Man From UNCLE Episode 14: The Terbuf Affair (Part 2: Alan Caillou, writer & villain)

- April 10, 2017

Alan Caillou is a unique case in the UNCLE universe. In The Terbuf Affair, Caillou was at the same time the script writer and one of the actors, as the chief of secret police, Colonel Morisco. Screenwriter Caillou, author of seven The man From UNCLE episode scripts, would perform as an actor again in the episode 37, The Tigers Are Coming Affair. He was a rich caracter himself:

"Alan Caillou was the nom de plume of Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe M.B.E., M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006), an English born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter. Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in Surrey, England. Prior to World War II he served with the Palestine Police from 1936 to 1939, where he learned the Arabic language. He was awarded an MBE in June 1938. He married Aliza Sverdova in 1939, then studied acting from 1939–1941. In January 1940, Lyle-Smythe was commissioned in the Royal Army Service Corps. Due to his linguistic skills, he transferred to the Intelligence Corps and served in the Western Desert where he used the surname "Caillou" (the French word for 'stone') as an alias. He was captured in North Africa, imprisoned and threatened with execution in Italy, then escaped to join the British forces at Salerno.

After work as a District Officer in Somalia and professional hunter, Lyle-Smythe travelled to Canada, where he worked as a hunter and then became an actor on Canadian television. Moving from Vancouver to Hollywood, he made an appearance as a contestant on 23 January 1958 edition of You Bet Your Life. This was followed by many appearances as an actor as well as a screenwriter in such shows as Daktari and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Caillou wrote a variety of 52 paperback thrillers under his own name and a nom de plume of Alex Webb with such heroes as Cabot Cain, Colonel Matthew Tobin, Mike Benasque, Ian Quayle and Josh Dekker as well as writing many magazine stories. He also wrote books under female names. He died in Sedona, Arizona, United States in 2006".

Wikipedia