Yesterday we learned of the passing of the great David McCallum at the age of 90. While he had more than 120 acting credits to his name, and appeared in such iconic films as The Great Escape and TV series like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., for a generation he will be known first and foremost as “Ducky.” For 20 years he played Dr. Donald Mallard on NCIS and his co-stars are paying their respects.
Michael Weatherly, who worked alongside McCallum from the show’s pilot episode in 2003 until Weatherly NCIS left in 2019, took to Twitter to sing the praises of McCallum as a man and actor. He actually got his co-star's autograph at some point, something that Weatherly apparently savers for only his most important celebrity interactions.
David McCallum made every moment count, in life and on set. Let’s raise a jug and celebrate a funny fantastic authentic man. I’ve only got 3 autographs. Connery, Tony Bennett and McCallum. I felt the same way as Steve McQueen in this picture from The Great Escape: Wow! It’s David… pic.twitter.com/ve6hFvFkQDSeptember 25, 2023
McCallum appeared in 457 episodes of the show and was the final original cast member following Mark Harmon’s departure from the show. Harmon himself spoke top TVLine about the actor’s passing, saying he was in “awe” when he first met McCallum, and offering condolences to the actor’s family. Harmon said…
David lived a great, full, long life. I was in awe when I first met him and all of us on the show were honored to have toed a mark opposite him. My condolences go out to Katherine and his family.
Former NCIS cast member Pauley Perrette also posted a remembrance on Instagram, including a whole series of images of herself and McCallum together, through the years they appeared on NCIS. She posted, in part…
Oh David. What a life. What a legend. What a journey. And your legacy Will always be The love you have for your family. Love to Katherine and the kids and the grandkids, your absolutely very favorite things.
Brian Dietzen, who played Jimmy Palmer, Ducky’s assistant medical examiner, before the character took on the full-time role, posted his own remembrance of the actor that he worked most closely with. Not only was Ducky a mentor to Jimmy, but McCallum played the same role for Dietzen. It seems it was their relationship that led to Dietzen becoming a series regular in a role that was only meant to last one day. Dietezen shared:
Over the course of the next 20 years, David and I (along with our alter-ego’s Ducky and Jimmy) developed a deep friendship and love of our shared work. He was a joy to work with. Always had a smile. Always had something new to add to the page, and ALWAYS had the ability to steal every scene he was in!
McCallum had been an occasional guest star on NCIS rather than a full-time cast member, but for the people who literally have grown up watching him, he was clearly a piece of TV comfort viewing.
With NCIS Season 21 likely to get underway soon, and resolve that NCIS Season 20 ending now that the WGA Strike appears to be coming to a close, there will almost certainly be some sort of send-off and remembrance of Ducky following McCallum’s passing. Even though he was no longer a regular part of the show, it will certainly be a different place knowing that Ducky won’t be coming out of that elevator again.
