The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret international espionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. Originally co-creator Sam Rolfe wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could refer to "Uncle Sam" or the United Nations.[1] Concerns by the MGM legal department about using "U.N." for commercial purposes resulted in the producers' clarification that U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.[2] Each episode had an "acknowledgement" to the U.N.C.L.E. on the end titles.
Novels
The first Man from U.N.C.L.E.novel, by Michael Avallone. Pictured: Robert Vaughn.
Rare children's storybook based upon The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Left to right: David McCallum, Robert Vaughn and Leo G. Carroll.
Two dozen novels were based upon Man from U.N.C.L.E. and published between 1965 and 1968. Unhampered by television censors, the novels were generally grittier and more violent than the televised episodes. The series sold in the millions, and was the largest TV-novel tie-in franchise until surpassed by Dark Shadows and Star Trek.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (a.k.a. The Thousand Coffins Affair) by Michael Avallone. When villages in Africa and Scotland are wiped out by a plague of madness, Solo and Kuryakin dig up a graveyard and a monster named Golgotha.
The Doomsday Affair by Harry Whittington. The agents must find the mystery man "Tixe Ylno" before he triggers war between the USA and the USSR.
The Copenhagen Affair by John Oram. "UFOs" are buzzing Europe, and the U.N.C.L.E. agents crisscross Denmark to find the factory before THRUSH launches an armed fleet.
The Dagger Affair by David McDaniel. DAGGER fanatics have an energy damper that can shut down electrical fields, atomic reactions, and human beings, and even THRUSH is panicked.
The Mad Scientist Affair by John T. Phillifent. The agents stop biochemist "King Mike" from poisoning London, then discover his second plan is to contaminate the entire North Sea.
The Vampire Affair by David McDaniel. Napoleon and Illya don’t believe in vampires and werewolves, but an U.N.C.L.E. agent has died, so they must investigate an ancient castle in Transylvanian Romania.
The Radioactive Camel Affair by Peter Leslie. Solo joins a caravan and Kuryakin threads a war zone to reach a missile base deep in the Sudan hinterlands.
The Monster Wheel Affair by David McDaniel. The agents canvass the globe and infiltrate a remote island to confirm an inexplicable space station belongs to - Egypt?
The Diving Dames Affair by Peter Leslie. The deaths of two merry missionaries lead the agents to the plains of Brazil and a giant dam with no apparent purpose.
The Assassination Affair by J. Hunter Holly. Surviving assassins' bullets and a "do-it-yourself murder room", the agents follow THRUSH to desolated Michigan farms and a scheme to starve the world.
The Invisibility Affair by Thomas Stratton (Buck Coulson and Gene DeWeese). The agents track an invisible dirigible to a submarine in Lake Michigan - and a plot to hijack an entire country.
The Mind Twisters Affair by Thomas Stratton. People in a college town are unaccountably catatonic, euphoric, and raging. The agents must ferret out who and how before the "experiment" goes nationwide.
The Rainbow Affair by David McDaniel. The agents consult every classic fictional spy and detective in England to find the world's best bank robber before THRUSH can recruit - or kill - him.
The Cross of Gold Affair by Fredric Davies (Ron Ellik and Fredric Langley). Clues hidden in crossword puzzles lead the agents, hippies, and frogmen to a Coney Island death-trap to stop the biggest heist in history.
The Utopia Affair by David McDaniel. Solo must command U.N.C.L.E. North America while Waverly is on a forced six-week vacation, and an undercover Illya tries to protect Waverly from Thrush assassins.
The Splintered Sunglasses Affair by Leslie
The Hollow Crown Affair by David McDaniel. In the last published McDaniel, Thrushes Ward and Irene Baldwin from The Dagger Affair return in a battle against an U.N.C.L.E. lab chief who has defected to Thrush.
The Unfair Fare Affair by Leslie
The Power Cube Affair by John T. Phillifent
The Corfu Affair by John T. Phillifent
The Thinking Machine Affair by Joel Bernard
The Stone Cold Dead in the Market Affair by John Oram
The Finger in the Sky Affair by Peter Leslie
The Final Affair by David McDaniel. Completed but never published, the manuscript is circulated by fans.
Volumes 10–15 and 17 of the series were only published in the United States.
The Rainbow Affair is notable for unnamed cameos by The Saint, Miss Marple, John Steed, Emma Peel, Willie Garvin, Tommy Hambledon, Neddie Seagoon,Father Brown, a retired Sherlock Holmes, and Dr. Fu Manchu.
Whitman Books published three hardcover novels aimed at young readers: The Affair of the Gunrunners' Gold and The Affair of the Gentle Saboteur by Brandon Keith, and The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick.
A children's storybook was written by Walter B. Gibson entitled The Coin of El Diablo Affair.
The digest-sized "Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine" featured original novellas continuing the adventures of Solo and Kuryakin. Published under the house name "Robert Hart Davis," they were written by such authors as John Jakes, Dennis Lynds, and Bill Pronzini. 24 issues, which also offered original crime and spy fiction short stories and novelettes, and occasional reprints under the title "Department of Lost Stories," ran monthly from February 1966 till January 1968.
Three science-fiction novels appear to be rewrites of "orphaned" U.N.C.L.E novel outlines or manuscripts: Genius Unlimited by John Rackham (a pseudonym of Phillifent), The Arsenal Out of Time by McDaniel, and Agent Of T.E.R.R.A. #1: The Flying Saucer Gambit by Jack Jardine (writing as Larry Maddock).