Happy Birthday Robert Vaughn
Today is Robert Vaughn's birthday. He is 82.
I always remember his age because he's almost exactly 21 years older than me. We're both Scorpios.
Mr. Vaughn was my favorite actor growing up. While all my friends were David McCallum groupies, it was RV who attracted me. I loved Solo of course, but RV was also another one of those dark haired smart, witty and charming men that I liked (James Garner was another.)
My friends could easily find photos of DMc in all the teen magazines, but I had to comb the newspaper stands for adult movie rags to find any news or photos of RV. Fortunately, I could always trade DMc pix for RV pix. I still have a stash of photos, article clippings and actual yellowed magazines.
RV also made me politically aware. Because he was a leading liberal Democrat and one of the most vocal anti-war celebrities, I earned an education following his activities. Even before I could vote, I started following the political conventions and parties. I remember watching him debate the leading Republican conservative of that era, William F. Buckley, on the war. [It's archived for viewing on Amazon these days; the transcript is also available.] And he got it to a tie, too, which was really accomplishment since, years later, he told me in an interview how the show's deck was stacked against the guest.
Of course, I interviewed RV a number of times for my Ph.D. dissertation which became a book on MFU [still available on Amazon, BTW], He was sympathetic since he'd written a dissertation too. I remember hearing his voice on my answering machine the first time and nearly dropped the receiver.
We've met a number of times [including a really memorable after-show encounter when I took Nicky to his off-Broadway show in the Village] and I have a lot of funny RV stories. One time, at a fan con, I stopped by his autograph table with my son who was probably around six or seven at the time. RV said to him, "I'll bet you're tired of seeing pictures of me."
Thanks to Lee Pfeiffer, I attended RV's birthday party at the Player's Club a few years ago. DMc was there too! You can see the entries archived on this LJ. [Look under "RV dinner" tag.]
More recently, I attended the meet-and-greet Tammy ran in New York and gave RV a copy of my book. Only fair: I have a signed copy of his book, "Only Victims" based on his own dissertation.
Along with Norman Felton, RV has been a major influence on my life. I'm pretty lucky that I got to meet my childhood idol multiple times and had actual personal conversations with him.
Here was some pix of over the years.
Tonight, Robert Short has organized a screening of the first two MFU films in Los Angeles. I really wish I could be there. If only I lived on the West Coast!
Happy birthday Mr. Vaughn! Here's to many more.
I always remember his age because he's almost exactly 21 years older than me. We're both Scorpios.
Mr. Vaughn was my favorite actor growing up. While all my friends were David McCallum groupies, it was RV who attracted me. I loved Solo of course, but RV was also another one of those dark haired smart, witty and charming men that I liked (James Garner was another.)
My friends could easily find photos of DMc in all the teen magazines, but I had to comb the newspaper stands for adult movie rags to find any news or photos of RV. Fortunately, I could always trade DMc pix for RV pix. I still have a stash of photos, article clippings and actual yellowed magazines.
RV also made me politically aware. Because he was a leading liberal Democrat and one of the most vocal anti-war celebrities, I earned an education following his activities. Even before I could vote, I started following the political conventions and parties. I remember watching him debate the leading Republican conservative of that era, William F. Buckley, on the war. [It's archived for viewing on Amazon these days; the transcript is also available.] And he got it to a tie, too, which was really accomplishment since, years later, he told me in an interview how the show's deck was stacked against the guest.
Of course, I interviewed RV a number of times for my Ph.D. dissertation which became a book on MFU [still available on Amazon, BTW], He was sympathetic since he'd written a dissertation too. I remember hearing his voice on my answering machine the first time and nearly dropped the receiver.
We've met a number of times [including a really memorable after-show encounter when I took Nicky to his off-Broadway show in the Village] and I have a lot of funny RV stories. One time, at a fan con, I stopped by his autograph table with my son who was probably around six or seven at the time. RV said to him, "I'll bet you're tired of seeing pictures of me."
Thanks to Lee Pfeiffer, I attended RV's birthday party at the Player's Club a few years ago. DMc was there too! You can see the entries archived on this LJ. [Look under "RV dinner" tag.]
More recently, I attended the meet-and-greet Tammy ran in New York and gave RV a copy of my book. Only fair: I have a signed copy of his book, "Only Victims" based on his own dissertation.
Along with Norman Felton, RV has been a major influence on my life. I'm pretty lucky that I got to meet my childhood idol multiple times and had actual personal conversations with him.
Here was some pix of over the years.
Tonight, Robert Short has organized a screening of the first two MFU films in Los Angeles. I really wish I could be there. If only I lived on the West Coast!
Happy birthday Mr. Vaughn! Here's to many more.