Englishman Alan Lyle-Smythe, a multifaceted individual with a storied past, was born in the year 1914. Prior to embarking on a career in film and television writing and acting, he underwent rigorous training as an actor.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Lyle-Smythe served with the Palestine Police for a period of four years in the 1930s. When the war began, he joined the British Army, where he was part of the Intelligence Corps, operating clandestinely behind enemy lines in Libya and Tunisia.
During his time in the war, Lyle-Smythe found himself in a precarious situation, narrowly escaping a firing squad execution. He also worked closely with guerrilla forces in Yugoslavia, adopting the alias "Alan Caillou" which he would later take as his real name, believing it to be auspicious.
After the war, Lyle-Smythe transitioned into a career in law enforcement, serving as a police chief in Ethiopia, a district officer in Somalia, and the founder of a theatrical company in Africa.
Upon his return to his original professions of acting and writing, Lyle-Smythe began working in Canadian television in the 1950s, before relocating to Hollywood, where he became a familiar name in the credits of numerous films and television series.
