Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo
Historian Michael Beschloss used his Twitter feed to note two spy-entertainment landmarks: The first telecast of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the end of production on North by Northwest.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. debuted on Sept. 22, 1964 on NBC. The show had been in development for almost two years.
Producer Norman Felton, invited to discuss doing a TV series based on Ian Fleming’s Thrilling Cities book, instead pitched an adventure show.
The network said it’d commit to a series without a pilot episode if Felton could get Ian Fleming on board. The two had discussions in October 1962 in New York. In June 1963, Fleming dropped out because of pressure by 007 film producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.
Despite Fleming’s departure, the project continued, although a pilot would have to be made before NBC committed to a series. Writer Sam Rolfe did the heavy lifting on scripting the pilot and would be the day-to-day producer on the show’s first season. The series paired Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo (the character name being one of Fleming’s surviving contributions) and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin.
North by Northwest, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Ernest Lehman, would set the style for a lot of 1960s spy entertainment. It balanced drama and humor as Cary Grant’s Roger O. Thornhill would dodge spies, with a climax on Mount Rushmore. The film ended production in September 1958 and would be released in 1959.
Here are Beschloss’s tweets:
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” premiered on NBC today 1964: pic.twitter.com/RZiryEzZ6z
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 22, 2018
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“North by Northwest” filming completed 60 years ago this month—James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Cary Grant at Mount Rushmore: pic.twitter.com/w93CC3eYNG
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 22, 2018
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UPDATE (9:30 p.m. New York time): Beschloss was busy with other 1960s TV shows, including Get Smart.
Video: Opening and closing of “Get Smart,” which premiered this week 1965 on NBC (2 mins.):https://t.co/4tGpPzCk8S
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 22, 2018
Filed under: The Other Spies | Tagged: Alfred Hitchock, Cary Grant, David McCallum, Ernest Lehman, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, Norman Felton, North by Northwest, Robert Vaughn, Sam Rolfe, The Man From U.N.C.L.E |
The Spy Command 
Thank for noting the anniversary of the premier. There are only a handful of 60’s classic TV shows so noteworthy. In terms of a pilot, (IMO) The Vulcan Affair was the most perfect episode the MFU produced. Maybe a little more of Kuryakin was needed, but the foundation of that episode absolutely represented the spirit of the MFU series!