David McCallum was a Scottish actor who played secret agent Ilya Kuryakin in the 1960s spy series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and later starred as medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on “NCIS.”
- Died: September 25, 2023 (Who else died on September 25?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospital in New York City of natural causes at the age of 90.
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David McCallum’s legacy
McCallum initially thought he’d have a career in music, playing the oboe in school. But after serving in the British Army, he studied acting and began appearing on the British stage and screen. As his profile rose, McCallum was cast in Hollywood films. In “The Great Escape,” he played Lieutenant Commander Eric Ashley-Pitt, one of the POWs tunneling out of a World War II prison camp. Other early films included “Billy Budd” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” in which he played Judas Iscariot.
In 1964, McCallum was cast in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” the TV hit that capitalized on the 1960s spy fiction craze. He played Russian secret agent Ilya Kuryakin, who was paired with Robert Vaughn’s (1932–2016) American spy Napoleon Solo in an international espionage agency. McCallum became a heartthrob, and his popular character was elevated from a small role to a co-lead. He remained on the show for its entire four-season run and starred in several feature films created by expanding TV episodes. After its cancellation, it would be 35 years before he had another major TV role, but in the interim, McCallum starred in the British TV series “Sapphire & Steel.” He also appeared in such TV shows as “The A-Team,” “Matlock,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Law & Order,” and “Sex and the City,” and his movies included Disney’s “The Watcher in the Woods.”
McCallum was cast as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on “NCIS” in 2003, appearing in the original episodes of “JAG,” from which the show spun off. He held the supporting role for 20 seasons, playing the agency’s chief medical examiner who later retired to become a historian. In one episode, a character wondering what Ducky looked like as a young man was told “Ilya Kuryakin” – his “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” character.
As he acted, McCallum also made music, releasing several albums in the 1960s. His instrumental song “The Edge” can be heard in the movie “Baby Driver,” and a sample from it was used in the hit Dr. Dre song “The Next Episode.”
Notable quote
“I remember once a lady in a hospital bed said that she was so happy because she could look forward to ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ It made her feel better, and I thought, ‘That’s really why we do it.’” —from a 2022 interview for Emmy magazine
Tributes to David McCallum
Full obituary: The New York Times
