Open Channel D: The Man From UNCLE Affair

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 Sa...

  April Dancer never made much success as The Girl From UNCLE . The character was poorly designed. But no one disputes the beauty of the actress who played her, Stephanie Power. During the only season of The Girl From UNCLE , April Dancer wore fashionable 1960's style clothes. Dancer seemed to be on a catwalk and not working for a secret organization.  These are some of the clothes used by Stephanie Powers in The Girl From UNCLE :

The actress Stephanie Powers, despite her obvious talent and beauty, failed to project herself as a major Hollywood star. She had much more success on TV with the series Hart to Hart (1979-1984) alongside Robert Wagner. But Stephanie had a pioneering experience on TV when starred in The Girl From UNCLE series in 1966-1967, a spin-off of the hit The Man From UNCLE (1964-1968). It was the first time a female character (April Dancer) became the protagonist of an adventure series in the history of American TV.  Stephanie Powers as April Dancer, the Girl From UNCLE. (Reproduction) The Girl From UNCLE  was always kind of despised for choosing the path of self-parody (in the style of  Batman  series with Adam West). Despite all the problems, or even because of them, Stephanie Powers could have dealt  The Girl From UNCLE  (which gave her worldwide recognition) with more love and care. In her autobiography  Hart to Hart  (Galler...

In 1965 The Man From UNCLE series was such a hit that its producers decided to create a spinoff, The Girl From UNCLE . As a pilot, they used an episode of the original series called "The Moonglow Affair". In this particular episode the main characters Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) were "hospitalized" early in the action and replaced by the pair who would star in the new series - April Dancer and Mark Slate. For the role of Slate  was choosen the veteran actor Norman Fell. As April Dancer, the former Miss USA Mary Ann Mobley. Mobley had started her acting career just two years before and worked in film and TV alongside stars such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis and Nancy Sinatra. But his performance as The Girl From UNCLE episode ended in the pilot. For the series (which premiered in 1966) she was replaced by Stephanie Powers. Mary Ann Mobley died on December 9, 2014, due to a breast cancer. The picture below is from The Moon...

The Man From UNCLE  was so successful in his second season (1966) that the producers decided to create a parallel series (or spinoff) using the same scenario of the original. And by the same boss, Mr. Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). The Girl From UNCLE was a pioneer in series starring women-spies (as Alias and Homeland) . Unfortunately it came in 1967, during the third season of The ManFrom UNCLE . And the producers of the two parallel series wanted to ride the wave of parody that made the success of Batman . It was a wrong choice for the many fans of the series. The Girl From UNCLE lasted only one season and The Man would be canceled in early 1968. The Girl From UNCLE starred the agent April Dancer (Stephanie Powers). She was baptized by Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. April had as a partner the british Mark Slater (Noel Harrison). The series was never a hit, like the original. Still watch The Girl From UNCLE today (on DVD) is a fun time travel. ...

O sucesso de  O Agente da UNCLE  nos anos 1960 foi tão grande que gerou um "filhote": a série paralela chamada A Garota da UNCLE , que seguia basicamente o mesmo esquema do original: dois agentes faziam uma dupla (como Napoleon Solo e Illya Kuriakin). No caso eram April Dancer (Stefanie Powers) e Mark Slate (Noel Harrison). As duas séries dividiam o mesmo cenário e até o mesmo chefe, senhor Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). Mas a Garota da UNCLE foi um fracasso de audiência e durou apenas uma temporada (1966-1967).  Hoje a série está sendo lembrada por causa do falecimento (por ataque cardíaco) de Noel Harrison, o "Mark Slate". Ele é filho do grande ator britânico Rex Harrison. Foi um profissional do esqui esportivo, e depois virou músico. Seu grande sucesso foi a música The Windmills of Your Mind . No ano em que The Man From UNCLE está sendo refeito como longa metragem, Noel Harrison parte aos 79 anos.