He Prefers Politics - TV Guide, Feb 1964

Robert Vaughn looks on acting as 'rather a childlike thing'

Most actors take their profession pretty seriously. They say things like "I am a dedicated actor," sing "There's No Business Like Show Business" and mean it; and they heartily agree with Boswell that "to be a good player, there is required a greater share of genius, knowledge and accomplishment than for any other profession." Then there's Robert Vaughn, co-star of The Lieutenant on NBC. With more knowledge than most (an M.A. degree and an imminent Ph.D.) he looks upon acting as "a rather childlike thing" and, despite roles in many movies and an Academy Award nomination, insists, "I have never considered myself an actor." What he would like to be is a politician - or, as he puts it, he is "interested in public service." During the most recent Presidential and gubernatorial campaigns in California, he was an active speaker for the Young Democrats. He surprised many of the ladies who turned out for the kaffeeklatsches he addressed by knowing what he was talking about, instead of merely taking bows and signing autographs, as is often the way with actors in politics. An actor and a politician would seem to have much in common, but, except for an ability to arouse emotion, Robert Vaughn lacks most of the conventional political attributes - and the principal emotion he has aroused as an actor is hatred. Until The Lieutenant came along, he was noted principally for his portrayals of caddish and particularly unpleasant villains. He says, "Humphrey Bogart could play the worst character imaginable, but there was something cuddly about him. When I play a villain, I'm mean." The Vaughn image is destined for further improvement next fall when NBC plans to star the actor in Solo, an hour series about the adventurous agent of an organization fighting international crime and threats to peace. Although he can be charming and easy to talk to, Vaughn does not have the outgoing personality of the politician - or of most actors. He is essentially introspective, withdrawn and solitary, difficult to know and inclined to be standoffish in his social relationships. Vaughn does have one important thing in common with many actors and many politicians, however: a life haunted by insecurity. He was raised by his grandparents in Minneapolis, and of his childhood he says, "I was a compulsive crier - I cried all the time, and I was always getting beaten up." This melancholy life began when Vaughn, who was born in New York City on Nov. 22. 1932, was shipped off to his grandparents by his mother, a Broadway actress named Marcella Gaudel, and his father, radio actor Walter Vaughn. It ended when, at 12, Vaughn suddenly came to a decision: "I suddenly realized that it wouldn't be long before I was a man and that a grown man would look ridiculous crying all the time. So I just decided that I wouldn't cry any more." Thus, an unhappy and insecure childhood brought self-discipline to Vaughn, rather than the need for love which it brings to many actors - and politicians. Today this self-discipline is apparent in his acting, which a co-worker says is rigidly controlled down to the smallest flick of an eyebrow; in his determination to complete his education by getting his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California (he got his M.A. at Los Angeles State College in 1960, the year after he was nominated for an Oscar for "The Young Philadelphians"); in the fact that, although he was only a draftee in the Army for a two-year hitch, he became a sergeant and a drill instructor; and perhaps in his inability to let down the barriers he built around himself as a child. Vaughn's parents and grandparents are dead now, and he lives alone in a home he just bought near Hollywood. Until recently he had a tiny house high in the hills. It took a walk up 60-odd steps to get there and was, according to someone who made the trip, "like the Swiss Family Robinson, hanging from the trees." The new house is larger and more accessible, but it, too, is lonely. Although Vaughn says, "I can't sleep nights thinking about how I'm going to decorate it," some time after he moved in, it was still furnished only with a king-size bed, a transistor radio and eight bottles of low-caloric salad dressing in the refrigerator. His Lincoln Continental convertible, with its telephone, its tape recorder and its hi-fi, is cozier than his home. A successful politician is usually a family man, but Robert Vaughn has no plans for marriage, although he has dated many of the eligible girls in Hollywood. His parents parted when he was 9. His father eventually married five times - and Vaughn now hears occasionally from stepmothers he has never met. Thanks to Cindy W for the article! She's also confirmed that this is how the article ended. Upbeat, huh?