The Man From U.N.C.L.E. turns 45

Forty-five years ago — Sept. 22, 1964 — a show debuted that had been pitched to NBC executives as “James Bond for television.”
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. turned out to be more than that. It ushered in an era where spies would be welcomed into U.S. living rooms and not just be seen on movie screens. [...]

1964: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. sells Corvairs

Next week, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the spy show with just a teeny bit of Ian Fleming influence, celebrates its 45th anniversary. To whet your appetite, here’s a special commercial.
It runs five minutes or so and features the casts of shows sponsored by Chevrolet — Bonanza, Bewitched and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
In this case, Robert [...]

Weird Man From U.N.C.L.E. cameos

In the 1960s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had one spy franchise with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. So the studio decided to use every opportunity possible for exposure, even if it meant putting it into situation comedies or comedic movies.
Take, for example, MGM’s sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. Here the young boys of the show’s featured family get [...]

Salute to Luciana Paluzzi

One of our favorite 007 femme fatales, Luciana Paluzzi, turned 72 last month. So we figured that was as good an excuse to honor her here.
Of course, most Bond fans remember her as Fiona, member of SPECTRE’s execution branch, in Thunderball. Here’s the trailer:

Here she is in a similar role in [...]

007’s intersections with U.N.C.L.E.

We were watching some DVDs and kept getting reminded about how the world of James Bond intersects with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Those intersections go beyond the basic category of spy-related entertainment.
A few examples:
Luciana Paluzzi. The Italian actress was hired to pad out the pilot of U.N.C.L.E. in case the series didn’t sell and a [...]

Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. out on DVD

The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the 1983 made-for-TV movie, came out on DVD this week. It wasn’t included when the original series came out on DVD in 2007. So here’s a look, starting with the main titles:

Gerald Fried, the veteran composer who did more MFU episodes than any other [...]

1964: U.N.C.L.E.’s crew hams it up, aka Richard Donner, ACTOR

No matter how much a writer or a director or a producer accomplishes, some cannot resist the allure of appearing before the camera. Alfred Hitchcock certainly couldn’t and his cameos in his movies probably egged others on.
In its first season, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. took the concept further. Four crew members went before the cameras [...]

Happy 76th birthday Robert Vaughn

It’s been a quarter century since we’ve heard Robert Vaughn say, “Open Channel D” in The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV movie. But it’s still worth noting the actor’s 76th birthday today. His autobiography is out and he’s enjoying a late-career revival with the Hustle television series.
Forty-five years ago today, Vaughn was having [...]

The Project Strigas Affair, conclusion

Given that Quantum of Solace hits U.S. theaters on Friday, we’re going to dial back the “Other Spies” stuff for a few days. So we figure it’s time to wrap up this serialization of The Project Strigas Affair from the first season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
In part 4, a big oops. Leonard Nimoy has [...]

The Project Strigas Affair part 3

William Shatner’s Michael Donfield character finds out that espionage isn’t all fun. But Solo and Kuryakin still are on-track with their plan.