Robert Vaughn, pictured as the debonair crime fighter of television's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the 1960s, died after a brief battle with acute leukaemia. He was 83.

Staff writer and AFPNews Corp Australia Network

ROBERT Vaughn, best known for his role as Napoleon Solo on the hit US television spy series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” died on Friday of acute leukaemia aged 83, his manager said.

“Mr. Vaughn passed away (in New York) with his family around him,” Matthew Sullivan told entertainment magazine Deadline Hollywood.

The actor is survived by his wife Linda, son Cassidy and daughter Caitlin.

More recently Robert Vaughn appeared in the British soapie 
<i>Coronation Stre</i>e
<i>t</i>. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain.

More recently Robert Vaughn appeared in the British soapie Coronation Stree t. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain.Source:Getty Images

Born in New York to show business parents, Vaughn first gained attention for his Oscar-nominated role in the 1959 movie The Young Philadelphians.

A year later, he starred as an on-the-run gunman in the popular Western movie The Magnificent Seven.

Robert Vaughn with Senta Berger in the movie
<i> The Spy With My Face</i>.

Robert Vaughn with Senta Berger in the movie The Spy With My Face.Source:Supplied

In the role of the suave and cool Napoleon Solo.

In the role of the suave and cool Napoleon Solo.Source:AP

But though the actor acquired a lengthy list of credits in movies, he gained real star power for his roles on television, notably as the suave and cool Napoleon Solo - the television version of James Bond - in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The series, which ran from 1964 to 1968, was one of the most popular shows of the 1960s and turned Vaughn into an international star.

'The Magnificent Seven': from left Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Brad Dexter, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Horst Bucholz, James Coburn.

'The Magnificent Seven': from left Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Brad Dexter, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Horst Bucholz, James Coburn.Source:News Limited

After the series ended he returned to the big screen, starring in a number of movies, including opposite Steve McQueen in Bullitt, before returning to television.

More recently, he played a conman on the British series Hustle and appeared briefly in 2012 in the British soap opera Coronation Street.