“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” was one of the defining spy series of the 1960s, built around secret agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin outsmarting villains week after week. By 1966, the show was well into its run — and then came “The My Friend the Gorilla Affair.”
Joyce Jillson appeared as a guest star in the episode, playing Bernice, a department store worker who stumbles into a spy plot. Bernice is no agent — she’s an ordinary woman constantly confused, easily startled, and prone to screaming. Jillson leaned into the character’s ditzy energy, a comedic style she was known for.
The episode’s central threat involves a trained gorilla that the villains have worked into their scheme. The gorilla ends up chasing Bernice through a dressing room in one of the episode’s signature slapstick sequences. The problem was obvious on screen: the gorilla looked exactly like a man in a suit.
The show’s tight budget showed throughout the episode. The physical humor felt forced rather than sharp, and the far-fetched plot strained even the loose standards of 1960s spy television. Critics weren’t kind, and audiences weren’t much warmer.
Solo and Kuryakin spend the episode trying to unravel the gorilla’s role in the villain’s plans. Their usual suave competence clashes directly with Bernice, who repeatedly wanders into the action at the worst moments. That contrast was meant to drive the comedy.
Jillson brought genuine comedic timing to the role. She made funny faces, ran through chaotic scenes, and played the material as hard as it allowed. Still, even her efforts couldn’t rescue the episode from its weak premise.
“The My Friend the Gorilla Affair” stands out in the series for all the wrong reasons. It leaned further into slapstick than nearly any other episode, and the result felt out of place in a show built on sleek espionage thrills.
The episode routinely appears on fan lists of the show’s worst outings. Its mix of low-budget production and a plot centered on a costumed gorilla made it a recurring example of when the series swung too far from its strengths.
