David McCallum dead at age 90
Ron Knights
Posts: 1,785
in The Commons
I've been a fan of David McCallum since he starred in Man from UNCLE in the 1960s. At that time, many people said I looked like him. (I was much smaller, and had the blonde hair, etc.) Many younger people are probably more familiar with his work in NCIS.
Tonight I saw the last few minutes of an old episode of NCIS, and then saw the news story. I will miss him.
https://www.cbr.com/david-mccallum-ncis-man-from-uncle-obituary/
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I watched lots of those U.N.C.L.E expisodes as a youngster. I also remember him in The Great Escape.
Very sad to hear. U.N.C.L.E. was my favourite show when I was growing up, that and Star Trek. I've enjoyed watching him in NCIS, a show I started watching only because he was in it.
-- Walt Sterdan
Sad to hear. Loved him in NCIS
Though I don't know who he was, RIP ~~
You would know him either as Ducky or Illya, depending on your age/taste in television. He was 90 and news is reporting that he passed peacefully with his family in attendance. It's sad to see him go, but from the outside at least, it appears that he had a long, full and well-lived life.
Awwww, Ducky. :(
This kind of news hits close to home for me. I live in a Senior Citizens community. At lunchtime, my "tablemates" ages run from the 80s to 100 years old. I am the youngest, at 73 years old.
It seems like every day we talk about a celebrity, and ask "is he/she still alive?!" And of course we reflect on our own mortality.
Loved zo watch him in the invisible man show.
The first memories I have of him, were from Sapphire & Steel
Rest in piece David
Sad to hear
I send my sympathy to his family and friends and thanks for sharing him with the rest of the world.
I had such a crush as a kid on Illya Kuryakin. Also loved him in the Outer Limits episode, The Sixth Finger.
I think Illya Kuryakin was the first nice "Russian" character I'd seen on TV. We were so programmed to hate the Russians back then. And I think he's what sparked my interest in pre-revolution Russian history which was never even mentioned in our school. Other than the word Tsar (or Czar) as an example of evil monarchies.
Sad to hear this. I enjoyed watching him in the man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS. He was a really good actor, Ducky was one of the characters that made NCIS such a great show.
R.I.P.
I loved his role in NCIS.
How did you watch the invisible man if he was invisible?!? OK, OK, I know, just joking.
He wasn't really familiar to me, but my daughters were saddened after his role in NCIS.
Regards,
Richard
By all accounts, he was truly a class act! He was a great performer and while I only saw a few episodes of UNCLE (and liked both Vaughn and him), he was such a joy to watch on NCIS. Some shows, you can just tell the actors all are having a great time, and with NCIS, it's quite evident.
He will be greatly missed!
For NCIS, McCallum's passing will necessitate Ducky's demise, too. With Gibbs, Abby, DiNozzo, Gerald Jackson, and Fornel departed off camera, and (Shasha Alexander's character) Caitlin dead, the entire initial cast are gone from the show.
Don't forget that Timothy McGee is still there on NCIS. Loved Ducky though. He was always a joy to watch.
True, but while Tim had a recurring role in Season 1, he wasn't part of the initial cast.
-- Walt Sterdan
Condolences. I hope he didn't suffer. I like that he just kept on working, just because he wanted to.
I only watched a few episodes of JAG/NCIS and the endless NCIS vararient shows (all of which can be pretty scary), there are just too many to keep track of, but did see him very long ago every week on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. I really liked the opening graphics and the show too. The Avengers was another spy show from back then that was very nice.
Indeed, The Avengers was my absolute favourite show in my early teens in the UK and, like most of my school pals, I had a huge crush on Emma Peel. Sadly both Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg are both departed. Oh how fleeting this life.
Ducky was one of my favorite characters on NCIS. Was so sad to hear of McCallum's passing.
I'm way behind on NCIS, I only recently found you can watch it on Amazon Prime. I just got past the episode where Tony left, but I can't imagine NCIS without Gibbs or Abby!
What a presence we shall miss. The quintessential British gentleman in his role as Dr Donald."Ducky" Mallard on the TV series NCIS. I liked his ramblings into little known (these days) subjects. Although his job is grisly, the character shows convincing respect and compassion, and insists that others also respect the dead. I've been a huge fan, and watch the show because of his character. He is already missed.
...yet another icon of my youth passes on. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was definitely one of my favourite programmes growing (was really into the secret agent stuff back then)/. A number of us in school even made our own U.N.C.L.E. badges to wear.
David was born in Scotland to musical parents . His father David Sr., was a violinist and conducted several orchestras in the UK including the Scottish National Orchestra and London Philharmonic while his mother was a cellist. David (the younger) himself was encouraged to follow a career in music and even took up the oboe, but acting and theatre seemed to be more in his blood. As a teenager he became involved in local drama groups as well as performed child voices for BBC Radio Repertory company.. After spending time in the military he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic art after which he returned to doing voices for BBC radio and playing bit parts in several British films
He also starred in a few notable films including A Night to Remember (as the Titanic wireless operator Harold Bride), was part of the all-star cast in The Great Escape as Lt Eric Ashley-Pitt who came up with the ingenious way to dispose of all the dirt from the tunnel), and portrayed Judas Iscariot in the 60s biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Of course his big break came in 1964 when he was cast as the enigmatic Russian secret agent Illya Kuryakin playing opposite Robert Vaughn
Had he followed his parents encouragement instead of his heart, he likely would lave lived a semi-obscure life in the orchestra while a generation of girls would have would have needed to find another heartthrob.
Gaah. I always thought he was in 'The Alamo' (1960) with John Wayne, but it seems I got him confused with Richard Widmark - another actor I'll have to remember now..
Regards,
Richard
Same here. RIP Ducky
Yeah, it was sad to hear this. I knew him first through The Invisible Man, then Sapphire And Steel. Reruns of The Great Escape and UNCLE came after that for me. While I stopped watching NCIS many years ago when the repetition became too much, I always enjoyed watching him as Ducky and thought it was great he had a second wind of fame through that role.
Spoiler Alert: I was seriously behind on my watching, too. But the local cable provider had several channels showing reruns of all the episodes up to Season 19, then I had to switch to the reruns showing on CBS to get the last season. Abby left about a year after Ziva and Tony did, but they did make some appearances on the show after Abby departed. Then Ducky semiretired, and Gibbs left in Season 19.
Additional Spoiler Alert: look for the episode featuring the X-rated, Red-Light District--Nuddist Colony in Seattle--it's awesome! LOL!!