fbpx

RIP: Robert Vaughn, ‘Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ star and lawyer commercial pitchman, dies at 83

Actor Robert Vaughn, best known for his starring role in ’60s NBC spy drama The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and as a daytime television pitchman, has passed away at the age of 83.

Long live Napoleon Solo. And long live the golden age of lawyer-commercial television.

According to reports, Vaughn passed away this morning (November 11) after a battle with acute leukemia. His manager, Mathew Sullivan tells FOX that Vaughn was “a great human being and a great actor.”

Though he had an illustrious career in film and television, including roles in shows like Hustle and The Protectors and films like the 1960 iteration of The Magnificent Seven and 1998 comedy BASEketball, those who don’t recognize him for his work in U. N. C. L. E. might remember Vaughn instead as a pitchman for Worcester lawyer Mark E. Salamone and various other law firms around the country.

Here are a couple of clips, including one in which the very mention of a law firm he sponsors causes a man to choke on a sandwich.

In a bizarre coincidence, you can see Vaughn on the big screen this weekend in Brookline, as the Coolidge is showing Superman III on Saturday night at midnight.

In the 1982 superhero film starring Christopher Reeve and Richard Pryor, Vaughn plays “villainous multimillionaire” Ross Webster, who, according to the film’s description, “is determined to destroy Superman before he can stop his plan to control the world’s oil supply. He is an original character created for the movie.”

Vaughn is survived by wife Linda, son Cassidy, and daughter Caitlin.