Veteran actor David McCallum passed away last September at the age of 90. He became well-known in the 1960's TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but is best-known to younger generations as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, a bookish pathologist for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), an agency handling crimes involving the Navy or the Marines. Mark Harmon played the NCIS boss.
McCallum said he thought Ducky, who sported a bow tie, “looked a little silly, but it was great fun to do.” He took the role seriously, too, spending time in the Los Angeles coroner’s office to gain insight into how autopsies are conducted.
Co-star Lauren Holly, who earlier played NCIS Director Jenny Shepard, took to X to mourn: “You were the kindest man. Thank you for being you.”
Actor Brian Dietzen, who plays Jimmy Palmer, Ducky's understudy and eventual replacement, tells TV Guide: "We got to honor the relationships that he's had with characters from past iterations of our show and also from the present. I think people will be happy with what they see."
Now, as NCIS launches a new season, the show has set aside a special Ducky-based episode to honor McCallum. This very touching and sensitive trailer has been released ahead of Monday's show on Paramount/CBS. It is certainly sad, but also indicates the respect and admiration the NCIS characters had for their fascinating colleague.
It should be noted that NCIS, due to the nature of the cases the agents are involved with, can - at times - be considered a PG or PG13-type program.