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Patrick McGoohan
Age: 80 (passed away Jan. 13th, 2009)
Height: 6' 2"
Birth Place: Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Born: Mar. 19th, 1928
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Patrick McGoohan's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Though born in America, Irish actor Patrick McGoohan rose to become the number-one British TV star in the 1950s to 1960s era. His parents moved to Ireland when he was very young and McGoohan acquired a neutral accent that sounds at home in British or American dialogue. He was an avid stage actor and performed hundreds of times in small and large productions before landing his first TV and film roles. McGoohan is one of few actors who has successfully switched between theater, TV, and films many times during his career. He was often cast in the role of Angry Young Man. In 1959, he was named Best TV Actor of the Year in Britain. Shortly thereafter, he was chosen for the starring role in the "Secret Agent" TV series (AKA "Danger Man" (1960)), which proved to be an immense success for three years and allowed the British to break into the burgeoning American TV market for the first time. McGoohan became bored with the limiting role of spy and turned in his resignation right after the first episode of the fourth year had been filmed ("Koroshi"). McGoohan set up his own production company and collaborated with noted author and script editor George Markstein to sell a brand new concept to ITV's president, Lew Grade. McGoohan starred in, directed, produced, and wrote many of the episodes, sometimes taking a pseudonym to reduce the sheer number of credits to his name. Thus, the TV series "The Prisoner" (1967) came to revolve around the efforts of a secret agent, who resigned early in his career, to clear his name. His aim was to escape from a fancifully beautiful but psychologically brutal prison for people who know too much. The series was as popular as it was surreal and allegorical and its mysterious final episode cause such an uproar that McGoohan was to desert England for more than 20 years to seek relative anonymity in LA, where celebrities are "a dime a dozen."
During the 1970s, he appeared in two episodes of the TV detective series "Columbo," for which he won an Emmy Award. His film roles lapsed from prominence until his powerful performance as King Longshanks in Mel Gibson (I)'s production of Braveheart (1995). As such, he has solidified his casting in the role of Angry Old Man.
TRIVIA:
- Directed at least one episode of all four series in which he starred: _"Danger Man" (1960)_ (qv), _"Danger Man" (1964)_ (qv), _"The Prisoner" (1967)_ (qv), and _"Rafferty" (1977)_ (qv).
- On _"The Prisoner" (1967)_ (qv), McGoohan also contributed to the writing and directing of the series.
- Liked to drink Irish whiskey at 217 bar in Santa Monica, owned by burlesque great 'Betty Rowland (I)' (qv).
- He made his mark in gritty films like _Hell Drivers (1957)_ (qv), which gave him his bad boy persona on screen.
- He has five grandchildren, Sarah, Erin, Simon, Nina and Paddy.
- Appeared in four different productions with 'Aubrey Morris' (qv): _The Quare Fellow (1962)_ (qv), _"Danger Man" (1964)_ (qv) (three episodes), _"The Prisoner" (1967)_ (qv), and _Columbo: Ashes to Ashes (1998) (TV)_ (qv).
- In the 1960s, he told TV Guide that it was his idea that his character, John Drake, should never carry a gun. The only time that Drake uses a gun is when he takes one away from another character. He also did not allow Drake to have casual sexual relationships, even implicitly.
- 'Orson Welles' (qv) was so impressed by his performance in the 1955 West End play "Serious Charge" that he cast him as Starbuck in his production of "Moby Dick Rehearsed".
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