David McCallum, in Beverly Hills, California, on March 11, 2013. Fred Prouser (Portal)
The Scottish-born actor David McCallum, known for the role of the Russian spy Illya Kuryakin in the 1964 series “The UNCOL Agent” and the investigator Donald Ducky Mallard in “NCIS”, is in New York this Monday at the age of 90 , where she lived, died. “David was a talented actor and writer and was loved by many around the world,” the NCIS production team wrote in a message on X (formerly Twitter), where the actor continued to appear from time to time.
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McCallum began his theater career in his native Britain in the 1940s. But it was only with his involvement in the popular 1960s spy series “The CIPOL Agent” that he achieved international fame. At the time, McCallum was so popular with young girls that he once had to be rescued by police during a promotional event at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge after a group of teenage girls attacked him, the New York Times reported.
The series was canceled in 1968 and the actor pursued smaller roles until he began filming Dr. Donald Mallard, better known as Ducky, to play an eccentric medical examiner who eventually became one of the most popular characters in the detective series NCIS. The role allowed him to learn about medicine and even attend several autopsies as an audience member, which is why the show’s writers sometimes asked him for advice on technical issues.
McCallum leaves behind a wife, four children and eight grandchildren.
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