Actor Robert Vaughn, best known as the secret agent Napoleon Solo in The Man from UNCLE, has died aged 83.

Vaughn was also famous for his role as Lee in the Magnificent Seven, and television roles in Hustle and Coronation Street.

The iconic actor died after a battle with acute leukaemia, his manager, Matthew Sullivan, told the BBC.

Vaughn died in New York on Friday morning surrounded by his family, he said.

David McCallum, from the hit TV show NCIS, who as Illya Kuryakin starred alongside Vaughn in The Man From UNCLE, told TVLine.com he was “utterly devastated” by the news.

“Robert and I worked together for many years and losing him is like losing a part of me. My deepest sympathies go out to Linda and the Vaughn family,” he said.

Vaughn, who was “a few months shy of 84” had been seeking treatment for his leukaemia, Mr Sullivan said.

“He was a great human being. I enjoyed every day of working with him,” he said.

Vaughn had only recently finished two projects – an appearance on Law and Order: SVU, and a starring role in the upcoming film Gold Star, about a young woman caring for her dying father.

Famous films Vaughn worked on included Bullitt and Towering Inferno, both with Steve McQueen, and he took the role of the villain in Superman III.

He was also well-known in Britain for his 1970s appearance as Harry Rule in the ITV series, The Protectors.

The plot featured three wealthy individuals getting together each week, usually in exotic locations, to solve crimes and protect the innocent.

Though extremely popular, it was later described by Vaughn in his autobiography as “tasteless junk”.

Decades later, he would have anther hit UK series with Hustle, a BBC series in which he played elderly con man Albert Stroller, responsible for setting up potential targets for a younger generation of grifters.

He is survived by his wife Linda and two children, Cassidy and Caitlin Vaughn.

On social media, fans paid tribute to his work.

“Robert Vaughn, such a fine actor, one of the best Columbo villains (no higher praise than that) and an utterly charming man,” tweeted Stephen Fry.

Actor Jon Donahue said: “As an 80s kid, I grew up with Superman III… Robert Vaughn was a badass!” referencing Vaughn’s role as Superman’s nemesis.

Gavin Free, creator of the YouTube series The Slow Mo Guys paid tribute to Vaughn’s work ethic. “I got to work with him on Hustle five years ago. He did his own slow mo stunts that day while in his late 70s,” he wrote.

Fellow fictional secret agent, Sir Roger Moore, whose incarnation of James Bond came several years after The Man From UNCLE, said he was sorry to hear the news.



Source: BBC

The deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Gomashie has asked Ghanaians to jealously guard the country’s cultural heritage.

Speaking at a press soiree on Thursday at the Peduase Valley Resort, she observed that the preservation of “our cultural heritage is important” and its “promotion thereof.”

“For as long as we let our appreciation and our desire to be like everybody else around the world, before we think of ourselves then we slow down the way in which we grow,” bemoaned the veteran actress.

Hence, she advocated a “paradigm shift” that would ensure that the “development we want to see is home grown.”

She said the governing National Democratic Congress under the stewardship of President John Mahama has been trying to imbibe into Ghanaians the sense of patriotism, and the need to uphold Ghana’s cultural identity.

She made reference to Ghana’s ratification of the seven United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conventions.

What government sought to achieve in having these conventions ratified, Gomashie said, was to create “opportunities for us in accessing funding, and also for us to share what we have with the world.”

Also at the soiree was Ghanaian Afro pop singer-songwriter, Noella Wiyaala who thrilled the gathering with her soothingly tenor voice.

The Managing Director of the Peduase Valley Resort in his welcome address congratulated the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts for the support they have given the industry so far.

Source: Ghana/StarrFMonline.com/103.5FM/Mohammed Awal

Canadian singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen has died aged 82.

The news was announced on his official Facebook page, but no details about the cause of death were given.

“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away,” the statement said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led tributes to the singer, who was known for hits including Hallelujah and Dance Me to the End of Love.

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of the legendary Leonard Cohen,” Mr Trudeau said in a statement.

“He will be fondly remembered for his gruff vocals, his self-deprecating humour and the haunting lyrics that made his songs the perennial favourite of so many generations.

Fans have begun gathering outside Cohen’s Montreal home to light candles and lay flowers in memory of the singer.

Cohen’s son Adam told Rolling Stone: “My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records.

“He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humour.”

A memorial for Cohen will take place in Los Angeles at a later date, the Facebook announcement added.

The Montreal-born singer’s hits included Suzanne, Bird on the Wire and I’m Your Man and he released his 14th album, You Want It Darker, just last month.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

“This is a very unlikely occasion for me. It is not a distinction that I coveted or even dared dream about,” he said.

Born into a Jewish family, Cohen later became a student of Zen Buddhism.

For five years, from 1994 to 1999, he took a break from the music industry and lived at Mount Baldy Zen Center, east of Los Angeles.

“My life was filled with great disorder, with chaos, and I achieved a little discipline there,” he said. “So I decided to return to music.”

Cohen was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2003.


Source: BBC