Hollywood legend also played the baddie in Superman IIIRobert Vaughn - star of classic US TV series Man from U.N.C.L.E. - has died at age 83.
The TV icon passed away on Friday (November 11) following a short battle with acute leukemia, his manager Matthew Sullivan confirmed in a press statement.
"Mr. Vaughn passed away with his family around him," Sullivan told Deadline.
Vaughn's most enduring role perhaps was as the charming and gentlemanly spy Napoleon Solo in the classic '60s series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which pitted covert agents against enemies worldwide.
Starring alongside David McCallum as the Russian agent Illya Kuryakin, the duo's witty banter helped make The Man from U.N.C.L.E. one of the defining dramas from the Bond-era spy craze.
The enduring popularity of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. even lent it to being remade as a Guy Ritchie-directed feature film starring Henry Cavill as Solo and Armie Hammer as Armie Hammer as Kuryakin last year.
While many primarily remember Vaughn for his TV work, he made his first film appearance in The Ten Commandments and would go on to have supporting roles in The Magnificent Seven, Bullitt and The Towering Inferno - to name only a few.
His performance in 1959's The Young Philadelphians earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1983, he memorably played the evil oil magnate Ross Webster opposite Richard Pryor and Christopher Reeve in the blockbuster Superman III.
Later in his career, Vaughn would work frequently in the UK as sly conman Albert Stroller in Hustle and as Sylvia Goodwin's (Stephanie Cole) lover Milton Fanshaw in Coronation Street.
He is survived by wife Linda and two children, Cassidy and Caitlin.
In my opinion his finest performance was in The Bridge at Remagen where he played a loyal German soldier who defied the Nazi high command.
