Robert Vaughn

Right from his college days, Vaughn was involved in Democratic politics, organizing events and rallies and networking with leading Democrats. A close friend of Robert F. Kennedy, he was once considered as a challenger to Ronald Reagan for the California governorship, however, Vaughn negated it.

He met his wife, Linda Staab, an actress while shooting ‘The Protectors’ episode ‘It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island’ in 1973. Vaughn was not only the lead alongside Linda but also the director of the episode. They got married on June 29, 1974 and adopted two children; Cassidy (born 1976) and Caitlin (born 1981).

Always inclined to academics, Vaughn received a Ph.D. in communications in 1970 from the University of Southern California. His dissertation on Hollywood blacklisting during ‘Red Scare’ era under president McCarthy was published as ‘Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting’ in 1972.

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

When Robert was still a baby, his parents divorced and he went to Minneapolis to live with his grandparents as his mother was constantly traveling for her stage performances. Attending North High School, he proved adept in studies and athletics and also showed a keen interest in acting.

He won a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism. However, after just a year, he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles to join his mother and enrolled at the Los Angeles City College. Thereafter, he took a transfer to the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences from where he graduated in 1956 with a master’s degree in theater.

On November 21, 1955, Robert Vaughn appeared on the ‘Black Friday’ episode of ‘Medic’, an NBC medical drama television series; this was his debut in a career that would span more than 200 episodic roles on TV.

In 1956, he made his first appearance on the big screen in Cecil B. DeMille epic, ‘The Ten Commandments’ though as an uncredited extra. ‘Western Hell's Crossroads’, released the next year, was his first credited film.

Acting in a play, ‘End as a Man’ by Calder Willingham, he managed to impress Burt Lancaster who signed him for his own film production company. However, his acting career was disrupted as he was drafted by the US Army.

Vaughn returned to acting at the age of 27 in ‘The Twisted Road’ episode of ‘Frontier Doctor’, an ‘ABC’ syndicated western series.

He impressed both the critics and the public with his performance as ‘Chester A. "Chet" Gwynn’ in ‘The Young Philadelphians’, a 1959 ‘Warner Bros.’ drama film starring Paul Newman and Barbara Rush. He was nominated for the ‘Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor’ as well as the ‘Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture’.

‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, the ‘Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television’ spy-fiction series that had a very successful run between September 22, 1964, and January 15, 1968. Robert Vaughn became a household name and earned as many as four nominations for the ‘Golden Globe’.