David McCallum’s NCIS costars Michael Weatherly and Wilmer Valderama join other series stars to pay tribute to him after his death at 90
The late Scottish actor David McCallum’s friends and colleagues took to social media on Monday to pay their respects to him following his death earlier in the day at the age of 90.
McCallum was best known in his later years for his role as Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard on CBS’ old hit series NCIS.
Fittingly, many of his NCIS co-stars shared memories of him, including Michael Weatherly, Wilmer Valderama and Emily Wickersham.
Weatherly, who played NCIS Senior Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo for the first thirteen seasons of the series, looked back on one of McCallum’s other roles in the classic WWII film The Great Escape.
He shared a photo of an autographed photo from the set of the 1963 film that showed McCallum interacting with its star Steve McQueen.
“To Michael, Wow!” McCallum had signed the photo.
“David McCallum made every moment count, both in life and on set,” Weatherly began his tribute. “Let’s raise a pitcher and celebrate a funny, wonderfully authentic man.
‘I only have three signatures. Connery, Tony Bennett and McCallum,” he continued. ‘I felt the same as Steve McQueen in this photo from The Great Escape: Wow! It’s David McCallum! Nobody did it better. We were lucky that he brought us Ducky.
“Let’s send all the love in the world to his beautiful family,” he added. ‘Rest in peace David.’
In his Instagram post, former That ’70s Show actor Wilmer Valderama, who joined NCIS in the 14th season as Special Agent Nicholas Torres, shared a still from the series of him looking fondly at McCallum.
“David, what a tremendous honor it was to share the screen with you. Your professionalism and ability to effortlessly take each of us on a journey through your art will be felt forever,” he wrote. “I’ll miss you, my friend.”
Emily Wickersham also remembered her late friend and costar on Instagram with a still from the series that also featured original star Mark Harmon, who was with the show throughout its 19th season.
“I had the pleasure of working with David for many years and he was an extremely professional and a true legend. I will miss you David,” she captioned the photo, adding that she was sending her “love” to his family.
Emily Wickersham also remembered her late friend and costar on Instagram with a still from the series that also featured original star Mark Harmon, who was with the show throughout its 19th season.
Katrina Law only appeared for a small part of McCallum’s run on NCIS, but that didn’t stop her from remembering the actor.
She posted a short and sweet “RIP” with a photo of McCallum smiling in character as Ducky.
Brian Dietzen also played a doctor on NCIS from the first season, although he was a prominent player before moving on to the main cast in the tenth season.
He honored his colleague with a lengthy post and several photos of McCallum.
The actor wrote that McCallum had “a life well lived,” and he described him as a “mentor, a great scene partner, a wonderful feather and husband,” and his “dear friend.”
Dietzen revealed that he was only booked on NCIS for one day during the first season, but he and McCallum had such great chemistry in their scene together that he was invited back again and again, before becoming a permanent cast member for several seasons . in.
He shared that he and McCallum “developed a deep friendship and love for our shared work,” and he called him a “pleasure to work with.”
He praised McCallum’s “wry sense of humor” and generosity with “advice” and “praise.”
“I enjoyed getting a call from him after a show aired to hear him talk about the scenes (even though he was appearing less and less on our show).”
Dietzen said their on-screen relationship was a reflection of their friendship off-camera, and he wrote that McCallum was “always up for an adventure.”
He marveled that McCallum “lived to be 90 years old, was part of several hit TV shows, movies and Broadway shows and wrote a few novels, all while raising a loving family.” ‘Thanks David. Love you my friend. I will miss you,” he concluded, before sending his “love to the McCallum family.”
William Shatner also shared a short tweet about McCallum on Monday.
New Star: Katrina Law only appeared on NCIS for a brief part of McCallum’s run on NCIS, but that didn’t stop her from remembering the actor. She posted a short and sweet “RIP” with a photo of McCallum smiling
“Condolences to the family of David McCallum,” he wrote, also adding a sad emoji face.
Although he didn’t mention it, Shatner once guest-starred in a 1964 episode of McCallum’s popular spy series The Man From UNCLE.
Bosch star Titus Welliver shared a news story about McCallum’s death and wrote: RIP David, we are less…’
The tribute was completed by US presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who posted a photo of McCallum from The Man From UNCLE