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3 articles from 2009

17 January 2009 6:05 AM, PST | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news »

Film journalist Mike Malloy remembers the scrupled actor

McGoohan as Danger Man John Drake in a scene from the feature film Koroshi that was derived from the TV series. (Photo: Mike Malloy collection.)

Most movie-star hopefuls enter the entertainment industry knowing full well they will have to scratch and claw out a career for themselves in ways that compromise their previously held values. This is not to say they’ll necessarily cheat and backstab to make it in The Biz (it often comes to that), but they certainly won’t turn down precious advancement opportunities on moral grounds.

Recently deceased, thoughtful thesp Patrick McGoohan (“The Prisoner,” Ice Station Zebra, Braveheart, “Secret Agent”) found a different route to stardom, one that reflected his very principled beliefs. And because he made choices detrimental to his fame—he could’ve been 007, after all—and yet became an international film and TV star nonetheless, »

- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)

14 January 2009 5:12 PM, PST | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »

Patrick McGoohan – the star and co-creator of seminal Sixties TV show, The Prisoner – has died after a short illness. He was 80.Best known for his TV work, including Danger Man and two Emmy Award-winning appearances as nemeses on Columbo, McGoohan rarely dabbled in cinema, but he still managed to amass a series of notable roles, including the evil King Edward Longshanks in Braveheart, Dr. Paul Ruth in David Cronenberg’s Scanners, British spy Jones in Ice Station Zebra, and the Warden in Escape From Alcatraz.His last credited role was as the voice of Billy Bones in 2002’s Treasure Planet - and what a voice he had too, shaped by an upbringing in England and Ireland, it was rich, deep, and sonorous, with his strangely neutral accent giving many of his performances a sinister, otherworldly quality.He often played villains, but his best-known role was as the hero of The Prisoner, »

14 January 2009 12:06 PM, PST | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »

2009 brings its first cinematic and television casualty. Patrick McGoohan of The Prisoner and Danger Man fame has passed away at the age of 80 years old.

McGoohan died following a short illness at his Los Angeles home.

In the 1960’s Patrick McGoohan starred as John Drake in Danger Man, and then as Number 6 in Danger Man’s unofficial spin-off The Prisoner, a surreal but iconic show that has gone down in cult-legend despite only lasting seventeen episodes. The success of Danger Man and The Prisoner led to McGoohan being offered the role of James Bond, however the actor turned down the offer, refusing to be typecast in spy roles.

An Emmy and Bafta award-winner, McGoohan starred in several Columbo episodes between the mid-70’s and late 90’s, and Peter Falk recently stated that the British actor was his favorite co-star in the detective series.

In recent years, McGoohan played small but »

- Niall Browne

3 articles from 2009