Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as the secret agent Napoleon Solo on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, and was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, two Laurel Awards, and four times for the Golden Globe Award. Vaughn also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Vaughn had his breakthrough role as disabled, drunken war veteran Chester A. Gwynn in The Young Philadelphians, earning him a 1960 Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently appeared in scores of films, notably as gunman Lee in The Magnificent Seven, Walter Chalmers in Bullitt, Major Paul Krueger in The Bridge at Remagen, the voice of Proteus IV in Demon Seed and Ross Webster in Superman III.
To television audiences, in addition to his role as Solo, Vaughn was known for his roles as private detective Harry Rule on The Protectors, Morgan Wendell in the miniseries Centennial, and Albert Stroller on the BBC Television drama Hustle. He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of the White House Chief of Staff in the miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors. He also appeared in the British soap opera Coronation Street as Milton Fanshaw from January until February 2012.
Aside from his acting career, Vaughn was active in Democratic Party politics. He was chair of the California Democratic State Central Committee speakers bureau during the 1960s, and publicly campaigned against the Vietnam War as a member of the peace group Another Mother for Peace. A PhD in communications, his 1970 doctoral thesis "The Influence of the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the American Theater 1938–58" is considered "the most complete and intelligent treatment of the virulent practice of blacklisting now available."
Early life
Robert Vaughn was born on November 22, 1932, to Gerald Walter and Marcella Frances Vaughn at Charity Hospital in New York City. Vaughn's father was a radio actor and his mother was a stage actress. His parents divorced, and Vaughn lived with his grandparents Frank and Mary Gaudel in Minneapolis while his mother traveled and performed.Discussing his childhood in a 1965 New York Sunday News interview, Vaughn said “I was a complete wreck as a child, emotionally unstable, excessively prideful” and that he often felt miserable. “I cried all the time and I was always getting beat up”.
Education
Vaughn attended Lowell Elementary, Jordan Junior High School and North High School in Minneapolis, graduating in 1950. Nicknamed "Nobby", Vaughn's activity in high school included the Polaris Weekly school newspaper, the student council and various sports, including being named captain of the cross-country team.After high school, he enrolled in the University of Minnesota as a journalism major. However, he dropped out after a year and moved to Los Angeles with his mother.
He studied theater arts at Los Angeles City College in 1956 and transferred to Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences earning a master's degree in theater in 1960.
Doctoral thesis published as a book
Vaughn earned a PhD in communication from the University of Southern California in 1970. His doctoral dissertation "The Influence of the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the American Theater 1938–58" was an appraisal of the effect the committee's activities had on American theater. Vaughn's original research included data from questionnaires and interviews he conducted with witnesses who had been labeled "uncooperative" by the House Un-American Activities Committee.In 1972, he published his dissertation as a book titled Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting. Kirkus Reviews lists the book as "the most complete and intelligent treatment of the virulent practice of blacklisting now available". Still in print, the book is regularly assigned to law students.
Military service
Vaughn was inducted into the U.S. Army Reserve on November 29, 1955, and entered active duty on December 18, 1956, at Fort Ord, California. During his first leave, he discovered his mother had been diagnosed with Berger's disease, an often fatal kidney disorder. Vaughn applied for an Honorable Hardship discharge. While waiting for a decision, Vaughn was held over at Fort Ord and served as a drill instructor. Discharged from active duty on May 26, 1957, he again served in the U.S. Army Reserve until November 1962.Acting career
Early encouragement
Vaughn's mother encouraged his becoming an actor early in his life. She taught Vaughn to recite Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet when he was five.Vaughn's mother assisted him in being cast on radio shows in the Chicago area. He debuted on radio playing the part of Billy on Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy broadcast on WBBM radio.
In 1950 Vaughn worked as a page at Minneapolis' WCCO. "My job was a kind of glorified page boy position, but I was allowed to wear civvies rather than the silly uniforms often sported by studio guides and messengers in those days".
His first film appearance was as an extra in The Ten Commandments, playing a golden calf idolator. Vaughn is also visible during a chariot scene behind Yul Brynner.
Vaughn's first credited movie role was the Western Hell's Crossroads, in which he played Bob Ford, the murderer of outlaw Jesse James. Seen by Burt Lancaster in Calder Willingham's play End as a Man, Vaughn was signed with Lancaster's film company and was to have played the Steve Dallas role in Sweet Smell of Success. Vaughn appeared as Stan Gray in the episode "The Twisted Road" of the western syndicated series Frontier Doctor.
Vaughn played in at least one episode of The Rifleman. He played Dan, a West Point dropout who was appointed temporary Marshall of North Fork.
Helped by Paul Newman
Vaughn's first notable appearance was in The Young Philadelphians. Vaughn credited Paul Newman with helping him earn his first major film role. "The person who launched my career into A-list movies was Paul Newman. When my agent called and said Warner Bros. had a role for me in The Young Philadelphians, I mentioned it to Paul, who belonged to the same health club I did. He told me it was the perfect role for me and offered to do the screen test with me. That was unheard of. In a screen test, you run your lines with a script girl who is off camera. I had never done one before, but Paul did it with me and the result was wonderful".In the film, Vaughn portrayed alcoholic veteran Chet Gwynn who lost his arm in the Korean War and was falsely accused of murder. His acting in the film earned Vaughn nominations for both the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.
''The Magnificent Seven''
Vaughn's next role was the gun for hire Lee in director John Sturges' 1960 film The Magnificent Seven. The film was an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese samurai epic Seven Samurai set in the American frontier.Vaughn recalled the morning in January when he arrived in Sturges’ office for his audition, "...an ax was hanging over every movie project in Hollywood. Unless the casting for a picture was completed by noon on a particular Friday, production couldn’t begin". Telling Vaughn he wanted to cast him based on his performance in The Young Philadelphians, Sturges said, "We don’t have a script, just Kurosawa’s picture to work from. You’ll have to go on faith. But we’ll be filming in Cuernavaca. Never been there? You’ll love it — it’s the 'Palm Springs of Mexico' ". Vaughn told Sturges, “I'm in”. Saying, "Good decision, young man", Sturges asked, "And do you know any other good young actors? I’ve got four other slots to fill". Vaughn suggested James Coburn, a friend and former classmate. Sturges hired Coburn.
Vaughn's portrayal of hired gunslinger Lee included wearing black gloves throughout the film, signifying his reluctance to "get his hands dirty" even while continuing to kill for hire.
Vaughn's acting showed Lee's internal struggle with cowardice. Having lost his nerve, he could not fight until he finally summoned the internal courage to face certain death while freeing hostages.
When offered the chance to run, Vaughn's Lee is told, "Go ahead, Lee, you don’t owe anything to anybody". His answer? "Except to myself".
Vaughn died in 2016, the last of The Magnificent Seven actors.