Actor PATRICK MacNEE has passed away at
the age of 93. Best known for playing JOHN STEED in
The AVENGERS from 1961-'69, and again in 1976-'77,
the age of 93. Best known for playing JOHN STEED in
The AVENGERS from 1961-'69, and again in 1976-'77,
he'll be sadly missed by family, friends and fans.
I'm saddened. I never got to meet him but he seemed like a real decent chap. He didn't want to use guns on the Avengers as he had seen too many people killed in the war. Strangely enough he became a U.S. Citizen.... In the 1950s! Strange because he was the epitome of the British gentleman and we associate most of his film and TV work with British productions. People may remember Diana Rigg but there was no show without Macnee.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that he became a U.S. citizen in 1959, but I wonder if that was a misprint, Phil. Mainly because I also read that he moved to the States permanently in 1975 or so. Looking at the Avengers now, Steed seems a little camp, although in the early episodes, he was quite a hard-bitten character. It's a shame he's passed, because he seemed a nice fellow.
ReplyDeleteI missed him on the first go-round of the Avengers. In the mid 70's, they showed the New Avengers late nights here, so that was my first experience with Mr. Steed. I eventually went back and caught the original series. He always brought a touch of class to everything he was in. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know until now that he became a US citizen. It seems a little odd, considering that his image was always the epitome of the cultured English gentleman.
ReplyDeleteFrom one account that I read, he moved to Palm Springs with his family in 1975, because the climate was beneficial for his daughter, who suffered from asthma.
Coincidentally, I had been watching several "Avengers" episodes on YouTube for the past week, including "Never, Never Say Die," which guest starred the late Christopher Lee.
My impression is that Steed was tougher in the early episodes, and that Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) was sometimes appalled by his ruthlessness. Later, when the series became more tongue-in-cheek, he softened up considerably.
It's a shame that he and Lee are gone, but it's a consolation that they had long lives and successful careers. And both left a huge body of work for their fans to enjoy.
Very distinctive voice, Graham. I wonder if he did any audio books?
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True, TC. As most of us only knew him through his TV work, he's still as available to us as he ever was.
I heard he went to live in Florida because of his daughter who had very severe asthma.
ReplyDeleteSuch a real gentleman tho wasnt he...dapper and charming they just do not make them like that anymore.
I was watching a video ( don't laugh yes I said video) the other day of Hamlet the 1948 version directed by Orson Welles. It features Patrick and the late Christopher Lee and I remarked how they were the last two surviving actors from that production: now in the space of as many weeks theyr gone.
We shant see the likes of either of them again.
Wasnt it Brian Clements who said - Avengers girls can come and go, marvellous as they are, but without Patrick Macnee you have no Steed and without Steed you have no Avengers.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a great shame, Karl. He had class oozing out of every pore - in a gentlemanly, non-sweaty way. And Brian Clemens (who died in January of this year) was right - without Steed, the Avengers would have been a whole other show.
ReplyDeleteVery sad to hear of his passing, what a rotten year! Spock, Dracula and now Steed! I seldom watch post 2000 television these days and this year alone Mr. Macnee poped up in Columbo,Magnum, P.I. Murder, She Wrote a documentary about Roswell and of course The Avengers. RIP Gone but never forgotten, especially when it rains...
ReplyDeleteAh, but does your brolly have a blade in it, AJ? Yeah, it's a real shame. In just a few years, there'll be nobody left from these great '60s TV shows we enjoyed as kids.
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