How ‘NCIS’ Said Goodbye To David McCallum (And The Surprise Guest Who Showed Up To Pay Last Respects)
deadline.comSPOILER ALERT! This story contains plot points from Monday’s episode of NCIS. NCIS on Monday paid its final respects to star David McCallum, who died September 25 at the age of 90.
A fan favorite, McCallum was the last remaining original cast member on NCIS, in which he played an eccentric but highly efficient investigator Donald “Ducky Mallard” for two decades.
As heavily teased in the promos, the episode dubbed “The Stories We Leave Behind” opened with Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen, who co-wrote the episode) arriving at Ducky’s house to find his mentor — dressed in his monogrammed jammies — dead in his bed, with his sweet corgi looking forlorn in the foyer. “Dying quietly in your sleep isn’t the worst way to go,” comments Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) back at the NCIS offices, after wrapping up a call with Scottish parliament who apparently wanted to send “a mountain of thistles” to honor their native son’s passing. “He lived a very long, very rewarding life, which he would want us to celebrate more than anything,” added Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll).
So that’s exactly what the episode did — show old scenes from past seasons to remember the character who once said “we all die twice; when our bodies give out, and again when are stories stop being told.” There was a flashback featuring Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) with Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo).
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