1965. My eldest child, Ann Marie, is eight years old. She will be in third grade this fall. I am away from home for a couple of months in a bid to improve my skills in the classroom. The child and I have become fans of the tv program "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." So much so that when the child writes to her Daddy, she fills him in on the latest episode of the show.
2013. My memory of the show nearly half-century later is much like my memories of most tv series I have seen over the years. I do recall Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, Jr. playing featured roles. I have not asked her, but I daresay Ann's memory of the program would be no more vivid than is mine. There is some reason to believe that this show may have been instrumental in propelling Mr. McCallum's career in a most positive direction.
Today the actor plays a role, a favorite role of mine, in my favorite of the current crime-related tv series, NCIS. McCallum is Dr. "Ducky" Mallard. If I have idle tv time on my hands and no interesting new material to view, you might find me watching NCIS reruns. Watching reruns? Not a problem; reference my earlier statement about my recollections of shows I have seen.
Happy eightieth birthday to David McCallum, Jr.
Some years later as a seventh-grader, Ann and her Daddy watched "Dark Shadows" together; but that is a whole nother story.
11 comments:
How cool is that? I've seen a smattering of NCIS episodes but didn't recognize this fellow as Illya Kuryakin.
Of course, I hardly watch TV anymore, so perhaps I just hadn't had enough exposure.
But it's great that the guy is still working. Hollywood is not kind to the aged; i.e., anyone over about age 35.
I didn't make that connection until now, but what a great thing to be still vibrantly working. Kudos to him~
80- oh my! I have always loved him. On maybe the 2nd or 3rd season of NCIS, Jethro made a joke about ducky looking like someone he knew once called Illya. (His name on UNCLE was Illya Kuryakin). I laughed and laughed- thought that was very unlike the TV industry to make an inside joke like that.
Jim, I don't know why I know this, unless it is so atypical of Hollywood, but how about Tom Selleck at 68 and Len Cariou at 73? There are other oldsters still working in "the business."
Shelly, one of a like age who does virtually nothing has to admire the stamina of Mr. McCallum. ;-)
Sharkey, Jethro's reference to Illya was very funny, indeed. And probably went over the heads of, oh, say 97.3 percent of the viewers.
80 and still working - Marvelous! Not quite as marvelous as Betty White of course - she's like 90 or 91...
I vaguely remember The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - 1965 I was 19 and probably not at home in the evenings...
I've never seen NCIS - my husband never showed any interest in it and since I detest Mark Harmon - well, there you go!
It was in the second season of NCIS that NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is asked, "What did Ducky look like when he was younger?" Gibbs responds, "Illya Kuryakin."
I did get it. I loved The Man From UNCLE.
Grace, I left the mention of Betty White to you. She is indeed 91. Again, one has to admire the stamina.
I don't know that much about Harmon the person, and the Gibbs character is not a nice man, but I enjoy the show.
Chuck, great recall. UNCLE was a fun view. So was Get Smart, imo.
I missed it by that much. Sorry about that Chief.
Chuck, Barbara (99) had a pointy little chin and a huge display of teeth, but I thought she was pretty cool.
Thanks, Secondary Roads, I suspected that the NCIS writers would mention that somewhere. One of the reasons I like the series is because of the pop culture references.
Eddie Eddings, Chuck is quite a reliable source for such little tidbits. After his comment, I found a clip of the exchange on youtube.
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