Actor Robert Vaughn – of Man from U.N.C.L.E and Coronation Street fame – has died aged 83

Actor Robert Vaughn – best known as Napoleon Solo in the original TV series of The Man From UNCLE, as well as Coronation Street’s Milton Fanshaw – has died aged 83.

The actor’s manager Matthew Sullivan confirmed that he passed away on Friday after a brief battle against acute leukaemia.
‘Mr. Vaughn passed away with him family around him,’ Sullivan told the website Deadline.

Television Programme: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. — Pictured: Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo, circa 1965.

Robert played Napoleon Solo in The Man From U.N.C.L.E from 1964-1968

Robert, who was born in New York in 1932, had an acting career which spanned over seven decades, although he remains best known for his role as the original Napoleon Solo in 60s TV hit The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

That show, which saw him play an American secret agent working for the titular organisation, alongside Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) ran for 105 episodes from 1964-1968.

It also spawned a movie reboot, starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer as Solo and Kuryakin, in 2015.

Vaughn notched up countless other movie and TV show appearances throughout his long career – and was notably the last surviving main cast member of 1960 classic The Magnificent Seven, in which he played gunman Lee.

His other notable films included Bullitt, The Towering Inferno, Superman III and Battle Beyond The Stars – while on TV he appeared as Hustle’s Albert Stroller for the show’s entire eight-series run, from 2004-2012.