Robert Vaughn, beloved star of classic television, passed away early this morning at the age of 83 from complications with acute leukemia according to his manger Matthew Sullivan. Best known as Napoleon Solo from the 1960’s spy comedy ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ Vaughn also starred in the original ‘Magnificent Seven.’
Vaughn was thrown into the spotlight when he earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor after starring alongside Paul Newman in the 1959 film ‘The Young Philadelphians.’
In his 2008 memoir A Fortunate Life, Vaughn remembers the wild popularity of ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ in the early 1960s. “At the end of our first season, I had to put up an electric fence around my house to keep out the girls. I even tried using recorded animal noises to fend off my visitors, but I could never operate the sound system.” Although the show was known to shift from seriousness to campy cartoonishness, Vaughn’s character of Napoleon Solo has become a pop culture icon.