How a TV Miniseries About Natalie Wood Led to Robert Wagner’s ‘NCIS’ Casting as Tony’s Dad

Erin Maxwell February 10, 2026, 3:25 pm

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NCIS - Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo and Robert Wagner as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. - 'Family First' — Sonja Flemming/CBS

"Family First" -- NCIS, FBI and MI6 continue an international manhunt for an escaped British spy who is targeting current and former agents, on the 13th season finale of NCIS, Tuesday, May 17 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Guest stars include Robert Wagner as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., Sarah Clarke as FBI Special Agent Tess Monroe and Duane Henry as MI6 Officer Clayton Reeves. Pictured: Robert Wagner as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ÃÂ©2016 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Actor Robert Wagner has been Hollywood royalty for nearly 70 years, a fixture of film and television whose career spans from the Golden Age of the studio system to the modern streaming era. And on February 10, as the screen legend celebrates his 96th birthday, audiences are once again reflecting on the roles that made him an icon.

For most folks, he remains best known as the debonair amateur sleuth Jonathan Hart on the hit series Hart to Hart, while in the current era, fans know him as Anthony “Tony” DiNozzo Sr., the charming, globe-trotting father of Michael Weatherly‘s agent on NCIS.

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