The Man From U.N.C.L.E. paved the way for other spy series
David McCullum the star of the hit 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. passed away Monday, September 25 from natural causes at age 90. With his death, there is also the demise of the great television series from the 60s, the likes of which we will never see again. CBS said in a statement that McCullum died of natural causes surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
McCullum began his television career in the series The Invisible Man and in later years he had a role in NCIS. The Man From U. N.C.L.E aired on NBC, from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. In the local Southwest Virginia viewing area it aired on WSLS 10. The series was canceled halfway through its fourth season but it paved the way and set a standard for spy series to come in the future.
United Network Command for Law and Enforcement
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. began on the Tuesday night NBC lineup, but moved to Monday nights, a half hour earlier, the following January. The acronym U.N.C.L.E. stands for the secret international intelligence agency United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.
In my neck of the woods in Southwest Virginia, my brother and the other boys would pretend they were spies like McCullum's mysterious character Russian agent Illya Kuryakin and Robert Vaughn's Napoleon Solo. Children across the Commonwealth pretended they were having the adventures of the spies in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The death of classic television
These were the days when boys and girls could safely play outdoors and run through the wooded areas of Southwest Virginia having fun playing make-believe without any worries. Those days as well as the original spy adventure television series are now but memories.
With the death of each beloved actor, like David McCullum a part of that history goes with them. There will never be another era of classic original television but you can watch The Man From U.N.C.L.E on Prime Video, Apple TV or Vudu on your Roku device.
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