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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
A Fortunate Life by Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn will be the first to admit that he is most famous for his role as Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a role for which he is grateful. But there is much more to this man than simply playing the small screen equivalent to the big screen’s James Bond. In his autobiography Vaughn takes readers through the ups and downs of his life, beginning with his childhood. Vaughn doesn’t leave anything out. From the time he lost his virginity to the sexual escapades of Hollywood, this is a true insider’s look at Tinseltown.
Robert Vaughn is a dedicated actor and is well versed in Shakespeare. He knew Shakespeare from the time he was a little boy and enjoys discussing the famous playwright and his plays with young people. However when a young actor shows up in Hollywood, he doesn’t usually get offered the lead in Hamlet. Vaughn paid his dues in the town and managed to get parts in several films while working his way to the top.
Not only does the actor describe his work experience, but he also acknowledges some of the many women friends he had during his young days in Hollywood. Natalie Wood was one who definitely caught his attention and they were quite a couple. Robert Vaughn divulges that he thought Doris Day was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, although they did not have any extra relationship when he had a small part in her film The Glass Bottom Boat.
Vaughn is the last survivor from The Magnificent Seven, and he regales some fun stories about the experience making that film, like how Steve McQueen tried to steal some of the spotlight from Yul Brynner. Vaughn and his friend McQueen worked together again in Bullitt as well as The Towering Inferno. And Robert Vaughn worked with Robert Wagner in The Towering Inferno as well as Vaughn’s current series Hustle. The web of Hollywood is tight and through all the stories in this book, readers get a good view of the actors’ life as well as the camaraderie between them and how, quite often, they are thrown together over and over again.
Besides being an actor, Robert Vaughn is involved in political issues and was one of the first to speak out against the Vietnam War. He worked in the anti-war movement and for the 1968 campaign of Senator Eugene McCarthy, although his friend Robert Kennedy was his personal choice. When RFK finally announced his candidacy, Vaughn was overjoyed, but that quickly turned to horror when the candidate was assassinated. Having been to RFK’s house several times and close to the family (he dated Kennedy’s sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford after her divorce from actor Peter Lawford), Vaughn was deeply affected by the assassination.
Although it seemed like an open and shut case against accused – and convicted – assassin Sirhan Sirhan, it later became clear to the actor that something was not right. He spent a long time researching the incident and is vowing to reopen the case, feeling deeply that there was a conspiracy to assassinate his friend. He says Aristotle Onassis actually confessed to someone that he put up the money for the assassination. Onassis married RFK’s sister-in-law Jacqueline Kennedy after the Senator was murdered. Tangled webs?
While filming The Bridge at Remagen in Prague there was something in the air. With the Czech’s reforming, the Soviets were not pleased, and as they invaded the film company was forced to witness the horror and halt production, while they worried about their safety. That is only one story from his illustrious career. There are countless more between the covers of the book.
A well-educated man with a doctorate degree, Robert Vaughn writes his memoirs in a way that is spellbinding. Don’t think it’s one of those kiss and tell books. It is not. It is a memoir of one man’s journey and how he grew through the years. It is not simply about Hollywood, it is about life. His life. And what a life he has led.
© 2008 Francine Brokaw
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