Jan 15 2009
Patrick McGoohan Dies
Patrick McGoohan, star of 60s cult television series “The Prisoner” died on Tuesday 13th January at the age of 80 after a brief illness. McGoohan was born in New York, raised in Ireland, before moving to Sheffield in the UK. And it was in Sheffield that he first fell into acting. After a number of jobs, including chicken farmer, bank clerk and lorry driver, McGoohan became stage manager at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre. When one of the actors fell ill, MacGoohan filled in and his acting career was launched.
McGoohan enjoyed an extensive and varied career on the stage, on television and a number of movies including Ice Station Zebra, Escape from Alcatraz, Scanners and Braveheart. He famously turned down both the roles of James Bond and The Saint. Despite this, he will always be best remembered for his role in the cult TV series, The Prisoner, in which he played Number 6. Althoug the series was filmed 40 years ago it remains one of the most popular cult TV series of all time. Perhaps it is the enigmatic nature of the series; the fact that we never get to know the name of Number 6, why he is being held prisoner in the village, why the other residents of the village don’t seem to question the authority of Number 2, and that identity of Number 1 all gets rather confusing in the final episodes raising more questions rather than providing answers. Maybe it is something to do with the fact that Number 6 is constantly questioning and challenging the authority of his nemesis, Number 2 (played by a different actor for each episode) - perhaps this plays into the mistrust many of us have of authority. McGoohan not only starred in the series, but also produced, directed and wrote some episodes (two under the pseudonyms Joseph Serf and Paddy Fitz), not to mention providing some of the budget.
With the rather confusing conclusion to The Prisoner causing something of a furore amongst viewers in the UK, McGoohan decided to leave the country for good, choosing to make his home in Los Angeles where he continued to work in television (including directing and appearing in Columbo for which he won two Emmy awards) and a number of films. In 2000 he returned to the role of Number 6 in an episode of The Simpsons. There was periodically talk of involving McGoohan in a movie version of The Prisoner, but the project never got off the ground. A new television remake of the series is due to be screened in 2009 and there were attempts to involve McGoohan in the project. However, his declining health made this an impossibility.
Patrick McGoohan will be sorely missed, but his influence will remain for many many years to come.
