Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "robert-vaughn"

On Sept. 22, 1964, a phenomenon premiered, although few knew it at the time. It would take nearly a year before The Man From U.N.C.L.E., or MFU as fans know it, would dominate so much of mid-‘60s popular culture. Emulating the success of the James Bond films, MFU was the fountainhead from which so much TV Spy-Fi sprouted, as in shows like The Wild Wild West and British imports like The revamped Avengers and The Prisoner. For most episodes, the evil THRUSH (the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity, if you accept the tie-in novels as canon) trotted out one mad scientist after another in their quest to rule the world with futuristic technology. They tried everything from weather-controlling machines to mind-altering drugs to Harlen Ellison’s sexy killer Robots to defeat the stalwart agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Did you know MFU paved the way for Star Trek? For example, it was on a first year episode of MFU, “The Project Strigas Affair,” where William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy first shared the TV screen together. Trek is credited with introducing hand-held communicators decades before cell-phones; in fact, two years before Trek, U.N.C.L.E. agents carried around cigarette-pack sized communicators before the show introduced the iconic pen communicator into which they whispered “Open Channel D” to talk to headquarters or each other.

It’s often been stated the two most popular figures in ‘60s television were Illya Kuryakin and Mr. Spock. Both characters were cool, aloof aliens in a strange world, traits which appealed to adolescents feeling a similar sense of disenfranchisement from an adult world known as “the Establishment.” Kuryakin and Spock appealed to a growing trend championing non-conformity and an interest in fictional figures different from previous media heroes and role models. The freshness of this trend can be demonstrated by the fact both characters were nearly killed off by the networks as executives feared they would be too unusual to be accepted on American television.

As it turned out, with one eye on Kuryakin and one on the Monkees, Star Trek introduced its own Russian long-hair in its second season, the young Ensign Chekov (Walter Koenig) precisely to appeal to the audience created by U.N.C.L.E.

Star Trek is known for featuring an intelligent African-American woman, Nichelle Nichols, a casting choice reflecting the then new and rare opportunities given to African-Americans like Greg Morris (Mission: Impossible) and Bill Cosby (I Spy (. Unlike the pervasive Westerns, in which the roles of women and minorities were frozen in 19th century values, SF and secret agent shows fostered new and futuristic qualities for new kinds of heroes and heroines. Female leads like April Dancer—The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.--Agent 99, and Emma Peel in the 1960s joined in the physical action, outthought their partners, and didn't totally rely on serving as temptresses. (Girl from U.N.C.L.E., despite many glaring weaknesses, was in fact the first hour-long TV action-adventure to feature a female lead produced in the U.S.) Spy shows like Mission: Impossible and U.N.C.L.E. deserve equal credit, alongside Star Trek, for these accomplishments.

In addition, Star Trek has often been described as an optimistic window into the future. Likewise, MFU creators Norman Felton and Sam Rolfe were political liberals believing in the importance of concepts such as the United Nations. Clearly, U.N.C.L.E. was a kind of optimistic spy show, with people of different nations uniting against common foes, very much like a terrestrial United Federation of Planets.

For the record, there was no shortage of espionage in Star Trek. Certainly, there was much more of it in the later Next Gen and DS9, but remember Captain Kirk in his Romulan ears? Or Gary Seven? Or all the times Kirk and company took on false identities to infiltrate alien governments? Likewise, remember all the covert operations alien cultures used to try and defeat Star Fleet. (The Memory Alpha website has a long article on espionage in Star Trek.)

As a fan of MFU from the first year on, I was far from alone having a youth filled with the 23 Ace paperback novels, MFU games, guns, bubblegum cards, you name it. So, for me and legions of fellow Baby Boomers, MFU is a major slice of our nostalgic look back to the ‘60s.

Over the years, I’ve contributed more than my fair share of remembrances for those good old days. If you too were a part of the “Spy-Fi” generation, here are some items for your listening and reading pleasure:

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of MFU’s debut, in 2014 I had the opportunity to interview cinematographer Fred Koenekamp who had so much to do with the look of the series. For online radio’s “Dave White Presents,” Fred not only talked MFU, but shared much of movie history stretching back to his father’s pioneering work in the silent era all the way through Fred’s work on Patton.
http://tinyurl.com/nm8dpb4

Now, should you stop by—
http://www.spywise.net/spiesOnTV.html

and click on the “Spies on Television and Radio” button, you’ll find a bounty of MFU items.

Without question, the most significant offering is a free book, The Final Affair by David McDaniel, the full text of what would have been the 24th tie-in paperback novel had Ace ever published it. (McDaniel was the gent who coined the “Technological Hierarchy” name for the previously unspecified THRUSH acronym.) The entire book is free for the taking, downloadable as a PDF for you!

Other items include:

* “Robert Vaughn, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is Alive and Kicking.” An interview with Napoleon Solo himself!

* “A Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Wild Wild West – Meet Mark Ellis” in which Mark gives you the inside story into the “Birds of Prey Affair” comic-book

*”How The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Returned – As a Comic Book.” Paul Howley’s story of the TE (That’s Entertainment) MFU comics series.

* “Behind the Toys from U.N.C.L.E. – The Inside story of a Collector’s Guide.” Paul Howley’s insider’s view into a long overdue catalogue of MFU merchandise.

There’s also a link to “The U.N.C.L.E. Movie that Never Was” posted at the Fans From U.N.C.L.E.org website. It’s my interview with Danny Beiderman and Robert Short about their aborted film project sanctioned by Sam Rolfe, co-creator of the series.
http://manfromuncle.org/spywise.htm
THE U.N.C.L.E. MOVIE THAT NEVER WAS

So, as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryaking used to say—“Open Channel D”—and check out some memories of the real MFU, the one that mattered.

I was so struck today to learn about the death of Robert Vaughn at the age of 83. How to best remember him here? I thought I’d repost an interview I conducted with Vaughn back in March 2002 which is still at my spywise.net website. In fact, should you visit

http://www.spywise.net/robertVaughn.html

you’ll see photos of me with Vaughan at the Montgomery Fairgrounds Antique Show in Gaithersburg, Maryland. My purpose was to ask Vaughn about his lesser known spy TV series like The Protectors and The A-Team, along with his thoughts on the longevity of U.N.C.L.E. as research for my first non-fiction book, Spy Television (Praeger Pub, 2003.

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On February 9th, 2002, I gave myself a mission and gratefully accepted it. My mission: to attend the Montgomery Fairgrounds Antique Show in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and interview my childhood hero--actor Robert Vaughn, AKA Napoleon Solo, the "Man From U.N.C.L.E."

I've had harder missions. Arriving at the autograph tables early in the morning, I saw him--Robert Vaughn, the walking definition of secret agent elegance and style. He was sitting between two lovely actresses also their to be seen and greet fans. On Vaughn's right sat Karen Black, star of countless films and TV shows of the 1970s and beyond. On his right sat Linda Harrison, best known for her role as Nova, Charlton heston's love interest in the first two Planet of the Apes epics. Despite their distracting charms, it was Vaughn I had come to see, and he quickly agreed to speak with me over the noon hour.
For several hours before our conversation, my wife Betty and I shopped in the four rooms of collectibles, looking carefully for U.N.C.L.E. memorabilia for Napoleon, er, Robert to sign. Amidst all the carefully organized boxes and displays of Baby Boom nostalgia, I found it--the ideal souvenir for the occasion. One dealer sold me a vintage 1966 "16" magazine featuring a spread called "The Life of Robert Vaughn in 50 Photos." What could be more perfect--the life of the star of U.N.C.L.E., THE A-TEAM, and countless films and TV appearances signed by the man himself?

I should have known better. When I returned to the autograph table for our talk, my wife showed Vaughn the magazine. His excitement was obvious as he looked over the pictures. With tones revealing his own nostalgia for times past he said, "I've never seen this before. I was so much taller then. There's my high school sweetheart." Of course, my good-hearted spouse had to say it--"Why don't you give it to him?" "I was thinking about that . . ." muses I, aloud. But before my thought had jelled, the magazine disappeared from view faster than any spy's conjuring trick. Turning to me, Vaughn said, "So what is it you'd like to ask me?" Clearly, I'd paid my price of admission.

Of course, I'd thought out just what I wanted to ask as I was researching information for my book, SPY TELEVISION, then a book in search of a publisher. Being a lifelong U.N.C.L.E. fan, I knew Vaughn's ex-partner, David McCallum, had become so tired of questions about his role as Illya Kuryakin in the show, that he refused to answer any more questions about the old days. While Vaughn has always been more talkative about his years in the forefront of American popular culture, I suspected few questions I could ask hadn't been asked and answered many times before. So I started by inquiring into why Vaughn left the states after his most successful series had been cancelled in 1968, a subject of much conjecture by fans on ongoing and very lively online list serves devoted to what was once the most influential series on television. Many aficionados had speculated Vaughn's choice to leave America was based on the political problems of the era, notably the assassination of Vaughn's personal friend, Robert F. Kennedy. Was this so?

It was. Vaughn said firmly, "I was working in Czechoslovakia when the Russians invaded in August of 1968, and that, combined with the Vietnam War, and the election of Richard Nixon, I decided I'd spend some time outside of the United States. For the next four years, almost five years, I was based in London and did television series for three years, various films in England and on the continent and in Italy." At that time, it was widely reported Vaughn planned to leave acting to enter politics. Was this true? "Well, I actually hadn't talked about it but the fan magazines had talked about it. I never had any personal interest myself. I was basically opposing the war which was not a political issue to me. It was a international, humanity issue."

During this self-imposed exile, Vaughn starred as Harry Rule in a little-known series called THE PROTECTORS, a 30 minute show later syndicated in the U.S. From 1972 to 1973. As Vaughn had said he didn't want to do any further television series
after U.N.C.L.E., I asked how this came about. He told me Sir Lew Grade, who ran all the commercial programming in England at that time, called his agent in England and asked if Vaughn would be interested in doing a spy show there. "I said I wasn't very interested," he told me, "and then they said, `Well it's only a half-hour show, you'd only be here one year,' and they offered a pretty good deal. I didn't realize that in England, it took them five to six to seven days to shoot a half-hour show whereas in America it would take only three days. I wound up doing a second season, so I was there almost three years. " THE PROTECTORS wasn't a show the actor was especially proud of. "I wasn't too happy with the quality of the stories, but I had a wonderful time. I lived in London. Every weekend we spent in some place in England, Ireland, or Scotland. We did a lot of filming, actually, on the continent in Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark, and just about every country available in Europe. "

After his return to the states, Vaugn's acting career continued in earnest, with both starring roles and guest appearances in films such as THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, SUPERMAN IV, KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES, COLUMBO, LAW AND ORDER, and one episode of DIAGNOSIS: MURDER which featured three other TV spies from the '60s, Patrick Macnee, Barbara Bain, and Robert Culp. But one starring role didn't make it. "I did a quick series that didn't last very long called EMERALD POINT." Starring Dennis Weaver, the series "was done by the same people who did DYNASTY and DALLAS and it was kind of supposedly a show with that kind of orientation that took place in the Navy. It only lasted half a season. "

In 1985, Vaughn starred as General hunt Stockwell, a role designed to boost the ratings of the once popular A-TEAM, a show now a staple on the "TVLand" channel. It's a series best remembered for the presence of Mr. T and his catch-phrase, "I pity the fool." But after dropping ratings, Vaughn said he was asked to come in at the request of an old friend. "The guy that produced the A-TEAM, his name is John Ashly, he's since died, he was an actor. We were both young actors in our twenties when we came to Hollywood . . . He remembered me from our early days." (John Ashley was married to
Deborah Walley for a time with whom he appeared in the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach party movies.) The show lasted only one more season, but during that year, one memorable episode teamed Vaughn with his old pal, David McCallum. In that adventure, "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" (first broadcast on Oct. 31, 1986),
McCalum played an old partner of General Stockwell who'd become a traitor and an agent for the Red Chinese. What was it like, I wondered, for the two friends to reunite? "We had a lot of fun. We keep in touch. David lives in new York City, I live in Connecticut about an hour north of New York City so we're in touch from time to time on the phone and personally. "

We chatted about the ongoing interest in what might seem to non-fans as a show long ago relegated to TV history--of course, I mean The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Despite its few appearances on the small screen since its first run from 1964 to 1968, five internet groups are devoted to the series, a detailed "web ring" of U.N.C.L.E. sites grow seemingly each month, and an ongoing series of CDs albums of original soundtracks continue to sell well. After 9/11, much discussion revolved around the fact that the war on terror would likely require just such an international organization as U.N.C.L.E. (The United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). What, I asked Vaughn, is the reason The MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is still interesting to baby boomers now in their fifties? "I think it relates definitely to the ongoing success of the James Bond pictures," Vaughn replied. "Obviously, they're still making them and still making a lot of money. It is generally that genre that U.N.C.L.E. was supposed to emulate, which was an international roguish kind of spy who operates around the world with a lot of attractive women, and I guess that's why it's still going on. Cause there were a lot of attractive women in the '60s that are still on film. They may date but not the film." Knowing Vaughn had contributed to a dissertation by Cynthia Walker on U.N.C.L.E. at Rutgers university, I asked Vaughn his thoughts on the meaning of such scholarly interest in his show. "I don't know what it all meant, philosophically or intellectually. I know it was good fun for us to do and good fun for people to see. I guess I'll wait for Cyntheia Walker's report to find out the deeper meaning of the whole thing."

Currently, Vaughn is working on his autobiography which will be completed "when the autobiographer, meaning me, puts his butt in a chair long enough to wrap it up."


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Looking back, I am so glad to have had this hour with an actor who had meant so much to me during my teenage years. Hope these memories will mean something to you as well.