Here's the article from the magazine "In Theater" - May 29th, 1998. P. 7.
McCallum's 'Secrets'. - by Kathy Henderson.
If, like me, you're a Baby Boomer who was obsessed with the Man From U.N.C.L.E. during its mid-60's run, you may be shocked to find out that the show's coolly, sexy star, David McCallum, turns 65 this year. McCallum listshis birthdate (September 19, 1933) and birthplace (Glasgow, Scotland) atop a lengthy resume of stage, TV, film and documentary credits. Now portraying one of playwright Joe Orton's agents in Nasty Little Secrets at Primary Stages, McCallum says, "I've just discovered that Orton and I were at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the same time - 1949, '50, '51. We were probably rubbing shoulders, but I never knew it."
First produced 10 years ago and newly revised by playwright Lanie Robertson, Nasty Little Secrets explores the life and violent death of the author of Entertaining Mr. Sloane and What the Butler Saw, who was killed in 1967 by his mentor and lover, Kenneth Halliwell. "I read it and thought, 'Do I really want to spend almost two months doing off-Broadway?'" McCallum says. "Then I read it again and said, 'Yes, I really do.' Lanie has a tremendous gift for words; he writes superb dialogue very much in the way of Shaw and other classical playwrights."
McCallum left Britain for America some 40 years ago, feeling that his homeland had moved too far to the left. "I didn't want to live in a country where the government told me what to do and took all my money," he says. "America is a country that gets things right from the point of view of government interference in people's lives."
Given his theater background, McCallum's success as Russian agent Illya Kuryakin on U.N.C.L.E. might seem like a fluke, "No," he says, "it came after a great deal of hustling. Show business is made up of a very small amount of talent, a great deal of hard work, and an equal amount of hustling." He doesn't mind talking about the show, he adds, "because it's nice to do work that people remember. In a strange way, that show is part of American culture."
The actor and his second wife, Katherine, have lived in New York since 1973 and raised their family in the city. "Now that our last child is graduating from college, Katherine and I intend to enjoy our empty nest," he says. As for a return to series TV, McCallum jokes, "It would have to be shot on the Upper East Side. Yes, a lovely supporting role in a great show filmed on the East Side would be nice."