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 an uxpected thrill:
Well, as you might imagine some misunderstandings, presumably leading to yuks occur. (We say apparently because we haven’t seen the complete episode). But by the end of the story, somebody else shows up to clear things up:
Now it’s a little unclear on what level we’re supposed to take this. In the end titles, Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are billed as their fictional characters, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. Maybe in this fictional universe, U.N.C.L.E. has a sanctioned television show (that the boys watch) a la the 1965-74 version of The FBI?
Meanwhile, MGM also produced a spy comedy with Doris Day and Rod Taylor called The Glass Bottom Boat. The film’s director, Frank Tashlin, was known for sight gags similar to the ones he used when directing Warner Bros. cartoons. Thus, we see this scene:
Filed under: The Other Spies | Tagged: David McCallum, Doris Day, Frank Tashlin, Frank Tashlin's U.N.C.L.E. sight gag, Illya Kuryakin cameos, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM overexposes U.N.C.L.E., Napoleon Solo cameos, Paul Lynde, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Robert Vaughn, Rod Taylor, The Glass Bottom Boat, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Weird Man From U.N.C.L.E. cameos |
The Spy Command 
I just love how the theme just BLASTS during the Solo cameo in “The Glass Bottom Boat”.
I clearly remember seeing that episode of ‘ Ne Mangez Pas les Marguerites ‘ ( litteral French translation of PDETD ) on Tele Monte Carlo in Nice in the 7O’s ! Thank you so much for signaling that oddity …If I’m correct , both appearances of Mr McCallum & Vaughn were just intended for fun . The boys of the PDETD family being UNCLE fans , their astonished reaction seeing their father actually meeting their heroes in the flesh was the only reason for including the two TV spies in the episode…
The sequences are indeed ,very,very short , taking place , if I’m correct , at the very ending of the episode. A bit like the Peter O’Toole ‘ blink and you’ll miss it ‘ appearance in the 67’ version of Casino Royale…