David McCallum, who starred as Illya Kuryakin alongside Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo in the 1960s hit spy drama “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and had a supporting role as pathologist Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the top-rated series “NCIS” decades later, died Monday of natural causes in New York City. He was 90.
His son Peter made a statement on behalf of his family, saying, “He was the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father. He always put family before self. He looked forward to any chance to connect with his grandchildren, and had a unique bond with each of them. He and his youngest grandson, Whit, 9, could often be found in the corner of a room at family parties having deep philosophical conversations.
“He was a true renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting...
His son Peter made a statement on behalf of his family, saying, “He was the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father. He always put family before self. He looked forward to any chance to connect with his grandchildren, and had a unique bond with each of them. He and his youngest grandson, Whit, 9, could often be found in the corner of a room at family parties having deep philosophical conversations.
“He was a true renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting...
- 9/25/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
The Man from Uncle review: A fizzy antidote to 007
Suave spy caper The Man From Uncle opens this week, revamping the cult '60s TV series and bringing it to the big screen for the first time in nearly 50 years. If you've never seen the original show or its eight movie spin-offs, here's your handy guide to get you up to speed...
1. The Man From Uncle was created by James Bond's Ian Fleming... sort of
The original idea to make a television series about a suave, sophisticated spy who travelled the world fighting villainy came from producer Norman Felton. He was interested in presenting each episode from the point of view of an innocent person - say, a housewife or a farmer - who find themselves drawn into an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.
In 1962, Felton pitched the idea to none other than James Bond creator Ian Fleming; based not...
Suave spy caper The Man From Uncle opens this week, revamping the cult '60s TV series and bringing it to the big screen for the first time in nearly 50 years. If you've never seen the original show or its eight movie spin-offs, here's your handy guide to get you up to speed...
1. The Man From Uncle was created by James Bond's Ian Fleming... sort of
The original idea to make a television series about a suave, sophisticated spy who travelled the world fighting villainy came from producer Norman Felton. He was interested in presenting each episode from the point of view of an innocent person - say, a housewife or a farmer - who find themselves drawn into an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.
In 1962, Felton pitched the idea to none other than James Bond creator Ian Fleming; based not...
- 8/11/2015
- Digital Spy
When it came to saving the world, bedding the babes, breaking Q’s gadgets, James Bond was the man, even if his tongue-in cheek adventures are a long way from the very real spy world of John le Carre and Harry Palmer.
Although Eon productions owned the movie rights to the Ian Fleming novels, it hasn’t stopped film-makers from making a couple of unofficial Bond flicks as well as several interesting variations on the character. So here are some of the parodies, pastiches, parallels and strange oddities that make up this alternative world of 007!
Our Man Flint (1966): Hollywood was now getting in on the Bond act with the Matt Helm movie series (1966-69) and TV’s The Man from U. N. C. L. E. (1964-68). But this effort is the ultimate of sixties cool with James Coburn in fine charismatic form as brilliant super-agent Derek Flint. Armed with...
Although Eon productions owned the movie rights to the Ian Fleming novels, it hasn’t stopped film-makers from making a couple of unofficial Bond flicks as well as several interesting variations on the character. So here are some of the parodies, pastiches, parallels and strange oddities that make up this alternative world of 007!
Our Man Flint (1966): Hollywood was now getting in on the Bond act with the Matt Helm movie series (1966-69) and TV’s The Man from U. N. C. L. E. (1964-68). But this effort is the ultimate of sixties cool with James Coburn in fine charismatic form as brilliant super-agent Derek Flint. Armed with...
- 7/4/2011
- Shadowlocked
Warner Bros. have tapped scribe Max Borenstein – whose script for Jimi (a Jimi Hendrox biography) made Hollywood’s infamous black list last year – to write the the script for the studios big-screen re-imagining of the 1960s TV show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The film will be helmed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crasher, Fred Claus), who has been attached to direct the long-in-development project for some time now.
The original show ran from 1964-68 on NBC and featured the espionage adventures of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, agents of United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), who fight the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity).
The Man From U.N.C.L.E’s last outing was a 1983 reunion TV movie titled The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
The original show ran from 1964-68 on NBC and featured the espionage adventures of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, agents of United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), who fight the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity).
The Man From U.N.C.L.E’s last outing was a 1983 reunion TV movie titled The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
- 4/14/2010
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Charles B. Pierce was a popular regional filmmaker who made his feature film debut as director, producer, and cinematographer for the 1972 docu-drama The Legend of Boggy Creek. The low-budget film dramatized the legend of a Sasquatch-like creature known as the Fouke Monster, that was reputed to terrorize the small town in Arkansas near Texarkana. Boggy Creek became a major hit on the drive-in circuit. Pierce also directed and wrote a 1985 pseudo-sequel, The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II, and appeared in the role of Professor Brian C. `Doc’ Lockart.
Pierce was born in Hammond, Indiana, on June 16, 1938, and moved to Hampton, Arkansas, with his family as a child. He operated an advertising agency in Texarkana, and began working in films as a set decorator in the mid-1960s. He worked on numerous film and television productions including Chuck Jones’ animated feature The Phantom Tollbooth (1970), and the films Pretty Maids All in a Row...
Pierce was born in Hammond, Indiana, on June 16, 1938, and moved to Hampton, Arkansas, with his family as a child. He operated an advertising agency in Texarkana, and began working in films as a set decorator in the mid-1960s. He worked on numerous film and television productions including Chuck Jones’ animated feature The Phantom Tollbooth (1970), and the films Pretty Maids All in a Row...
- 3/15/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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