“Mr. [Robert] Vaughn passed away with family around him,” the actor’s manager, Michael Sullivan, confirmed to Deadline. Those family members include his wife, Linda Staab, and children, Cassidy, 40, and Caitlin, 35. Robert had been suffering from acute leukemia before his tragic death.
After growing up in Minnesota, Robert moved to Los Angeles, where he studied theater at Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts & Sciences. He made his television debut in 1955, guest-starring on an episode of Medic, and starred in his first film, The Ten Commandments, as an uncredited extra one year later.
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However, Robert really started gaining notoriety in 1959 thanks to the film The Young Philadelphians — he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award and Best Supporting Actor/Motion Picture Golden Globe Award. After appearing in the 1963-1964 season of The Lieutenant, the actor was offered his own television series, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He played the lead character, Napoleon Solo, and eventually became a household name. The NBC spy fiction series aired from 1964-1968. Robert’s last movie, Hoodlum & Son, was released in 2003, and he made his final television show appearance on Coronation Street in 2012.
As an outspoken Democrat, Robert publicly took a stand against the Vietnam war, and supported Senator Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential election. He has also written a memoir called A Fortunate Life. We are incredibly saddened to learn about his passing, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
HollywoodLifers, are you shocked about Robert Vaughn’s death? Leave your thoughts for his loved ones in the comments section below.