David McCallum, 'Ducky' On 'NCIS', Has Died At 90

Scottish actor David McCallum, whose career in film and TV spanned eight decades, died Monday, September 25 of natural causes. He was 90 years old for the last week of his life.

David Keith McCallum Jr. was born September 19, 1933, in Glasgow, Scotland. With the McCallums being a prominent musical family, David would end up studying at the Royal Academy of Music. His shift to acting came after performing Shakespeare’s King John and kept music as a secondary interest. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he joined Actors’ Equity (the Britsh actors guild) in 1946 where he began working on BBC Radio. What followed was several years in repertory theater performing in such productions as Amadeus, The Lion in Winter and Julius Caesar. He moved to America in 1961.

McCallum was best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin in the 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and 20 years later his longest role as Chief Medical Examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the long-running CBS procedural NCIS, beginning the role in the backdoor pilots during JAG. Kuryakin was initially a minor character with two lines, but the chemistry with Robert Vaughn was so apparent to producers that he was bumped all the way up to co-star. He was nominated for two Emmys and a Golden Globe for the role, Mallard was long a confidant of Mark Harmon’s Agent Gibbs, as well as investigator with a talent for psychological profiling. By McCallum’s death, Ducky was the last original cast member on the series, even if his presence had been lessened in recent seasons. He also made crossover appearances on NCIS: New Orleans.

"For over 20 years, David McCallum endeared himself to audiences around the world playing the wise, quirky, and sometimes enigmatic, Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard," NCIS executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North said. “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 1, 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." A previously scheduled NCIS Day 20th anniversary marathon (featuring the first episode, the penultimate season 2 episode, and a post-Gibbs episode from season 19 that premiered in January 2022) included an "In memoriam" card for McCallum. Harmon also put out his own statement, reading "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."

McCallum’s film roles include The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Great Escape, Mosquito Squadron, and Billy Budd, and voicing Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Animated Movie Universe, namely Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin, as well as in the previous and unrelated Batman: Gotham Knight. He also has numerous television guest roles, including Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes as separate characters), The Outer Limits, and Babylon 5. To people of my generation, he might be recognized as C.A.R., the talking KITT-like spy car of the Daring family from the Disney Channel animated series The Replacements, but also as Professor Paradox, the immortal time-and-space-traveling professor from the Ben 10 franchise.

McCallum’s work in music did reach the mainstream. His track "The Edge" is probably the main example, as it was sampled several times including by Dr. Dre and John Legend It also appears on the soundtracks to 2008’s Grand Theft Auto IV and 2017's Baby Driver. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Katherine, his sons Paul, Valentine, and Peter, his daughter Sophie and his eight grandchildren, with whom he would have “deep, philosophical conversations”.

Sources: Deadline, TVLine