Robert Vaughn

A magnetic performer who was equally at home playing heroes or heels, Robert Vaughn was a leading man and character actor whose five-decade career included such hit films as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "Bullitt" (1968) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974). His greatest successes, however, came on the small screen; first as the dashing Napoleon Solo in the runaway hit series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (NBC, 1964-68), and later, with an Emmy win for "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (ABC, 1977) and numerous other miniseries and TV-movies. The quality of projects offered to Vaughn dropped off in the 1980s and 1990s, but he rebounded in 2004 with the UK series "Hustle" (BBC One, 2004-10), which afforded him a chance to once again display his considerable charm, an attribute that was the main reason for his enduring popularity. Robert Vaughn died on November 10, 2016 of leukemia. He was 83.