Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Prisoner Escapes

More sad news, this coming from the Los Angeles Times:
Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy Award-winning actor who starred as a British spy in the 1960s TV series “Secret Agent” and “The Prisoner” and was known for playing various villainous roles in films and on television, has died. He was 80.

McGoohan died peacefully Tuesday in St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica after a short illness, said Cleve Landsberg, McGoohan's son-in-law. The family did not provide further details.

It was the height of James Bond mania in 1965 when McGoohan showed up on American TV screens in “Secret Agent,” a British-produced series in which he played John Drake, a special security agent working as a spy for the British government.The hour-long series, which ran on CBS until 1966, was an expanded version of “Danger Man,” a short-lived, half-hour series on CBS in 1961 in which McGoohan played the same character.

But it was McGoohan’s next British-produced series, “The Prisoner,” on CBS in 1968 and 1969, that became a cult classic.
The full LAT piece can be found here (and I expect more to come from that paper). Britain’s Daily Mail has its own obituary here.

Like many others, I probably remember McGoohan best for his four appearances (a record) on Columbo, co-starring with his longtime friend Peter Falk. For his work on that series, McGoohan picked up two Emmys, in 1975 and 1990. I was pretty young when The Prisoner ran, so I didn’t see it the first time around, and I haven’t taken the opportunity to watch it since. However, McGoohan’s demise today reminds me that AMC has recently posted full episodes of that series at its Web site. Perhaps it’s time to go watch some.

For the numerous nostalgic folk among Rap Sheet readers, here’s the opening sequence to The Prisoner:



An extended clip from Danger Man can be viewed here.

READ MORE:The Prisoner Reboots Panopticon for 21st Century,” by Scott Thill (Wired); “Patrick McGoohan,” by Martin Edwards (Do You Write Under Your Own Name?); “I Am Not a Number … I Am a Free Man,” by Ivan G. Shreve Jr. (Thrilling Days of Yesteryear); “R.I.P., Patrick McGoohan,” by Tanner (Double O Section); “Patrick McGoohan, TV’s Prisoner Number Six,” by Tom Cole (NPR).

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember McGoohan best for his Secret Agent series. He was as cool as the Johnny Rivers theme. I just recently bought the entire set of Danger Man/Secret Agent, and am still watching the half hour, B&W series. I saw him years later on Columbo and know he was good friends with Peter Falk, and he had a short lived medical series as well, but I'll always renmember him best as "John Drake,"--and as far as I'm concerned, No. 6 on The Prisoner was still "John Drake."

RJR

Anonymous said...

The McGoohan medical series was called "Rafferty," and he played a character very unlike the John Drake character.

RJR

David Cranmer said...

I've watched The Prisoner many times and his appearance on Columbo was unforgettable. RIP.

Corey Wilde said...

McGoohan was wonderful in his network series appearances but it's his turn in Disney's 'The Scarecrow,' that I'll always remember him for. I was just a tot and he scared the bejabbers out of me.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

You're right, Corey. I'd forgotten about Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. As children, my brother and I must have watched that movie a dozen times or more, and loved it with each showing. The film was released in DVD format last November. I think it's high time I put in an order through Netflix. Thanks for reminding me of another superb McGoohan performance.

Cheers,
Jeff

Corey Wilde said...

Thanks for putting me straight on the title, I never get it right. But I'll never forget that mask he wore, Yikes!

Anonymous said...

One of McGoohan's best roles was in the movie HELL DRIVERS, a 1957 film with a great cast. McGoohan plays the villain and Stanley Baker the hero. Very hard boiled look at tough truck drivers driving for the bonus money,etc. Available only on PAL disc from Amazon.co.uk. Only $15.

Keith Raffel said...

Would love to show Dr Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh to my kids. But it's not on Netflix nor is it generally available. BTW, I was a huge McGoohan fan. His Secret Agent (or Danger) Man was awfully close to the James Bond of Casino Royale.

Ali Karim said...

This is very sad news.

And Hell Drivers, whoah, I recall seeing it in my youth, and well what can one say. I think he was especially brilliant in David Cronenberg's SCANNERS, but of course I will always associate he with DANGER MAN / SECRET AGENT and THE PRISONER.

The world just seem to get dimmer by the day, my thoughts are with his family.

Years ago I read that he was a private family man - and he nevr took a role on that required him to kiss a woman. He was totally devoted to his wife, and under principle refused to kiss any other woman. Hence this restricted the roles he was [a] offered and [b] accepted.

Anyway, a very sad day - and he now resides in my memory as John Drake

Ali

J. Kingston Pierce said...

You're right, Keith. I see that Dr. Syn is listed on Netflix, but not as an available DVD. However, it appears that the film was released by Walt Disney Video in November 2008. There look to be a number of copies available from Amazon, though some are going at a rather steep price.

Cheers,
Jeff