RIP David McCallum

[Random_Spock]

He passed away from natural causes today. He was 90.

https://x.com/Variety/status/1706420907487436843?s=20

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/david-mccallum-dead-ncis-man-from-uncle-1235734772/

May he rest in peace.


https://x.com/MikeBeauvais/status/1706441312910639292?s=20

Never knew that he was involved in music. So cool.

 

[auntiehill]

How sad!

I used to have such a crush on Illya.

As a person, David seemed very genuine and down to Earth. He did a lot for charity and supporting the arts.

 

[HIjol]

He played such great roles. I did not know of him, past his TV and movie work. Long career, and now a long rest…

 

[The Wormhole]

Damn. I knew him as Ducky on NCIS, a role he was great in. Even in recent seasons with his role scaled back he still shined in the episodes he was in. Really sad news. And to have this happen on the same night CBS is celebrating the 20th anniversary of NCIS is a real gut punch. Still, the man did live to be 90, had a career that spans decades filled with characters that will immortalize him and he was able to keep doing what he clearly loved doing in life pretty much right up to the end. Definitely a life filled with great accomplishments and he will be remembered fondly by many.

RIP

 

[Vanyel]

That's sad. I loved Ducky.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Rest in peace Mr. McCallum. Ducky was one of my favorites from that show.

 

[Random_Spock]

Rest in peace Mr. McCallum. Ducky was one of my favorites from that show.

Same. Ducky ruled. He just shined in that role. My mom and I loved him in it.

 

[N-121973]

Same. Ducky ruled. He just shined in that role. My mom and I loved him in it.

RIP.

 

[Starkers]

It's hard to know growing up which role of his had the most impact on me, Ilya Kuryakin or Steel from Sapphire and Steel. I do recall the Invisible Man as well but not sure how old I was when that came out. I never really watched NCIS but it's great that he found success again in later life.

On the film front he'll always be remembered for The Great Escape, there was some discussion on Twitter about whether he was the last cast member but amazingly he isn't, there are still two living cast members, one of whom is Dr Who's William Russell!

 

[HIjol]

Now I have Opening Theme from the Great Escape running through my head!

 

[Oddish]

See you 'round, Ducky. You'll be missed.

 

[Coops]

I loved Sapphire & Steel. Even by 1970s standards it was a really strange concept but brilliantly executed and acted and, on occasion, quite scary.

 

[HIjol]

Never heard of it and now I know why.
ITV in England.
Though now I see it may be streaming on TUBI in my market.
I will check it out tonight!
Another reason to admire and view David McCallum!

 

[Coops]

Never heard of it and now I know why.
ITV in England.
Though now I see it may be streaming on TUBI in my market.
I will check it out tonight!
Another reason to admire and view David McCallum!

It's bonkers at times, but Lumley and McCallum, ahem, shine in it.

 

[Captaindemotion]

McCallum’s career seems to have been the perfect mix of the cult and the commercial. From the likes of A Night To Remember or Hell Drivers (which also had a pre-Bond Connery, pre-Prisoner/Danger Man McGoohan and pre-Doctor Who William Hartnell), to The Great Escape (a mainstay of British bank holiday programming for many years!), then onto UNCLE, now something of a cult show but a huge tv show in its day. You then have guest slots in The Six Million Dollar Man or Hart to Hart and his short lived Invisible Man tv show but then-ratings winners like Colditz or Sapphire and Steel (which has one of the great cult endings of all time but was a big mainstream audience winner in its short run). Finally, he ended up with a prime role in a long-standing, absolutely huge juggernaut of a tv show in NICS. Was under consideration to play the fourth Doctor Who and one of only a few actors to appear in both the original and rebooted Outer Limits. All that AND he was a recorded musician! 90 years well-lived.

 

[elric428]

Man from U.N.C.L.E was ahead of the curve way before Gene Roddenberry decided to add Russian character Pavel Chekov with David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin. RIP David.

 

[Starkers]

Amazing to consider that Ilya wasn't really supposed to be as important as he was, it was McCallum's performance in the role that made Ilya co-lead.

 

[John Clark]

RIP

 

[fireproof78]

Rest in peace and comfort to his loved ones.

Amazing career.

 

[tomalak301]

I've only seen a maybe 2 or 3 episodes of NCIS, but McCullum had great screen presence from what I saw.

I was wondering what I saw him in and it was an Early Babylon 5 episode.

RIP