I know he was most famous for 'The Prisoner' but my memories of McGoohan come from his record four guest appearances as a murderer on Columbo. These mystery movies from some of the show's best.(He won two emmys for his work) The battle of wits between McGoohan's character and rain coat dressed detective were worth watching multiple times.
In his later years McGoohan's appearance, especially if he had a mustache, strongly bore a resemblance to my late maternal grandfather. RIP.
Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in the cult classic television show The Prisoner, has died. He was 80.McGoohan died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness, his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said Wednesday.
McGoohan won two Emmys for his work on the Peter Falk detective drama Columbo, and more recently appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart.
But he was best known as the title character Number Six in The Prisoner, a surreal 1960s British series in which a former spy is held captive in a small village and constantly tries to escape.
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Comments (8)
Some very serious TV critic... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Paul Hooson | January 14, 2009 9:21 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Some very serious TV critics consider THE PRISONER as the greatest TV show ever made. And (DANGER MAN)renamed SECRET AGENT for export to the U.S. was yet another reasonably good series that unfortunately was not as flashy or gadget prone as the James Bond, series, but was a fine series. McGoohan was a fine and serious actor. Great that you remembered him here, Bill.
1. Posted by Paul Hooson | January 14, 2009 9:21 PM |
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Posted on January 14, 2009 21:21
2. Posted by Mike | January 14, 2009 11:17 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"my memories of McGoohan come from his record four guest appearances as a murderer on Columbo"
Yes, I remember the episode where Columbo proved McGoohan's guilt by finding a piece of cheese carelessly discarded at the crime scene and matching the bite mark in the cheese to McGoohan's teeth.
Sadly, it looks as though Peter Faulk won't be with us much longer.
2. Posted by Mike | January 14, 2009 11:17 PM |
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Posted on January 14, 2009 23:17
3. Posted by GarandFan | January 15, 2009 1:03 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"The Prisoner" was TV at it's best. The 'writers' today don't even measure up.
3. Posted by GarandFan | January 15, 2009 1:03 AM |
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Posted on January 15, 2009 01:03
4. Posted by chsw | January 15, 2009 7:19 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Be seeing you.
4. Posted by chsw | January 15, 2009 7:19 AM |
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Posted on January 15, 2009 07:19
5. Posted by MunDane68 | January 15, 2009 9:16 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
My favorite quote of his:
"Arrows are expensive, use up the Irish!"
5. Posted by MunDane68 | January 15, 2009 9:16 AM |
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Posted on January 15, 2009 09:16
6. Posted by OregonMuse | January 15, 2009 10:29 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
According to imdb and wikipedia, McGoohan demanded that his character never use a gun (and the only time he had one was when he took it from a bad guy) and not have any casual sexual relationships.
That last bit was what probably fueled the persistent rumor that the reason McGoohan turned down the James Bond role in Dr. No was on similar moral grounds.
6. Posted by OregonMuse | January 15, 2009 10:29 AM |
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Posted on January 15, 2009 10:29
7. Posted by Christopher T George | January 16, 2009 1:02 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Sad to hear! McGoohan was a fine actor, and "The Prisoner" remains a television classic. Another fine actor in the same series was the late Leo McKern who played the title character in the "Rumpole" series.
Chris
7. Posted by Christopher T George | January 16, 2009 1:02 PM |
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Posted on January 16, 2009 13:02
8. Posted by Spurwing Plover | January 19, 2009 9:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Number 6 is dead but what about number 2?
8. Posted by Spurwing Plover | January 19, 2009 9:39 PM |
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Posted on January 19, 2009 21:39