Patrick McGoohan RIP

He was 80 years old...

'Prisoner' actor Patrick McGoohan dies in LA
By ANDREW DALTON
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 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.

Thanks for posting the info, I was just on my way here to post what I'd found, and got to read what you said. Here's a good piece from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan...actor-dies

In my opinion, "The Prisoner" is by far the greatest individualist creation in either film or television. It operates on so many levels, from the religious, to the political to the philosophical and moral, that one can watch the series three or four times and see more and more becoming revealed. In it McGoohan, who created the series, and the writers with whom he worked, questions everything from government-inspired wars, to government-run schools, to government-owned roads and government-run courts. It's a stunning achievement that eventually gets into the metaphysical, with references to ancient Christian ideals and the question of whether we are our own jailers.

Can't tell you how much that piece of work inspired me and many others to become warriors for liberty, as well as to appreciate fiction/drama that operates on many intellectual levels.

In a way, I suppose one can say that the Prisoner is free. Depends on one's desire to embrace that perspective.

Be Seeing You!

Thanks for posting the info, I was just on my way here to post what I'd found, and got to read what you said. Here's a good piece from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan...actor-dies

In my opinion, "The Prisoner" is by far the greatest individualist creation in either film or television. It operates on so many levels, from the religious, to the political to the philosophical and moral, that one can watch the series three or four times and see more and more becoming revealed. In it McGoohan, who created the series, and the writers with whom he worked, questions everything from government-inspired wars, to government-run schools, to government-owned roads and government-run courts. It's a stunning achievement that eventually gets into the metaphysical, with references to ancient Christian ideals and the question of whether we are our own jailers.

Can't tell you how much that piece of work inspired me and many others to become warriors for liberty, as well as to appreciate fiction/drama that operates on many intellectual levels.

In a way, I suppose one can say that the Prisoner is free. Depends on one's desire to embrace that perspective.

Be Seeing You!

I noticed in my post that it was "Number Two", does that mean I'm Leo McKern?

Biggles will have to find a new avatar, since his is dead:

Ah, damn. I'm so sorry to hear that. So many memories, not just THE PRISONER, but SECRET AGENT/DANGER MAN, ICE STATION ZEBRA, THOMASINA, BRAVEHEART, THE PHANTOM, and THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH, lots more...

And Ricardo Montalban just passed away as well.

Ah, damn. I'm so sorry to hear that. So many memories, not just THE PRISONER, but SECRET AGENT/DANGER MAN, ICE STATION ZEBRA, THOMASINA, BRAVEHEART, THE PHANTOM, and THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH, lots more...

And Ricardo Montalban just passed away as well.

I'm glad you mentioned "The Scarecrow", because my brother recorded that theme song on reel-to-reel when it was broadcast on NBC back in the early 1970s. I always loved it, and just found it to use in a podcast I've been producing in honor of McGoohan. The lyrics are fantastic. Always remembered them, thanks to multiple repetition, but the anti-state attitude of them is even more valuable to me now. I already wrote about it over at the Reason forum, but for those who don't mind the duplication, check out the chorus (the tale is based on a true story from Southern England):

"Scarecrow! Scarecrow-o...
The soldiers of the king feared his name.
Scarecrow! Scarecrow-o...
The country folk all loved him just the same...'

He was a rum-runner and tax resistor who fought the royal baddies in the film, a not-so-clear-cut-good-guy in real life.

Oh, and Romney Marsh has been filled in--

By the government. :dontknow:

I'm glad you mentioned "The Scarecrow", because my brother recorded that theme song on reel-to-reel when it was broadcast on NBC back in the early 1970s. I always loved it, and just found it to use in a podcast I've been producing in honor of McGoohan. The lyrics are fantastic. Always remembered them, thanks to multiple repetition, but the anti-state attitude of them is even more valuable to me now. I already wrote about it over at the Reason forum, but for those who don't mind the duplication, check out the chorus (the tale is based on a true story from Southern England):

"Scarecrow! Scarecrow-o...
The soldiers of the king feared his name.
Scarecrow! Scarecrow-o...
The country folk all loved him just the same...'

He was a rum-runner and tax resistor who fought the royal baddies in the film, a not-so-clear-cut-good-guy in real life.

Oh, and Romney Marsh has been filled in--

By the government. :dontknow:

I've always loved that theme song, too!

It's kind of iconic - the hosts on Mystery Science Theater 3000 used to sing it whenever there was a shot of someone riding a galloping horse in a movie.

And now, they've finally released the DVD of "Scarecrow".

When it was first broadcast back in the 1960s, it was enormously popular with my pre-teen set. Unfortunately, the 2nd episode was at the same time as the first appearance of the Beatles on American TV on the Ed Sullivan show, so a lot of us missed it when initially broadcast, as older siblings laid claim on the TV in those pre-videotape days.

"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own".

Great actor and a great show. RIP John Drake

As much as I loved Peter Cushing in "CAPTAIN CLEGG" (US: "NIGHT CREATURES") from Hammer Films, I always had a soft spot for McGoohan in "SCARECROW". Was this put on DVD?

Yep, Disney just released it on DVD.