Guest stars included Pat Harrington Jr, James Hong, Rip Torn, Jack Palance, Madlyn Rhue, Carol Lynley, Ricardo Montalban, Sonny & Cher, Ann Francis, George Sanders, Janet Leigh, Dorothy Provine, Kim Darby, Leslie Nielsen, Judy Carne, Richard Anderson, Vera Miles, Vito Scotti, Fritz Feld, Telly Savalas, John Carradine, Peter Lorre Jr., James Doohan, Terry-Thomas, Tom Hatten, Ray Kellogg, Sid Haig, Richard Kiel, Madge Blake, Robert Culp, Carol O'Connor, Noel Harrison, Kurt Russell, William Shatner, Eddie Albert, Barbara Feldon, Elsa Lanchester, Angela Lansbury, Martin Balsam, Sherry Alberoni, Shelly Berman, Charles Ruggles, Nancy Sinatra, Bill Dana, Chad Everett, Mary Ann Mobley, Jack Lord, Michael Rennie, June Lockhart, Darren McGavin, Slim Pickens, Claude Akins, Yvonne Craig, Juliet Mills, Eve Arden, Cesar Romero, Victor Buono, Joan Collins, Norman Fell, Barbara Bouchet, Carol Wayne, Victor Borge, Martin Landau, Werner Klemperer, Broderick Crawford, Gavin MacLeod, Vincent Price, Harvey Lembeck, Henry Calvin, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cassidy, Joan Crawford, Estelle Winwood, Leonard Nimoy, Lee Meriwether, Julie London, Rita Shaw, John Banner, Daniel J. Travanti, Bonnie Frankliln, Charles Lane, Sharon Tate, Joan Blondell, Timothy Carey, Doodles Weaver, Harold Gould, Vic Tayback, Rosie Grier, Eleanor Audley, Jay North, & X Brands.
From IMDB:
Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) are the two Agents of the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), who fight evil (primarily an organization of bad people called, T.H.R.U.S.H.) and use charm, wit, and a never ending assortment of gadgets.
* Robert Vaughn worked on his Ph.D. during the course of the series and often was allowed to leave the set early so that he could attend night classes.
* Ian Fleming was reportedly one of the consultants when this series was being planned. The name Solo was borrowed, apparently with his blessing, from the novel Goldfinger.
* U.N.C.L.E. stands for "United Network Command for Law and Enforcement".
* The show's third season saw a change of style that resulted in the amount of comedy being increased in response to the "camp" craze made popular by Batman (1966) and Get Smart (1965). As a result, this show's ratings plummeted and the series never recovered. Despite a return to serious stories the next year, it was cancelled midway through its fourth season.
* The stunts were usually done by David McCallum and Robert Vaughn, as well as by stuntmen, and the best version was used. McCallum wasn't too keen on heights and Vaughan wasn't too keen on water, so they tried to avoid those stunts.
* The meaning of the acronym T.H.R.U.S.H. was never spelled out in the series, though a meaning was created for one of the U.N.C.L.E. novels published at the time ("Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity").
* Access to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters was made through Del Floria's, a tailor's shop. Additional entrances were mentioned, but not seen.
* Every two-part episode of this series was reedited into a series of theatrical movies which were initially released in Europe, and later to American television. In each case, additional footage was shot. Amongst the movies in this series: To Trap a Spy (1964), The Spy with My Face (1965), One Spy Too Many (1966), One of Our Spies Is Missing (1966), The Spy in the Green Hat (1967), The Karate Killers (1967), The Helicopter Spies (1968), and How to Steal the World (1968).
* In the original, unaired version of the pilot episode (shot in color), the Head of U.N.C.L.E. was called Mr. Allison, played by Will Kuluva. When the program finally aired, it was shown entirely in black-and-white with Kulava's scenes re-shot, featuring Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Waverly.
* Except for "Alexander the Greater Affair, episodes were always titled "The (insert episode title) Affair", while each act also carried its own title, usually taken from a line of dialogue.
* When they were filming a reunion movie, both lead actors were asked how the success of this show affected their careers. David McCallum said that he was often typecast and found it difficult to play other types of roles. Robert Vaughn said in his case the opposite was true, he played nothing but villains after the series ended.
* The show was originally to have been called "Solo", but in the year it was due to come out, Goldfinger (1964) was released with a villain called "Solo".
* At one point, the producers considered combining the show with The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966) to make a single, two-hour series called "The U.N.C.L.E. Show".
* In the book "Son of Origins", Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee revealed that this show was the inspiration for Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The comic would inspire the inclusion of the character and agency in the Marvel movies, which led to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013) television series, 49 years after this show premiered.
* During the series' run, Illya became so popular that David McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in MGM's history, including stars like Clark Gable and Elvis Presley.
* The 1966 season of "The Avengers" included The Avengers: The Girl from Auntie (1966)
Title: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s ABC Of Espionage
Author: John Hill
Publisher: Signet Books #D3045Cover Illustration: Photo Cover
PBO (Paperback Original)
Printing: 1st, 1966