David McCallum, Sr.

Born	26 March 1897(1897-03-26) Kilsyth, Scotland, UK
Died	21 March 1972(1972-03-21) (aged 74) Arundel, Sussex, England, UK
Alma mater	Royal College of Music
Occupation	Violinist
Children	David McCallum Iain McCallum

David McCallum, Sr. (26 March 1897 – 21 March 1972) was the Scottish leader (principal first violinist) of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Scottish National Orchestra. He was also the father of actor David McCallum and of author Iain McCallum.

Life and career

McCallum was born in Kilsyth, near Glasgow to a musical family. He studied at the Glasgow Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied under Maurice Sons, a pupil of Henryk Wieniawski and leader of the Queen's Hall Orchestra. He modelled his playing on Fritz Kreisler.

Early in his career he arranged music for several local silent cinemas. He also played in the cinema trio, and it was here that he met his wife, cellist Dorothy Dorman.

In 1922 he broadcast as a solo violinist for the first time. Between 1932 and 1936 he led the Scottish Orchestra in Glasgow under John Barbirolli, then was asked by Sir Thomas Beecham to lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra in succession to Paul Beard who had joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

During the Second World War McCallum led the National Symphony Orchestra and played with the London Studio Players and the BBC's Overseas Music Unit. After the war, McCallum rejoined Beecham, this time as leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. On the First American Tour of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950, Beecham fell ill. McCallum stood in as conductor and his stint on the conductor's podium earned positive reviews.^[1]

He had several small roles in movies. His hands are seen playing the violin for Stewart Granger in an uncredited role in The Magic Bow (1946). He played the blind fiddler in the film Last Holiday (1950) which starred Alec Guinness.^[2] He also appeared as himself in "Prelude to Fame".^[3]

In 1967 McCallum was one of 40 musicians assembled to perform on The Beatles' track "A Day in the Life".^[4] From 1961 to 1971 he was leader of Annunzio Mantovani's orchestra. At this time, his son David McCallum Jr. was at the height of his fame, prompting Mantovani to introduce his leader to audiences with the quip, "We can afford the father but not the son!"^[2] Indeed, McCallum Sr. played on several tracks arranged and conducted by his son which featured on the Capitol Records LPs Music...A Part Of Me and Music...A Bit More Of Me released in 1966.^[4]

McCallum Sr. died at Arundel in Sussex on 21 March 1972.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page credits McCallum with giving him the idea of playing his guitar with a violin bow according to MTV's Led Zeppelin Rockumentary.

References

1. ^ Sir Thomas Beecham
2. ^ ^{a b} http://www.hallowquest.com/dmccallum.htm
3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564715/
4. ^ ^{a b} http://www.fanfromfla.net/dmc/media/Channel%20D%20Liner%20Notes.pdf

Biographical notes at Mantovani website [1]

External links

• David McCallum, Sr. at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Maccallum, David, Sr.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 March 1897
Place of birth	Kilsyth, Scotland, UK
Date of death	21 March 1972
Place of death	Arundel, Sussex, England, UK