David McCallum is a doting dad of five. Following his 10-year marriage to actress Jill Ireland, the TV star welcomed three sons – Paul, Jason, and Valentine (Val). He later became a father to a fourth son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie, after meeting his second wife, Katherine Carpenter in 1967.
Famed for his work in TV and film, it looks like the actor passed on his passion for showbiz, as David's son Val is also in the entertainment business.
Who is David McCallum's famous son Val McCallum?
An American guitarist and singer-songwriter, Val McCallum has toured with and served as a studio musician to some of the world's most famous artists, including Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, The Wallflowers, Bonnie Raitt, and Loretta Lynn.
Like his father, he's also been involved with TV shows and in 2017, he worked as a composer on the series, Sun Records, starring Drake Milligan, Chad Michael Murray and Billy Gardell.
In an interview with Folk and Tumble, Val revealed that prior to discovering music, his mother – Jill Ireland – had hoped he'd pursue acting. "Well, my mom wanted me to," he said. "She sent me to an acting coach but she didn't like the way I said my S's. So I was happy with that. I never really wanted to go down that route."
Val had already inherited a love of music from his father's side. His paternal grandfather was the celebrated orchestral violinist, David McCallum Sr, and his grandmother, Dorothy, was a cellist.
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"My grandfather actually played on The Beatles' track A Day In The Life," Val told Guitar.com. "He's also credited by Jimmy Page for suggesting using a violin bow on the strings of his electric guitar."
MORE: Everything NCIS star David McCallum has said about his wife Katherine Carpenter
Coincidentally, Val's father David almost became a musician himself before establishing his career as a Hollywood actor. In an interview with Radio Times, the NCIS star recalled: "My father and mother were both musicians. I became an oboe player and my father offered to send me to Paris, to the Conservatoire, and study the oboe. By that time I was hooked on the stage and said, 'No, I'm going to go on the boards.' And I did."
What else is there to know about David McCallum's family?
Tragically, one of David's sons, Jason, died from an accidental overdose in 1989.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph about his son previously, David said: "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." He added: "In the final analysis, he had the life he had. You just have to accept it."
The NCIS actor later told The Mirror: "I had some fantastic times with him and his lasting legacy is a son, Tory, who has become friends with my sons. I didn't know Jason had posthumously become a father until a card arrived in New York a few months after his death. It was from a young woman who had been living with him, telling me they had a son. "He's in his early 20s now and I hope he turns out to be as fine a person as his dad."
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