Biography for
Robert Vaughn (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 November 1932, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Robert Francis Vaughn

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Robert Francis Vaughn was born at Charity Hospital in New York on November 22, 1932. The son of show-business parents, his father, Walter, was a radio actor and his mother, Marcella, was a stage actress. Robert came to the public's attention first with his Oscar-nominated role in The Young Philadelphians (1959) in 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. He appeared over 200 times in guest roles in the late 1950s to early 1960s. 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 TV. It was due to his work in this show 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 TV shows of the 1960s. made Vaughn an international TV star, but he wanted to embark on a career in film, and did so soon after the show 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 TV, this time in England, He took a lead role in the series "The Protectors" (1972) and stayed in England for the first half of the 1970s. He returned to the US in the mid-'70s and embarked on a very successful run of TV mini-series 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". During the 1980s he mixed TV 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 TV he appeared in many successful shows, most notably in "The A-Team" (1983) and "Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983).

He continued to mix the types of projects, even appearing on stage on numerous occasions. The 1990s has seen the same variety of roles. Made-for-TV movies have been a popular choice for him, as well as such series as "As the World Turns" (1956), "The Nanny" (1993) and "Law & Order" (1990), and he had a role in the 1998 series that was a remake of the classic film in which he appeared, "The Magnificent Seven" (1998). Even though he's also appeared in major features such as Joe's Apartment (1996) and BASEketball (1998), he's taking it more easy these days. He has been working on his autobiography titled "Christ, Shakespeare, Ho Chi Min: As I Knew Them" for some years now, but no date has been set for publication.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Daniel Bolton

Spouse

Linda Staab

(29 June 1974 - present) 2 children

Trivia

Children: Caitlin, Cassidy

A Democrat

Education: North High, Minneapolis. University of Minnesota (Journalism major), quit after a year. Moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in L.A. City College majoring in drama, then transferred to California State University at Los Angeles and completed his Masters degree. After that, and while he was acting throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, he studied at the University of Southern California and completed a Ph.D. in Communications. His thesis on the blacklisting of Hollywood entertainers during the McCarthy anti-communist era was published in 1972 as "Only Victims".

Along with Eddie Velez ("Dishpan Frankie" Santana), has been called partially responsible for the premature cancellation of "The A-Team" (1983) & series finale December 30, 1986 just 12 episodes into season 5 of the show because most viewers could not accept the Team working for General Hunt Stockwell of the U.S. military (Vaughn), which they had been evading since 1972(!), instead of the Team remaining an independent entity tackling cases on a $10,000-per-job basis as they had in seasons 1-4.

Currently seen on TV commercials in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for the law offices of Kalfus & Nachman. Has been doing commercials for Kalfus & Nachman for several years now. Also does commercials for law offices all throughout the country.

The California Democratic Party originally wanted him to challenge Ronald Reagan for Governor. Even though Vaughn is a liberal Democrat, and disliked Reagan, he refused and instead stood behind Governor Brown, who lost the election to Reagan. Another possible candidate considered was Gregory Peck.

Both he and his "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) co-star David McCallum appeared in what is now considered a classic film directed by John Sturges which starred Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn: Vaughn appeared in The Magnificent Seven (1960), McCallum appeared in The Great Escape (1963)

Was one of the first actors to play the same character (Napoleon Solo) on three different television series: "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964), "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1965) and "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." (1966).

College friend of his The Magnificent Seven (1960) co-star James Coburn.

Played Richard Dean Anderson's father in "Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983) even though he is only seventeen years older than him.

Appeared in three different films with Steve McQueen: The Magnificent Seven (1960), Bullitt (1968) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

Was a close friend of Robert F. Kennedy.

Despite the vastly different settings, he played essentially the same character in both The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). Both films were unofficial re-makes of Shichinin no samurai (1954).

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with David McCallum: "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964), "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1965) and "The A-Team" (1983).

He is of Welsh and Irish descent

Despite being one of the stars, he had only sixteen lines in The Magnificent Seven (1960).

He and his wife, Linda Staab, no longer attend award ceremonies. They prefer to watch them on television.

Holds a Ph.D. in Communications.

The only actor who has been in both The Magnificent Seven movie and the TV series.

Played President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (twice), Woodrow Wilson and Harry S. Truman.

Is said to have met his future wife Linda Staab on the set of "The Protectors: It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island (#1.24)" (1973).

Credits much of The Magnificent Seven (1960)'s success to Elmer Bernstein's score - which he uses as his ringtone.

Out of the many films he has made, there were two which he was convinced would be unwatchable box-office poison whilst making them: The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Bullitt (1968).

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

Married 31-year-old Linda Staab at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California in 1974 at the age of 42.

On July 27, 1998, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For sentimental reasons, he requested his star to be located near the corner of Hollywood and Cherokee, close to where he and his mother first lived when he moved to Hollywood.

Distant cousin of Sydney Sweeney and Trent Sweeney.

Personal Quotes

With a modest amount of looks and talent and more than a modicum of serendipity, I've managed to stretch my 15 minutes of fame into more than half a century of good fortune.

Where Are They Now

(April 2005) He currently has a home in Ridgefield, Connecticut

(January 2004) Starring in the BBC hit drama "Hustle" (2004) on British TV.

(September 2006) Currently appears in custom-made television commercials for law firms.

(November 2007) Played himself in a play on BBC Radio 4, broadcast 5th November 2007, based on real-life events in 1968, when he was in Czechoslovakia in connection with the filming of The Bridge at Remagen (1969). He was in Prague the day the Russian tanks entered the city.

(November 2008) Release of his autobiography, "A Fortunate Life".

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