David McCallum, the Scottish actor who starred in the iconic film The Great Escape and the series The Man from UNCLE and NCIS, has died at the age of 90.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of David McCallum and privileged that CBS was his home for so many years. David was a gifted actor and author, and beloved by many around the world. He led an incredible life, and his legacy will forever live on through his family and the… pic.twitter.com/1UgOz7pQ8g
— The NCISverse (@ncisverse) September 25, 2023
Glasgow-born McCallum, who was known to modern-day audiences for his role as medical examiner Dr Donald 'Ducky' Mallard in NCIS, was surrounded by family at a New York hospital, the US network CBS said.
"He was the kindest, coolest, most patient, and loving father. He always put family before self," his son Peter McCallum said, according to the network.
"He was a true renaissance man - he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge.
"For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and [if needed] could actually perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on NCIS."
After training at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, McCallum appeared alongside an all-star cast in the epic 1963 war film The Great Escape, with luminaries who included Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and Donald Pleasence.
But it was his casting the following year as the enigmatic Russian agent Illya Kuryakin in The Man from UNCLE opposite Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo that cemented his fame.
With a luxuriant mop of blond hair and turtleneck sweaters, McCallum was a Beatles-era heartthrob who, The New York Times reported, was mobbed by students in Louisiana in 1965.
The show lasted only four years, but the character followed McCallum for life.
"It's been 30 years, but I can't escape him," he told The New York Times in 1998. "Illya Kuryakin is there 24 hours a day."
McCallum's restless intellect also saw him record four albums with the famed producer David Axelrod in the 1960s. In 2016, he published a crime novel, Once a Crooked Man.
His many other screen credits included the films A Night to Remember, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and Hear My Song, and the series Sapphire & Steel, The Invisible Man, Sex and the City, and Murder, She Wrote.
Source: AFP
