Alan Caillou | |
|---|---|
 Alan Caillou in Centennial 1979 | |
| Born | Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe 9 November 1914 (1914-11-09) |
| Died | 1 October 2006 (2006-11) (aged 91) Sedona, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Alan Samuel Lyle-SmytheMBE, M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006),[1] who wrote under the nameAlan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman andprofessional hunter.
Alan Lyle-Smythe was born inSurrey, England. Prior toWorld War II, he served with thePalestine Police from 1936 to 1939 and learned theArabic language.[2] He was awarded anMBE in June 1938.[3] He married Aliza Sverdova in 1939, then studied acting from 1939 to 1941.[4]
In January 1940, Lyle-Smythe was commissioned in theRoyal Army Service Corps. Due to his linguistic skills, he transferred to theIntelligence Corps[5] and served in theWestern Desert, in which he used the surname "Caillou" (the French word for 'pebble') as an alias.
He was captured inNorth Africa, imprisoned and threatened with execution in Italy, then escaped to join the British forces atSalerno. He was then posted to serve with thepartisans inYugoslavia. He wrote about his experiences in the bookThe World is Six Feet Square (1954). He was promoted to captain and awarded theMilitary Cross in 1944.[6]
Following the war, he returned to the Palestine Police from 1946 to 1947, then served as aPolice Commissioner in British-occupiedItalian Somaliland from 1947 to 1952, where he was recommissioned a captain.[7] He wrote about this experience in thememoirSheba Slept Here.
After work as a District Officer inSomalia and professional hunter, Lyle-Smythe travelled to Canada, where he worked as a hunter and then became an actor on Canadian television.[citation needed]
He wrote his first novel,Rogue's Gambit, in 1955, first using the name Caillou, one of hisaliases from the war. Moving fromVancouver to Hollywood,[8] he made an appearance as a contestant onthe 23 January 1958 edition ofYou Bet Your Life.[9]
He appeared as an actor and/or worked as a screenwriter in such shows asDaktari,The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (including the screenwriting for "The Bow-Wow Affair" from 1965),Thriller,Daniel Boone,Quark,Centennial, andHow the West Was Won. In 1966-67, he had a recurring role (as Jason Flood) in NBC's "Tarzan" TV series starring Ron Ely. Caillou appeared in suchtelevision movies asSole Survivor (1970),The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972, as Inspector Lestrade), andGoliath Awaits (1981). His cinema film credits included roles inFive Weeks in a Balloon (1962),Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965),The Rare Breed (1966),The Devil's Brigade (1968),Hellfighters (1968),Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972),Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977),Beyond Evil (1980),The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) andThe Ice Pirates (1984).
Caillou wrote 52paperback thrillers under his own name and the nom de plume of Alex Webb, with such heroes as Cabot Cain, Colonel Matthew Tobin, Mike Benasque, Ian Quayle and Josh Dekker, as well as writing many magazine stories. He also wrote books under female names.[10]
Several of Caillou's novels were filmed, such asRampage withRobert Mitchum in 1963, based on his big game hunting knowledge;Assault on Agathon (withNico Minardos as Cabot Cain), for which Caillou also wrote the screenplay; andThe Cheetahs, filmed in 1989.
He was married to Aliza Sverdova from 1939 until his death. Their daughter Nadia Caillou (7 October 1952 – 5 February 2019) was the screenwriter forSkeleton Coast (1987).
Alan Caillou died inSedona, Arizona in 2006.
