NCIS season 16 episode 16 is bringing back Robert Wagner (as Anthony DiNozzo Sr). While the actor's casting was previously announced, his character will be springing a few surprises, which will have the whole team quite a bit floored.
Wagner filmed his guest appearance on NCIS season 16 episode 16 last January. Star Wilmer Valderrama (as Nick Torres) posted a photo of the veteran actor with the cast. That episode is finally going to air on CBS on Tuesday, March 12, at 8:00 p.m.
The reason for Wagner's return in NCIS season 16 episode 16 has to do with Jimmy Palmer (played by Brian Dietzen), whose father-in-law, Ed (played by Larry Miller), asks him for a special favor in connection to a murder case. As the team conducts a little more digging into the case, however, they uncover that Palmer's father-in-law is the senior DiNozzo's poker buddy.
Jimmy just learns of this fact in this week's episode. But according to Cinema Blend, it's not entirely clear how this information will be able to help the NCIS team solve the case of the week.
The episode synopsis further reveals that Jimmy will be torn about his work and family, especially after his father-in-law forces him to tamper with evidence. Perhaps the team could be calling on DiNozzo Sr. for help as Ed might be his alibi.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how fans will react to Wagner's return on NCIS season 16 given the recent controversies involving the actor, as per Celebrity Insider. Reports have come to light that Wagner may be tied to the death of actress Natalie Wood in 1981 following additional evidence uncovered by homicide detectives in Los Angeles.
The body of the West Side Story star was found off the waters of Santa Catalina Island. She was on a trip with her husband, Wagner, and some family friends, including Christopher Walken. Police, at that time, ruled her death as an accident as she might have slipped and fallen overboard.
Wood's sister, Lane, however, thinks that while it might have been an accident, there are still some things that have to been explained well. She has spoken in a podcast last July asking Wagner to come clean regarding the way his wife died. She also called on the police to reopen the case since Wagner refused to talk and had his lawyers fight the warrant asking to exhume the deceased's body.
Wagner married Wood in 1957. They divorced in 1962 but remarried eight years later. Wagner once said that he was lucky to be married to a "special and marvelous woman."
