ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Remembering The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Updated on November 18, 2011

Robert Vaughn and David McCallum

"The U.N.C.L.E. and Me Affair"

In 1964 I was 13 years old. I don't remember all that much about my life way back then but I remember a few TV shows that influenced me. One of them was The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Ian Fleming had created the iconic James Bond and Hollywood had made 007 the most popular spy in the world. A title which he still holds, in my humble opinion. Then Mr. Fleming used the last name "Solo" from one of his novels (Goldfinger) and helped create an American character for NBC.

One of the things I love about HubPages is that you can do what I am doing here. Get something out of you system. I had watched an episode of I Spy and Starsky and Hutch on Hulu but was disappointed to find that there were no U.N.C.L.E. shows. Then I saw three of the U.N.C.L.E. books on my bookshelves downstairs from 1965 and the idea of doing a hub was like one of those songs you can't stopping humming.

"The Well Documented Facts Affair"

I searched on HubPages and did not find another hub on this show and then looked it up on Wikipedia. Here is some of what I found there.

There were 105 episodes of the show from September, 1964 to January, 1968. The first season was in black and white and there were 8 films released on the big screen. Several of those were two-part TV shows that were tweaked for that market.

There was one reunion movie on TV on CBS in1983 called "The Return of The Man From UNCLE" or "The Fifteen Years Late Affair". (I remember seeing just a bit of it and being disappointed.)

Guest stars on the series included Willaim Shatner and Leonard Nimoy together 2 years before Star Trek and James Doohan (Scotty) was in several as different characters,, Also seen were Vincent Price, Joan Collins, Jill Ireland (married to McCallum at the time), Nancy Sinatra, Kurt Russel, Robert Culp, and both Sonny and Cher.

All four seasons (really 31/2) came out on DVD in 2007. I downloaded the first episode, "The Vulcan Affair", from itunes last night. I really enjoyed it and it stood the test of time much better than you might think. I noticed that the guy who played "Jaws" in the Roger Moore 007 movies had a bit part as a bad guy in this episode. Cool.

The part of Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCallum, was so well received that he was added as a main character. The United Network Command for Law and Enforcement was a world-wide organization, Illya was a Russian and this was originally broadcast at the height of the Cold War. For network TV this had to be scary stuff!




"The 'I Found It' Affair"

Forty-six years ago, I sent a fan letter to NBC. In return I received a letter with a photo of Robert Vaughn and a small yellow card emblazoned with the U.N.C.L.E. logo. I lost the picture but I kept the card and somewhere along the line I encased it in plastic. I used to carry the thing tucked back in my wallet, but had not seen it in years, maybe decades. Here it is.

"The wrapping It Up Affair"

There are lots of Man From U.N.C.L.E. web sites out there and one devoted to the U.N.C.L.E.GUN where you can purchase an airsoft version of the guns used in the show.(Not cheap!) I just found that Ebay is full of toys, books, t-shirts, photos and I have high bid right now on an album with the theme music. No sniping!

From Wikipedia I also noted that an original communicator pen is housed in the museum of the CIA ...... but there is no public access. Even Mitch Rapp can't get in there!

I hope that Hollyweird does NOT make a Man From UNCLE movie. Part of me would love to see it done and then I think about the way they ruined The Wild Wild West, I Spy, and Starsky and Hutch.

No, I think I will just keep getting my U.N.C.L.E.. fix from the old black and white versions of the first season from itunes. At $1.99 a pop, how can you go wrong. In the meantime:

"Open channel D, please."

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)