HERE’S TO THE GIRLS FROM U.N.C.L.E.

On August 14^th the highly anticipated feature film The Man from U.N.C.L.E. starring Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin will be released. I am excited to see it since they are keeping the movie set in the 1960s and making it an origin story as how the two agents came to be paired up. Of course, the wildly popular TV series starred Robert Vaughn as Solo and David McCallum as Kuryakin. Every U.N.C.L.E. episode had lovely ladies in it and the film is no exception co-starring Elisabeth Debicki and Alicia Vikander.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E., (originally conceived by James Bond creator Ian Fleming as Solo), became one of the biggest hits on television during the 1964-65 season. Solo was teamed with sexy Russian Illya Kuryakin, both who took orders from their no-nonsense bureau chief Mr. Waverly (Leo G. Carroll).

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was a true delight for young viewers, especially men as a number of sexy starlets including Senta Berger, Yvonne Craig, Carol Lynley, Danielle de Metz, Irene Tsu, Barbara Luna, France Nuyen, Luciana Paluzzi, Diane McBain, Anna Capri and others could be seen on the program.  The show was so popular that a number of two part episodes were re-edited, padded with new footage or outtakes and rushed into theatres.  During the show’s first two years on the air, fans could see their favorite U.N.C.L.E. stars on the big screen in To Trap a Spy (1965), The Spy with My Face (1965), One Spy Too Many (1966) and One of Our Spies Is Missing (1966).  Unfortunately, as the series began to become more of a spoof than a dramatic show by season three, the quality of the program suffered though it vastly improved in Season four but not enough to defeat the weak ratings (NBC kept jerking fans around by moving the series time slot) killing the show in mid-season.

Over the years I have interviewed many an actress who worked on the series and below are some of the more notable:

Sharyn Hillyer recurring role as U.N.C.L.E. agent Wanda during 3rd season 1966-67

“There was always this flirtation between Wanda and Solo. I was usually in a huff because he would go off and get involved with other women. I was left back at headquarters so there were always scenes of me steaming. I remember one episode [“The My Friend the Gorilla Affair” (12/16/66)] where Vaughn’s character was going to Africa and I got to give him his inoculations before he went. And so Wanda kind of got even with him for always running off and flirting with women all over the world. She got to give him a number of shots with a big needle.

Robert Vaughn was nice and friendly enough but he kept to himself. He was professional but he wasn’t much fun. He wouldn’t hang out where as David McCallum would. David was playful and would have lunch with me. I don’t remember a lot about Leo G. Carroll. He didn’t hang around much between scenes. He was very nice and always courteous to me. He was also very generous as far as time and working with someone but he was sometimes a bit forgetful.”

Sue Ane Langdon  in “The Shark Affair” aired October 13, 1964

“I had met Robert Vaughn previously before doing this. He has the same atmosphere about himself as Napoleon Solo in the show—a very tongue-in-cheek polish and too, too suave! Bob Culp played the villain and didn’t hang around the set that much. He was not unfriendly but we didn’t have much opportunity to talk to each other. I also think he immersed himself in his character on and off screen. I saw him years later and he was much looser with a great sense of humor. That didn’t come out when we worked together.”

Joan O’Brien in “The Green Opal Affair” aired October 27, 1964

“I played a housewife who was abducted off the streets of Bedesda, Maryland—I have an amazing memory, don’t I? This was fun to do because we had a scene where we had to run through the jungle barefoot chased by a live cheetah. I had to wear mold skin on my feet to help me from tearing up the skin.  It was a very far out episode.  Again it was fun, but not anything I’m extremely proud of.

Robert Vaughn and I went together for a couple of years prior to this. We had an on-again off-again relationship. He was fine to work with. David McCallum was a typical British actor. I really didn’t care for Carroll O’Connor who played the villain all that much. He was rather smug and not particularly warm. He was all business, but he did give me some interesting tips on acting. He told me I was moving my head around too much in the tight shots. I had never thought about that. He said, ‘If you really want people to listen to what you are saying and observe you closely don’t move your head. It’s distracting.’  I realized he was right and took his advice.”

Irene Tsu in “The Hong Kong Schilling Affair” aired March 15, 1965

“I remember working with David McCallum and he was a very precise actor. In one scene we were playing Chinese checkers. He didn’t want me to come in and say my line until he did a certain move. The first couple of times I goofed it up.  He said sternly, ‘Don’t say anything until I make my move!’ I finally got it right.”

Danica d’Hondt in “The Girls of Nazarone Affair” aired April 12, 1965

“David McCallum was a nice guy and very professional to work. I wasn’t so impressed with Robert Vaughn who acted ‘the star.’  Sharon Tate was so sweet and we socialized a bit after this shoot. When I heard about her murder it was extremely disturbing to me. She was such a lovely girl.

I had to learn how to drive a finely tuned sports car called a Cobra. They had one that was the show’s car and another that was this guy’s prize possession that they were going to use for the speed scenes. Well, the TV car’s back axel locked so we could only use the really fancy one. The guy who owned it did not want me driving it. The stuntman had parked the car with the wheels turned and I didn’t notice that. They gave me strict instructions not to baby the car but to put my foot on the gas and go. I got in the car with this actor [Ben Wright], I said my lines, I put my foot on the gas and since the wheels were turned I was headed for about fifty crew members. I swung the car around and careened down the road. I think it was being in character that saved me otherwise I would have been too scared to do that. They got it all on film and everyone was thrilled to death except the poor guy in the car with me who I think had to go and change his underwear.

Danica is pictured holding pistol; Sharon Tate in center; and Kathy Kersh on right.

Kathy Kersh in “The Girls of Nazarone Affair” aired April 12, 1965

“I respected Robert Vaughn very much as an actor but he was rather pompous and a bit full of himself. At one point [during a fight scene], Sharon [Tate] was supposed to hold his arms back and I was supposed to hit him in the stomach. In the rehearsal, I didn’t hit him very hard. I didn’t have a lot of experience doing this so he stopped the scene and said, ‘Now look, you can hit me as hard as you want. Hit me as hard as you can.’ He was holding in his stomach tight. So I hit him and he said, ‘See, you can’t hurt me.’ He was a little annoying the way he carried on and on.

Before we actually went before the cameras, I said to Sharon, ‘When you grab his arms from behind rather than just grabbing him—I want you to grab his arms and snap him back. And then quickly stick your knee right in the small of his back. I’ll hit him in the stomach.’ Sharon was very athletic and she thought that it was a great idea. And that’s what we did. Sharon snapped him back, which he totally did not expect and I punched him good in the tummy. He doubled over. We really didn’t hurt him—that wasn’t the point—but it was his pride that was injured. I remember some of the cast and crew turning away so as not to laugh in front of him.  After he got up he said something like ‘Maybe you shouldn’t do it like that.’ Sharon and I had a good laugh.”

 

Celeste Yarnall in “The Monks of St. Thomas Affair” aired October 14, 1966

“There is a great story of how I won this role.  They were only auditioning French actresses like Claudine Longet for this part. I just signed with a new agent and told him I did dialects. He sent me to MGM to interview for this. When I walked in I said in a French accent, “Bon jour. My name is Celeste Yarnall and I’m from Paris.’ The producer [Boris Ingster] who was foreign, started speaking to me in French. I know only a little bit of French so I said using a French accent, ‘No, no, no.  I am in this country to practice my English. Don’t speak French to me. I will read the script in English and you tell me how I do.’ One of the words in the script was the Beatles. When I got to it, I pronounced it ‘the Be-a-tles.’ They fell on the floor laughing and I got the part almost on the spot. After we started shooting, I said to Boris Ingster, using my normal American accent, ‘You know I’m really not French.’ His jaw dropped and he said that I had totally convinced them that I was from France.

Overall, doing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was an excellent experience for me. Robert Vaughn was wonderful to work with. He is a very elegant and intelligent man. I must have done a good job because it lead to many more acting offers for me.

Diane McBain in “The Five Daughters Affair” aired January 11 & 18, 1967

“[Fellow guest star] Telly Savalas was such a sexy man, very virile, as was David McCullum. Telly was the kind of man who could go up to any woman, sweep her into his arms and take her right there, no matter where. Not that he did that to me—I only imagined it.  But, I’d bet a bundle he could. David McCullum wouldn’t have had any trouble doing the same thing, either. It may not be true, but I imagined these men had endless women crawling in and out of their dressing rooms, at all hours.  When you work with actors in that milieu, especially on a set with limited contact, it is difficult to get to know them all that well. Telly seemed to keep to himself unless it had something to do with business. Then, he was always available. But, he was, on every relevant occasion, very pleasant to be around and to work with.”

 

 

Thordis Brandt in “The Prince of Darkness Affair Part II” aired October 9, 1967

“Robert Vaughn and David McCallum kept to themselves. Neither one socialized with me on the set.”

She had more fun working on the sister series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. “Stefanie Powers and Noel Harrison were wonderful. Noel was such a sweet man. This show was a lot of fun to work on. The producers told me that they could use me in the background a lot if I could change the way I look.  I was a real chameleon so I was able to pull it off.”

Marlyn Mason in “The Deadly Quest Affair” aired October 30, 1967

“We [Robert Vaughn and her] had to do a kissing scene In those days when people kissed on television and in movies it was all very tame stuff. There was no slurping and nobody was eating anybody’s face like you see nowadays. So we do this scene and Vaughn just jams his tongue down my throat. Of course the actress in me just kept on acting but I was not responsive. I was trying to keep my mouth shut. I was so stunned and I decided that I was just not going to say anything. We did this in one take but I thought, ‘There is no way that they are going to see this in the dailies and pass it.  We’re going to have to do this again.’ Sure enough, the next day the director came and told us we had to do the scene over again. I was watching out of the corner of my eye as the director took Robert Vaughn aside and told him, ‘You can’t kiss her like that.’ We did it a second time and he made a half-ass attempt to do it again. But my mouth was tightly shut!”

Photo is from her Marlyn’s prior appearance in “The Fiddlesticks Affair.”

 

BarBara Luna in “The Man from Thrush Affair” aired December 4, 1967

“When I saw this episode recently it looked like I was walking through it. I was very boring in it. I thought Robert Vaughn was very good though. As for acting with him, he is not unpleasant to work with, just aloof. When I see him at conventions, he still is very aloof, but I like him anyway.”

To read more about the U.N.C.L.E. gals and other spy chicks, check out our book (co-written with Louis Paul) Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1963-1973 and some of my others:

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