Cards 27-33

Or, more images of things I love!

Being around a pretty girl always makes me act like Max.

Yup, I watched the Beatles cartoon show on ABC on Saturday mornings.  The only storyline I specifically remember involved their meeting a vampire girl.  One of the songs excerpted in the sequence was "Chains," I believe.

The Munsters were clunkier than the Addamses, but still lotsa fun.

Irascible, judgmental, driven -- a perfect example of fallible humanity.

If you love devilish violin music, you know all about Niccolò Paganini, writer of 24 demonic caprices and other fun stuff, all written to showcase his viruosity.

Why yes, this spy is indeed much more suave than the doouble-zero guy.

Well, their music slaps me silly, inspires me, and still provokes folks to stupefaction (and sometimes mockery).

Well, my friends, I'll see you Thursday.  Come on back!

 

Trekking Ahead!

Our joy at getting a Star Trek movie was separate from any opinions about what we got. And we wanted MORE!

This clipping from the Oklahoman of May 25, 1980, was one of the tantalizing tidbits we clung to.

This one, from the October 9, 1980 Oklahoman, gave us more to dream on.

And until then, we could buy the Motion Picture on video, finally, as this ad in the December 6, 1980 TV Guide informed us.

What a great time to be a fan!  See you Thursday.

  

Farewell David McCallum

A week or so after his 90th birthday, David McCallum died.

He was the other Man from U.N.C.L.E.  Beginning in 1964, his outsider-as-cool persona set the fan pattern exploited by Star Trek’s Mr Spock a couple of years later.

And from 2003-2023 he played Dr Donald “Ducky” Mallard on NCIS. In between he played on stage and big screen.

The child of two professional musicians, McCallum released a few albums in the 1960s as conductor. You can find them in a 2019 post on Spock’s Record Round-Up, here. We’ll miss his eye twinkle, his set lips when following a clue, and the humor shown in his understated delivery of a zinger—whether to Napoleon Solo or to Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

  

See you on Monday, October 2, for the commencement of this year's BLOG-O-WEEN!

  

Mannix Trek!

I happened to come across "The Odds Against Donald Jordan," a Mannix episode first aired Marh 1, 1969.  I don’t know if I saw this episode when it originally aired.  I certainly watched many or most of them!

I watched this on March 27, 2022.  Boy, did a couple of the guest stars jump out at me!

Yes, the right-hand femme (semi-)fatale is Susan Oliver, also familiar to us as Vina, the original Orion slave girl, from Star Trek’s first pilot, “The Cage.”

And Walter Lucas, the business partner of the title guy, is played by Captain Terrell of Star Trek II!

(And I ain’t even gonna worry about Schtarker from Get Smart’s appearance!)  Now dig up this twisted tale of lies and betrayal somewhere for yourself!

See you Thursday!

  

I Wouldn't Call Them "Discards"!

On November 13, 1997, Diagnosis Murder aired an episode chock-full of 1960s secret agents.

Fellow spy maven Wesley Britton discusses "Discards" in depth here.

Here's an interview of the principal guests from the November 8, 1997 TV Guide.

Hard to think that this was all 20+ years ago!  *sigh*  Well, see you Monday, my friends!
 

MA-131 - The Post-Terminal Affair

Yes, my friends, it’s been more than six years since our previous compilation of music from, or related to, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  And believe me – if there are more iterations of music beyond these comps out there in the great somewhere ... then they are either re-iterations (about a kazillion surf-guitar versions on YouTube) or concealed from such databases as Discogs.

Yes, it’s all here for you, along with a 12-page insert booklet detailing the selections.  Here are the tracks:
01. Jerry Goldsmith and the London Symphony Orchestra - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:14)
02. The Andy Williams Show - McCallum Guest Appearance (3:47)
03. Hullabaloo - McCallum Guest Appearance (0:58)
04. The Glass Bottom Boat - Robert Vaughn Cameo (0:18)
05. Jerry Goldsmith - No Tricks - Director-Writer-Producer (2:12)
06. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (0:32)
07. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (0:34)
08. The Ventures - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (live) (1:40)
09. Goldsmith arr Fried - Meet Mr Solo (edit) (2:04)
10. Rancho Alamitos High School Concert Band Dance Band Orchestra - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (0:52)
11. Jet Set Unlimited - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (2:12)
12. Goldsmith arr Schifrin - Meet Mr Solo (0:57)
13. Please Don't Eat the Daisies - McCallum-Vaughn Cameos (1:12)
14. Ensemble Petit & Screenland Orchestra - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (2:35)
15. Ann Boleyn - Do the Kuryakin (2:00)
16. Jerry Goldsmith - She's a Notary - Writer-Director Card (0:39)
17. The Los Angeles Radio TV Symphony Orchestra - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:18)
18. Please Don't Eat the Daisies - Powers Cameo (0:23)
19. Goldsmith arr Fried-Armbruster - The Spy in the Green Hat - End Title (0:32)
20. Jerry Goldsmith - The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Theme (0:36)
21. The George Shearing Quintet - As Long as I Live (1:19)
22. Gerald Fried - Lips that Glow (2:37)
23. Goldsmith arr Fried - The Karate Killers - End Cast (0:25)
24. Jerry Goldsmith - Escape Route - Sweet Smell of Success (2:19)
25. Naked City - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (live) (2:13)
26. Goldsmith arr Fried - Meet Mr Solo (edit) (1:33)
27. Music Factory - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:17)
28. Goldsmith arr Shores - Meet Mr Solo (0:32)
29. Michigan State U Marching Band - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:01)
30. Morton Stevens - Night People (2:25)
31. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 01 (0:38)
32. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 02 (0:38)
33. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 03 (0:27)
34. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 04 (0:30)
35. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 05 (0:33)
36. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme - 4th Season Alternate 06 (0:35)
37. Prophet - Man from Uncle (3:22)
38. Miami Pearls Orchestra - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (2:36)
39. The Marketts - Napoleon's Solo (2:23)
40. Reverb Syndicate - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (live) (2:07)
41. The Crazy Beatles - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:38)
42. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (1:15)
43. Goldsmith arr Fried - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (0:35)
44. The Meteors - The Napoleon Solo (1:55)
45. Goldsmith arr Shores - The Helicopter Spies - End Title (0:26)
46. Tony Freeman - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (3:18)
47. The Gamblers - Dr Goldfoot (and His Bikini Machine) (1:53)
48. Gerald Fried - Lament for a Trapped Spy (3:10)
49. Gina, the Foxy Chick - Main Title (1:48)
50. The Summit Six Sextet - Meet Mr Solo - The U.N.C.L.E. Theme (3:30)

Perhaps the most interesting tracks:
·         Track 6 may be the most outré performance of Goldsmith’s theme ever—on kazoos!
·         Tracks 10 and 29, which are school-band performances
·         Track 20, which seems to be aired version of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.—except the harpsichord is missing!
·         Tracks 31-36, five Gerald Fried arrangements for possible use as 4^th-season opening titles, all rejected
·         Track 49, the U.N.C.L.E. theme appropriated for an X-rated movie!  This was pointed out by a fan whose information I have lost.  I’d love to have his name to share with you

So, relax and enjoy music from the episodes and movies, as well as audio from McCallum’s and Vaughn’s guest appearances on TV shows from the era.  Special thanks to Bruce Button and the Summit Six Sextet for their permission to include a performance from “The Golden Anniversary Affair,” and to graphics wizard Robert Short for permission to adapt his graphic for the cover art.
          

https://www.filefactory.com/file/7au363vs8qak/MA-131PTA.rar

Thanks to all members of U.N.C.L.E. fandom for your suggestions and goodwill!  As always, we welcome your comments!
   

Farewell, Robert Vaughn

            Actor and writer Robert Vaughn, forever in my heart The Man from U.N.C.L.E., died due to leukemia on November 11, 2016.

            He was best known as an actor, of course.  He played Lee in 1960’s The Magnificent Seven.  (The film was remade in 2016, to tepid reviews.)

            Napoleon Solo, his U.N.C.L.E. character, was originally intended as a TV version of James Bond.  Thank heaven that Norman Felton brought Sam Rolfe onboard to develop the concept into the witty creature that the property became.

            Vaughn was hired as the lead under its original title, Solo.  When costar David McCallum rose in fan approbation to become a virtual co-lead -- as happened later with Spock in Star Trek -- Vaughn graciously shared the spotlight.

            As narrated in Cynthia Walker’s boffo book, Work/Text: Investigating the Man from U.N.C.L.E., the NBC series was the first modern TV series to attract a cult fan following.

            During the show’s run (1964-1968), I went from eight to twelve years old.  And my tenth birthday fell on U.N.C.L.E.’s broadcast night, so I had an U.N.C.L.E. birthday party!  At other times, when I played “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” with my best friend, he played Illya; I played Solo.  (Tommy was blond, and I was a brunet, so this made perfect sense.)

            Vaughn was a star or guest on many other TV projects such as Murder, She Wrote, Columbo, and Season Five of The A-Team (one episode, “The Say U.N.CL.E. Affair,” had McCallum as guest star in a wacky episode typical of the silliest of 1980s TV).  From 1972-1974 he was star of the Brit TV The Protectors series.  You can read his over 200 acting credits, from Teenage Caveman to Transylvania Twist, at IMDB.

            Robert Vaughn wasn’t merely an actor.  He cared passionately about many topics, and was an activist for his (defined as liberal) beliefs.  Kudos to him for being actively involved in life beyond acting!

            Vaughn’s master thesis (it was in Communication), about Hollywood’s blacklist era, was titled Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting, and was released in book form (Amazon listing).

            His autobiography, A Fortunate Life, was released in 2009 (Amazon link).

            In the 1990s a friend of mine attended a convention at which Vaughn guested, and was kind enough to secure an autographed photo for me.  Thanks, Tamara!

            I salute you, Mr Vaughn, for your acting skills, your involvement in life, and your (unsought)  role as one of our heroes in the fight against evil.

 

Man from U.N.C.L.E. Movie Merchandising, a Lesser Look

In honor of tomorrow's release of the movie on home video, here's a look at some other merchandising of the film.

Unlike some movies whose promo campaigns include tie-in merchandise, the 2015 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had basically no tie-ins.  Too bad, for us original "kids from U.N.C.L.E.", who were looking forward to toys and paperbacks and the rest.

The only ancillary merchandise for purchase that I know about is the soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton and other performers of the time, which is a fun ride.

However, thanks to my friends at the Channel D Yahoo! discussion group, I was alerted that burger chain Carl’s Jr was doing some merchandising.  Turns out, not much!

But we U.N.C.L.E. fans take what we can find!

Starting a few weeks before the movie’s release, Carl’s Jr replaced their normal “giant-size” cup with a special U.N.C.L.E. cup.

And here’s a bunch of them:

Unfortunately, the chain didn’t have a promotional window cling for the cup, and there weren’t U.N.C.L.E. kids’ meals (wouldn’t that have been GREAT!).

There WAS a counter card, even though some stores didn’t even set it out!

 This one was saved for me, thanks to nice guy Mike at the Carl’s Jr location at NW 23^rd and Broadway in OKC.

While we’re on the topic of U.N.C.L.E. stuff, let’s close with a home-made one.  This U.N.C.L.E. item  was sewn for me by my friend Kathy Porter in 1986.

Fellow agents, your current assignment is to go buy the movie!

See you next time.

  

MA-66 - Spy Craze

Welcome back to my musical compilations.

These songs reflect a smidgen of the impact on pop culture created by the popularity of spies and secret agents in recent pop culture.

You can probably trace the antecedents of 007, U.N.C.L.E., and the rest to Cold war anxieties.  After all, some secrets could be literally earth-shattering!

And the fascinating concept of sneaking around supposedly for a greater good was cast backwards in time to such TV characters as Honey West, or James West and his partner Artemus Gordon.  Were there any pup-culturally famous futuristic, sci-fi spies?  You tell me!

The present compilation covers songs from 1963 to 2012.  I hope you like it!

01. Special Agent - The Eagles (2:19)  1963

02. The Spy - The Original Checkmates (1:58)   1963

03. Agent Double-O-Soul - Edwin Starr (2:44)   1965

04. Would You Believe - George Kent (2:33)   1965

05. 007 - Stan Kenton (2:25)   1965

06. 99 - Barbara Feldon (2:49)   1966

07. Max - Barbara Feldon (2:22)   1966

08. I Spy for the FBI - Jamo Thomas (2:33)   1966

09. The Last of the Secret Agents - Nancy Sinatra (2:45)   1966

10. L’agent Secret - Petula Clark (2:13)   1966

11. Secret Agents - The Olympics (2:25)   1966

12. The Silencers - Vikki Carr (2:58)   1966

13. Come Spy with Me - Smokey Robinson (2:57)   1967

14. Undercover Man - The Edgar Winter Group (3:49)   1972

15. Secret Agent Man - DEVO (3:35)   1979

16. Love Secret Agent - Lew Kirton (4:18)   1980

17. I Spy - The Dooleys (3:07)   1980

18. Spies in the Night - The Manhattan Transfer (4:02)   1981

19. Goodbye, Mr. Bond - Blotto (5:42)   1982

20. Spy vs Spy - Toto Coelo (3:26)  1983

21. Secret Agent - Robin Gibbs (4:53)   1984

22. Hombre Secreto (Secret Agent Man) - The Plugz (1:47)   1984

23. Get Smart - The Kaos Killers (0:57)   1993

24. Secret Agent - Letters to Cleo (2:53)   1998

25. My Baby Loves the Secret Agent - The Detroit Cobras (1:59)   2003

26. Undercover Agent - The Caroloregians (2:42)   2008

27. I Wish I Was a Spy - Peter Bjorn & John (1:51)   2011

MA-66 - Spy Craze

Remember, maintain plausible deniability at all costs!