HubPages: "(Some of the) Fifty Fascinating Facts about The Man from U.N.C.L.E"

- June 02, 2020

Mohan Kumar

October 25, 2016

1.Ian Fleming's Solo

The creator of the 'other' famous spy series is also the originator of the premise that birthed The Man from U.N.C.L.E. To put things in context, The world's most popular spy arrived onto the silver screen in October 1962, with the immortal words 'Bond, James Bond' in Dr No. American Television at that time was full of Medical shows, Westerns and Police shows. Producer Norman Felton from Arena Productions was keen to see a new genre of spy thrillers on TV. To this end, he approached Ian Fleming to suggest ideas and to write a series. Fleming proposed a spy with several similarities to Bond and named him Napoleon Solo. He also suggested that the spy will have a boss whose secretary would be of similar ilk as Miss Moneypenny. He called her April Dancer. The series was to be named Ian Fleming's Solo. Sadly Fleming's association was cut short swiftly by the Bond film producers Broccoli and Saltzman who were concerned about the Flemings involvement with a TV series and the inevitable similarities to Bond. The use of Fleming's name was also advised to be dropped. The name Napoleon Solo however, remains as Fleming's legacy. As does the name April Dancer, who went on to become The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.

4. U.N.C.L.E

The worldwide spy network with international agents was envisioned by Sam Rolfe. He decided to leave the acronym unexplained initially but was forced to come up with an expanded explanation as the United Nations objected to the name U.N.C.L.E. Several fans mistook U.N.C.L.E for one of the many UN organisations - some went as far as visiting the UN offices in New York and demanding to see the U.N.C.L.E. HQ in the basement. The UN even received several job applications to join the U.N.C.L.E. Rolfe came up with the name United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. He mentions the organisation in the end credits as a bit of an in-joke: "We wish to thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, without whose assistance this program would not have been possible."

12. Ilya Mania

While Vaughn was no stranger to female attention, it was David McCallum who attracted much of the fan frenzy. Perhaps it was his enigmatic character Illya, of whom little is known, that was the main draw. His introverted and quiet demeanour, his focused determination and scientific mind must have sparked something in the feminine psyche. Not to mention his dark polonecks, lean physique and floppy blond hair. Most teen magazines carried Ilya on their cover. There was even a pirate radio hit, sung by sixties pop star Alma Coogan called Love ya, Illya, I kid you not.

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