Following the news that the beloved NCIS star David McCallum had died, many of the actors who have come and gone from the hit procedural took to social media to pay tribute to the actor behind the beloved Ducky. Now, Wilmer Valderrama, who has been on the CBS drama since 2016, joined the mass of people who have spoken fondly of McCallum.
Valderrama shared a photo of his character Nicholas Torres with Donald “Ducky” Mallard on Instagram. The two are looking at each other in a kind way, and it matched the loving tone of the actor's post as he wrote:
David, what an immense honor it was to share the screen with you. Your professionalism and ability to effortlessly take every one of us on a journey through your art will be felt forever. I will miss you my friend.
McCallum died at the age of 90 peacefully in his sleep. Almost immediately, the present and former cast of NCIS and its crew showed their love for the Ducky actor, noting how his legacy will always be felt on the set of the CBS procedural.
For example, NCIS executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North, released a statement that said:
For over twenty years, David McCallum endeared himself to audiences around the world playing the wise, quirky, and sometimes enigmatic, Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard. But as much as his fans may have loved him, those who worked side by side with David loved him that much more. He was a scholar and a gentleman, always gracious, a consummate professional, and never one to pass up a joke. From day one, it was an honor to work with him and he never let us down. He was, quite simply, a legend. He was also family and will be deeply missed.
This statement goes right along with Valderrama’s post. A common understanding among this team was that McCallum was a consummate professional, and they all adored working with him. Considering he starred in 457 episodes of the procedural between 2003 and 2023 – with anything past 2018 being a guest appearance – he clearly loved his job, and the cast loved him.
After his death, his co-stars, including Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette and Brian Dietzen all showed their adoration for the Ducky actor. Harmon, who helmed the show as Gibbs for 435 episodes, explained that he “was in awe” of McCallum when they met for the first time. He also said, “all of us on the show were honored to have toed a mark opposite him.”
Based on all these lovely comments made about David McCallum, it’s obvious how much his NCIS family loves him, including Wilmer Valderrama. It’s been made clear over the years that this cast loves working together, and they like to talk about it, kind of like how they celebrated the kick-off of Season 20 last summer. With that in mind, I imagine that losing a cast member can’t be easy. However, it’s lovely to see such an outpouring of appreciation and care from people he spent about two decades working with.
If you are looking to see the iconic David McCallum doing what he did best as Ducky on NCIS, you can stream Seasons 1 through 20 with a Paramount+ subscription.
