ON the set of 1963 war film The Great Escape tough-guy actor Charles Bronson looked David McCallum in the eye and told him: “Pay more attention to your wife. Or I will take her from you.”
At the time, David – who died on Monday aged 90 after a stellar film and TV career – was married to actress Jill Ireland.
She had travelled to the set in Bavaria to watch her husband filming the part of Lt Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt, whose job was to dispose of soil dug from the escape tunnels.
But during breaks in filming, David spent time with his fellow stars, and Jill became close to Bronson, who played Polish tunnel digger Flt Lt Danny Welinski.
David later recalled: “Charlie meant it – and he did take her from me.