David McCallum's Ducky Appeared In Another Show Before NCIS

The "NCIS" family lost one of its most prominent and adored names on September 25. The legendary actor behind "NCIS" favorite Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, David McCallum, has died at the age of 90 due to natural causes. McCallum debuted the character on the show way back during the crime procedural's first season, specifically the series' 2003 premiere episode, "Yankee White." However, as those outside of the die-hard "NCIS" fan community likely never realized, the aforementioned episode isn't McCallum or Ducky's first appearance in the wider shared universe "NCIS" is a part of.

Before "NCIS" became a runaway success and carved out a TV niche all its own, it stood as a lowly spin-off of "JAG." Though not as popular and widely known as its successor, "JAG" ran for an impressive 10 seasons and nearly 230 episodes before it bid viewers farewell in 2005. During this run — in the second half of Season 8, to be precise — it presented viewers with the "NCIS" backdoor pilot, "Ice Queen," which features the true small-screen introduction of McCallum's Ducky. He also pops up in the subsequent "JAG" Season 8 episode, "Meltdown."

As it turns out, "JAG" isn't the only "NCIS"-connected series McCallum appeared on while portraying Ducky.

After his two appearances on "JAG," David McCallum took Ducky to the newly-established "NCIS," and he and his character enjoyed an incredible run on the series. Before McCallum's passing, he was credited for a staggering 457 episodes. Even though the actor began to wind down his number of "NCIS" appearances during the show's later seasons, the fact that Ducky became such a fixture of the program is astounding. What's more, during this remarkable tenure, McCallum managed to make a guest appearance on yet another "NCIS" franchise title.

Running from 2014 to 2021, "NCIS: New Orleans" attempted to replicate the success of the original "NCIS" while expanding the world of the small screen saga that began with "JAG" so many years ago. To maintain some measure of cohesion with the other "NCIS" shows out there, "New Orleans" brought in guest actors from elsewhere in the franchise from time to time. Among these names was McCallum, who appears as Ducky in two episodes: Season 1's "Musician Heal Thyself" and Season 2's "Sister City: Part II."

Between his consistently excellent performances and willingness to appear in various franchise entries, there's no other way to put it: David McCallum is and forever will be an "NCIS" cornerstone.