Robert Vaughn

Robert Francis Vaughn was born on November 22, 1932 at Charity Hospital in New York City, the son of show business parents, Marcella Frances (Gaudel) and Gerald Walter Vaughn. His father was a radio actor and his mother starred on stage.

He appeared over 200 times in guest roles in the late 1950s to early 1960s.

Mamade guest appearances on both of the longest-running prime time dramas in United States television history: Gunsmoke (1955) and Law & Order (1990).

Made-for-TV movies were a popular choice for him, as well as such series as As the World Turns (1956), The Nanny (1993) and Law & Order (1990).

Landed the central role of Steve Dallas in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) but was drafted into the US Army before he could film any footage.

Robert came to the public's attention first with his Oscar-nominated role, in The Young Philadelphians (1959).

The next year, he was one of the seven in the western classic The Magnificent Seven (1960). Despite being in such popular films, he generally found work on television.

It was in 1963 that he received his first major role in The Lieutenant (1963). Robert took the role with the intention of making the transition from being a guest-star actor to being a co-star on television. It was due to his work in this series that producer Norman Felton offered him the role of Napoleon Solo in The Man from U. N. C. L. E.

(1964).

Four extremely successful years (1964-68) followed as the series became one of the most popular television series of the 1960s.

It made Vaughn an international television star, but he wanted to embark on a career in film, and did so soon after the series ended in 1968 by co-starring in Bullitt (1968) with Steve McQueen.

Now working in film full-time, he starred in The Bridge at Remagen (1969) and The Mind of Mr.

Soames (1970), before making a change by going back to television, this time in England.

He returned to the United States in the mid-1970s and embarked on a very successful run of television miniseries roles that resulted in his receiving an Emmy Award in 1978 for Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977) and a nomination the following year for Backstairs at the White House (1979).

The 1970s proved a important time in Robert's life, as in 1974, he married actress Linda Staab, and completed his thesis on Hollywood blacklisting during the McCarthy "Red Scare" era, published in 1972 as "Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting".

He took a lead role in the series The Protectors (1972) and stayed in England for the first half of the 1970s.

Is said to have met his future wife Linda Staab on the set of The Protectors: It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island (1973).

He and wife Linda Staab had two adopted children: Cassidy Vaughn (b. 1976) and Caitlin Vaughn (b. 1981).

During the 1980s, he mixed television with film. Roles in such films as S. O. B.

(1981), Superman III (1983), The Delta Force (1986) and Black Moon Rising (1986) were highlights.

In television, he appeared in many successful series, most notably in The A-Team (1983) and Emerald Point N. A. S.

(1983). He continued with a diverse range of projects, appearing on stage on numerous occasions.

Even though he was previously nominated for an Oscar, he was left out of the "In Memoriam" segment at the 89th Academy Awards. The omission shocked and angered many viewers.

The 1990s saw the same variety of roles.

He also appeared in major features such as Joe's Apartment (1996) and BASEketball (1998), and in smaller roles in subsequent years.

He had a role in the 1998 series remake of the classic film in which he appeared, The Magnificent Seven (1998).

With the death of Charles Bronson on 8/30/2003, he became the last surviving actor to have played one of the title characters in The Magnificent Seven (1960). With the death of Eli Wallach on 6/24/2014, he became the last surviving star of the film. Vaughn died on 11/11/2016 at age 83.

Guest starred on the scripted podcast Western "Powder Burns" (Apple Podcasts) in the fourth episode, which aired on August 19, 2015 - the same weekend The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) premiered.

Robert died of acute leukemia on November 11, 2016 in Ridgefield, Connecticut.