Julien Pichené, with AFP 11:02 am, September 27, 2023

British actor David McCallum, who played for 20 seasons the role of medical examiner "Ducky" in "NCIS", has died at the age of 90, several US media reported Monday.

British actor David McCallum, who played for 20 seasons the role of medical examiner "Ducky" in NCIS, has died at the age of 90, several US media reported Monday. The one who first became known to the general public in the 1960s by playing the charmer Illya Kouriakine in the series "Very Special Agents", died Monday surrounded by his family in a hospital in New York, said the CBS channel.

"He was fascinated by science and culture"

"He was the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father," his son Peter said, according to the channel. "He was fascinated by science and culture and turned those passions into knowledge," he added, adding that his father would even have been able to perform an autopsy "based on his decades-long research for his role in NCIS."

A student at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, David McCallum made one of his first film appearances in 1963 in "The Great Escape", alongside Steve McQueen. But it was when he was chosen the following year to play the enigmatic Soviet secret agent Illya Kuryakin in "Very Special Agents" that his career took off.

The actor has appeared in every episode of the first 15 seasons of NCIS.

With lush blonde hair and turtlenecks, David McCallum represented a certain icon of charm. The Very Special Agents series only lasted four years, but his character followed it for life. "It's been more than 30 years but I can't escape it," he told The New York Times in 1998.

In 2003, he began his role as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, a forensic pathologist with the U.S. Navy's Criminal Investigation Service, NCIS, in the series of the same name. A real hit, it will be followed by millions of viewers in the United States and around the world, continuing through its 20 seasons to be broadcast on American television. With his characteristic bow ties, he will appear in all but one episode of the first 15 seasons, before making more sporadic appearances from season 16.