "The Scotsman" newspaper, "I played The Little Prince in Shakespeare's 'King John,' at one of those local things where people do skits and songs. Mine was the little prince having his eyes put out by this terrible man, and I acted it, evidently, very well, because I got a standing ovation. I wasn't more than eight. And I said: 'Hey, hey, hey, this is kinda cool!' I don't know if I consciously thought it, but I had found the place I wanted to be: on a stage, with the lights and make-up and the people."
McCallum appeared in a Play and Pageant Union production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at age 17, and the following year, he left school and was called up for National Service. He served in the British Army's 3rd Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant in 1954. After his time in the army, David attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Career
In 1951, McCallum began working as assistant stage manager of the Glyndebourne Opera Company, and he made his television debut in the 1953 miniseries "The Rose and the Ring." In 1957, he had an uncredited role in the film "Night Ambush" and appeared in "The Secret Place," "Dangerous Youth," "Hell Drivers," and "Robbery Under Arms." David portrayed Harold Bride in the 1958 film "A Night to Remember," which was about the sinking of the Titanic, then he appeared in "The Long and the Short and the Tall" (1961), "Jungle Street" (1961), and "Freud: The Secret Passion" (1962). He played Lieutenant-Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt in 1963's "The Great Escape," and he guest-starred on "The Outer Limits" (1963; 1964) and "Perry Mason" (1964) and portrayed John Adams on "Profiles in Courage" (1964). From 1964 to 1968, David starred as Russian agent Illya Kuryakin on the NBC series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," which aired 105 episodes over four seasons. He reprised his role in the films "To Trap a Spy" (1964), "The Spy with My Face" (1965), "One Spy Too Many" (1966), "The Spy in the Green Hat" (1966), "One of Our Spies Is Missing" (1966), "The Karate Killers" (1967), "The Helicopter Spies" (1968), and "How to Steal the World" (1968) and the TV movie "Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1983).
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While starring on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," McCallum also portrayed Judas Iscariot in the 1965 film "The Greatest Story Ever Told," which earned five Academy Award nominations, and appeared in "Around the World Under the Sea" (1966) and "Three Bites of the Apple" (1967). He played Simon Carter on the British series "Colditz" from 1972 to 1974 and Daniel Westin on NBC's "The Invisible Man" from 1975 to 1976, and he appeared in the films "Rascal" (1969), "She Waits" (1972), "Night of the Lepus" (1972), and "Dogs" (1976). From 1979 to 1982, David starred as Steel on the British supernatural series "Sapphire & Steel," and in 1980, he appeared in the horror film "The Watcher in the Woods." He guest-starred on "As the World Turns" (1983), "Hart to Hart" (1986), "The A-Team" (1986), "Matlock" (1987), "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1988), and "Murder, She Wrote" (1989), then he starred as John Grey on the BBC series "Trainer" from 1991 to 1992. McCallum appeared in the films "Hear My Song" (1991), "Dirty Weekend" (1993), and "Healer" (1994), and he narrated the A&E documentary "Titanic: The Complete Story" (1994) and the ITV game show "Scavengers" (1994–1995).
From 2001 to 2002, David played Walter Thornhill on the CBS drama "The Education of Max Bickford," and in 2003, he landed the role of Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the CBS police procedural "NCIS." The popular series began its 19th season in 2021 and has aired more than 400 episodes as of this writing. McCallum also played "Ducky" in a 2003 episode of "JAG" and two episodes of "NCIS: New Orleans" (2014; 2016). During his time on "NCIS," David has voiced Zeus in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie "Wonder Woman" (2009) and Alfred Pennyworth in "Batman: Gotham Knight" (2008), "Son of Batman" (2014), and "Batman vs. Robin" (2015), and he has voiced characters on the TV series "The Replacements" (2006–2009), "Ben 10: Alien Force" (2008–2010), "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2009), "Ben 10: Ultimate Alien" (2010–2012), and "Ben 10: Omniverse" (2013–2014). He also narrated the 2019 PBS documentary "D-Day at Pointe-du-Hoc."
Personal Life
David married actress Jill Ireland on May 11, 1957, after meeting on the set of the film "Hell Drivers." Their adopted son, Jason, passed away from an accidental drug overdose in 1989. McCallum spoke to "The Belfast Telegraph" about Jason's death in a 2016 interview, stating, "You never come to terms with the death of a child. The pain is very real, but it's like an ache that turns into anger. At the same time, there's a frustration that you couldn't really have done anything about it, which makes it even worse."
David and Jill also welcomed sons Valentine and Paul before divorcing in 1967; Ireland died of breast cancer six months after Jason's death. McCallum married model Katherine Carpenter on September 16, 1967, and they have a daughter named Sophie and a son named Peter. David was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1999.
Awards and Nominations
McCallum has received three Primetime Emmy nominations: Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Actors and Performers (1965) and Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series (1966) for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (1969) for the "Teacher, Teacher" episode of "Hallmark Hall of Fame." David earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best TV Star – Male for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." in 1966 and a Bravo Otto nomination for Best Male TV Star in 1968. In 1966, he won a Golden Laurel for New Faces, Male at the Laurel Awards.
