Brian Dietzen posted on Instagram a bunch of pictures and this lovely tribute to his friend.
David McCallum was a mentor, a great scene partner, a wonderful father and husband, and he was my dear friend.
I met David on my first day of work at NCIS. I was booked to work one day on the show, but David and I hit it off. Our scene turned out well and they invited me back for more scenes with this screen legend. Several more.
Over the course of the next 20 years, David and I (along with our alter-ego’s Ducky and Jimmy) developed a deep friendship and love of our shared work.
He was a joy to work with. Always had a smile. Always had something new to add to the page, and ALWAYS had the ability to steal every scene he was in!
He had a quick and wry sense of humor and was generous with advice when I asked for it. He was also quick to share praise for work well done. I loved getting a phone call from him after a show aired to hear him talk about the scenes (even as he appeared less and less in our show).
The friendship and respect people saw between Ducky and Jimmy over the years mirrored the relationship we’d developed off camera. Whether it was going on field trips for character research, attending charity events or catching some golf together, he was always up for an adventure. The guy could do anything.
He lived to be 90 years old, was a part of multiple hit tv shows, movies, Broadway shows, and wrote a couple novels, all while raising a loving family.
Thank you David. Love you my friend. I’ll miss you.
Sending all my love to the McCallum family today.
variety.com
