David McCallum, the Scottish actor best known for his roles in the 1960s spy series “The Man From UNCLE” and four decades later in the CBS crime film “NCIS,” died on September 25 at the age of 90 years.
According to a statement obtained by CBS, Mr. McCallum died at New York Presbyterian Hospital “surrounded by his family” and is survived by his wife of 56 years, Katherine McCallum, four children and eight grandchildren. The cause was not immediately known.
In a statement distributed by the broadcaster, son Peter McCallum praised his father’s kindness and devotion to the family, as well as his love of science and culture. “Somehow, even at 90, Dad never got old,” he said.
Mr. McCallum was an integral part of “NCIS,” one of the longest-running series on U.S. television. He joined the crime series when it launched in 2003, playing Donald “Ducky” Mallard, the chief medical examiner for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and remained a familiar on-screen face until season 20 this year.
In an oral history of “NCIS” released on the day of Mr. McCallum’s death, insiders spoke to about his importance to the wildly popular series. According to director James Whitmore Jr., co-creator Donald P. Bellisario threatened to pull out of the production if Mr. McCallum wasn’t cast.
“He was so serious,” Whitmore remembers. “The studio went along with it, and of course David McCallum is worth his weight in gold.” At 90, Mr. McCallum has scaled back his work on the show and is ready to retire, executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson told the publication.
In a joint statement distributed by CBS, “NCIS” executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North described Mr. McCallum as “a scholar and gentleman, always courteous, a consummate professional and never one to compromise.” joke.”
Before “NCIS,” he was best known as Russian secret agent Illya Kuryakin in “The Man from UNCLE,” a role that made him a 1960s heartthrob.
Along with Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo, Kuryakin undertook various international espionage missions against an evil organization that wanted to conquer the world. The show aired from 1964 to 1968, switching from black and white to color and helping to ignite enthusiasm for spies and their exploits.
Mr. McCallum received two Emmy nominations for the role and a third for the 1969 television film “Teacher, Teacher.”
He was born in Scotland in 1933 and was drafted into the British military after school, where he served for about two years, spending part of that time in Africa. He initially attended the Royal Academy of Music in London, specializing in oboe, before switching to acting, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and moving to the USA in his late 20s.
Over the course of his long career, he racked up dozens of film, television and theater appearances, including in The Great Escape, Sapphire and Steel and even a voice role in the children’s animated series Ben 10.
He released four 1960s albums predominantly instrumental jazz-pop, including original compositions and cover versions. One title, “The Edge,” was written in 1999 by Dr. Dre sampled for the song “The Next Episode” with Snoop Dogg.
McCallum also published a crime novel, “Once a Crooked Man,” in 2016.