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 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 (1964) TV series (AKA 'Secret Agent in the US), 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. By the series' 3rd year, McGoohan felt the series had run its course and was beginning to repeat itself. McGoohan and Lew Grade - the president of ITC (the series' production company), had agreed that McGoohan could leave Danger Man to begin work on a new series, 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 ITC's 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 caused 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 four 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 Edward I (Longshanks) in Mel Gibson's production of Braveheart (1995). As such, he has solidified his casting in the role of Angry Old Man.
Bio:
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 (1964) TV series (AKA 'Secret Agent in the US), 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. By the series' 3rd year, McGoohan felt the series had run its course and was beginning to repeat itself. McGoohan and Lew Grade - the president of ITC (the series' production company), had agreed that McGoohan could leave Danger Man to begin work on a new series, 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 ITC's 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 caused 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 four 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 Edward I (Longshanks) in Mel Gibson's production of Braveheart (1995). As such, he has solidified his casting in the role of Angry Old Man.
Tivia:
He was the first choice for the roles of Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (which went to Ian McKellen) and Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films (which went to Richard Harris and later to Michael Gambon after Harris' death) but turned them down.Was reportedly so devoted to his wife, he often refused to kiss or perform love scenes with other women in films.In 1977 he was considered to replace Peter Falk as Columbo. However, McGoohan turned the part down because he was a close friend of Falk, and believed that only Falk should play Columbo. In addition he did not want to be the star of another TV series but only make guest appearances.Liked to drink Irish whiskey at 217 bar in Santa Monica, owned by burlesque great Betty Rowland.Turned down two roles that eventually went to Roger Moore: Simon Templar in The Saint (1962) and James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).Is the only Columbo (1971) guest star to have won two Emmy Awards. In fact, these were the only times he was ever nominated for an Emmy.Reprised his The Prisoner (1967) character (Number Six) in The Computer Wore Menace Shoes (2000).For The Prisoner (1967), he sometimes used "Joseph Serf" for directing credits and "Paddy Fitz" for writing credits. "Paddy" being a nickname for "Patrick" while "Fitz" was derived from his mother's maiden name, Fitzpatrick.Was a reclusive celebrity, hardly ever giving interviews.Used his real birthdate and publicity photo for the character he played ("No. 6") in the TV series The Prisoner (1967).Orson Welles 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".Retired from acting after Ashes to Ashes (1998), returning only to provide voice-over work in Treasure Planet (2002).He was considered for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) before his Hell Drivers (1957) co-star Sean Connery was cast. He turned it down due to the amount of sexual content.Two of his most famous characters, Number Six in The Prisoner (1967) and the Warden in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), were not given names.The son of an Irish-born farmer, he left school at 16 to work in a rope factory. He subsequently worked on a chicken farm but had to seek other employment because of an allergy to chicken feathers that reactivated the asthma from which he had suffered in childhood. He also worked as a bank clerk at National Provincial Bank and a lorry driver before getting a job as a stage manager at Sheffield Repertory Theatre.Along with William Shatner, Robert Culp, Jack Cassidy and George Hamilton, he is one of only five actors to play two or more unrelated murderers in episodes of Columbo (1971). He played four in total, more than anyone else - specifically Colonel Lyle C. Rumford in By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Nelson Brenner in Identity Crisis (1975), Oscar Finch in Agenda for Murder (1990) and Eric Prince in Ashes to Ashes (1998). He also directed all but the first of these.Owned the rights to an audioclip that metal band Iron Maiden wanted to use in their song "The Prisoner" (1982). He gave them the permission to use it in a telephone conversation with their manager.In one scene in Ice Station Zebra (1968) he was supposed to dive into the flooded torpedo room of the nuclear sub to rescue a trapped naval officer. Being a strong swimmer he insisted on doing the scene himself rather than use a stuntman. A change was made to the script so allowing Olympic swimming champion Murray Rose, who'd been cast in another role, to do the scene with him in case anything happened. It was only after the scene was completed that Murray revealed that while he and Pat were standing up to their necks in the rising water just before the cameras rolled Pat had whispered to him "Now I've done it, my foot's stuck". Murray dived down and freed his foot which had become wedged tight in the torpedo rack.Played four different murderers in four different episodes of "Columbo": By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Identity Crisis (1975), Agenda for Murder (1990), and Ashes to Ashes (1998). He also directed all of them except the first, as well as Last Salute to the Commodore (1976) and Murder with Too Many Notes (2000).His first show business job, at age 19, was as a stage hand/manager with the Sheffield Repertory Theatre. At 21, he was given his first lead role in one of their productions.In his youth, considered becoming a Catholic priest.He died at Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, after a brief illness. His remains were cremated.Variety Club of Great Britain ITV personality Award for 1965 for Danger Man (1960).Played the same regular character (John Drake) in two different series of Danger Man: Danger Man (1960) and Secret Agent (1964). His The Prisoner (1967) character, Number Six, may also have been intended to be Drake (although McGoohan has always denied this while George Markstein, who co-created the series with McGoohan, continually said he was).Was the title character of all four series in which he starred: Danger Man (1960) (John Drake), Secret Agent (1964) (John Drake), The Prisoner (1967) (Number Six), and Rafferty (1977) (Dr. Sid Rafferty).As a youth he lived in the rural parish of Drumreilly in county Leitrim, Ireland. Although the house is still there, it is unlived in and in a bad state of repair.Appeared in three different productions with the same name: the The Prisoner (1960), The Prisoner (1963), and The Prisoner (1967). Although they were all completely unrelated, the latter two had many similarities.Directed at least one episode of all four series in which he starred: Danger Man (1960), Secret Agent (1964), The Prisoner (1967), and Rafferty (1977).Was the honourary president of Six of One, the official appreciation society for The Prisoner (1967), from its foundation in 1977 until his death in 2009.While working as part of Sheffield Repertory, he quickly became one of its leading actors, appearing in more than 200 plays over the following four years. Further repertory work took him to Coventry and Bristol.On The Prisoner (1967), McGoohan also contributed to the writing and directing of the series.In 1948 he worked as a a stage manager at the Sheffield Repertory.He suffered a number of health problems during his childhood, mostly as a direct result of acute bronchial asthma.Valued his own privacy and rarely granted interviews.Father of Frances McGoohan, Catherine McGoohan and Anne McGoohan.His parents' names were Thomas McGoohan and Rose Fitzpatrick McGoohan.Had no desire or intention of becoming a huge movie star.Grew up partly in and around Sheffield, England.He made his mark in gritty films like Hell Drivers (1957), which gave him his bad boy persona on screen.Appeared in four different productions with Aubrey Morris: The Quare Fellow (1962), Secret Agent (1964) (three episodes), The Prisoner (1967), and Ashes to Ashes (1998).He had five grandchildren, Sarah, Erin, Simon, Nina and Paddy.He was considered for the role of Charles Shaughnessy in Ryan's Daughter (1970). His The Prisoner (1967) Leo McKern appeared as Thomas Ryan.He was originally offered the role of Knight Two in And the Sky Full of Stars (1994), but although he wanted to accept, he was unable to fit the filming into his schedule.Best known for his starring role as Number 6 in the surreal science fiction allegory series, The Prisoner (1967).On June 11, 2008, he became a great-grandfather to Jack Patrick Lockhart.He was considered for Hardy Kr��ger's role in Hatari! (1962).He was offered the role of Dr. Alan Hewitt in Prudence and the Pill (1968).Irish-American.Has worked with two actors with a glass eye: Leo McKern in The Chimes of Big Ben (1967), Once Upon a Time (1968) and Fall Out (1968) and Peter Falk in By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Identity Crisis (1975), Last Salute to the Commodore (1976), Agenda for Murder (1990), Ashes to Ashes (1998), and Murder with Too Many Notes (2000).He had an intense dislike of guns, so much so that he insisted his characters in The Prisoner (1967) and Danger Man (1960 never use them with John Drake explicitly voicing a disdain for them that reflected McGoohan's own feelings. |
| Name: |
Patrick McGoohan |
Type: |
Actor,Producer,Director (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Model rank: |
834 |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 04:35:21 |
| Height: |
6' 2' (1.88 m) |
| 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 |
| Trivia: |
He was the first choice for the roles of Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (which went to Ian McKellen) and Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films (which went to Richard Harris and later to Michael Gambon after Harris' death) but turned them down.Was reportedly so devoted to his wife, he often refused to kiss or perform love scenes with other women in films.In 1977 he was considered to replace Peter Falk as Columbo. However, McGoohan turned the part down because he was a close friend of Falk, and believed that only Falk should play Columbo. In addition he did not want to be the star of another TV series but only make guest appearances.Liked to drink Irish whiskey at 217 bar in Santa Monica, owned by burlesque great Betty Rowland.Turned down two roles that eventually went to Roger Moore: Simon Templar in The Saint (1962) and James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).Is the only Columbo (1971) guest star to have won two Emmy Awards. In fact, these were the only times he was ever nominated for an Emmy.Reprised his The Prisoner (1967) character (Number Six) in The Computer Wore Menace Shoes (2000).For The Prisoner (1967), he sometimes used "Joseph Serf" for directing credits and "Paddy Fitz" for writing credits. "Paddy" being a nickname for "Patrick" while "Fitz" was derived from his mother's maiden name, Fitzpatrick.Was a reclusive celebrity, hardly ever giving interviews.Used his real birthdate and publicity photo for the character he played ("No. 6") in the TV series The Prisoner (1967).Orson Welles 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".Retired from acting after Ashes to Ashes (1998), returning only to provide voice-over work in Treasure Planet (2002).He was considered for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) before his Hell Drivers (1957) co-star Sean Connery was cast. He turned it down due to the amount of sexual content.Two of his most famous characters, Number Six in The Prisoner (1967) and the Warden in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), were not given names.The son of an Irish-born farmer, he left school at 16 to work in a rope factory. He subsequently worked on a chicken farm but had to seek other employment because of an allergy to chicken feathers that reactivated the asthma from which he had suffered in childhood. He also worked as a bank clerk at National Provincial Bank and a lorry driver before getting a job as a stage manager at Sheffield Repertory Theatre.Along with William Shatner, Robert Culp, Jack Cassidy and George Hamilton, he is one of only five actors to play two or more unrelated murderers in episodes of Columbo (1971). He played four in total, more than anyone else - specifically Colonel Lyle C. Rumford in By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Nelson Brenner in Identity Crisis (1975), Oscar Finch in Agenda for Murder (1990) and Eric Prince in Ashes to Ashes (1998). He also directed all but the first of these.Owned the rights to an audioclip that metal band Iron Maiden wanted to use in their song "The Prisoner" (1982). He gave them the permission to use it in a telephone conversation with their manager.In one scene in Ice Station Zebra (1968) he was supposed to dive into the flooded torpedo room of the nuclear sub to rescue a trapped naval officer. Being a strong swimmer he insisted on doing the scene himself rather than use a stuntman. A change was made to the script so allowing Olympic swimming champion Murray Rose, who'd been cast in another role, to do the scene with him in case anything happened. It was only after the scene was completed that Murray revealed that while he and Pat were standing up to their necks in the rising water just before the cameras rolled Pat had whispered to him "Now I've done it, my foot's stuck". Murray dived down and freed his foot which had become wedged tight in the torpedo rack.Played four different murderers in four different episodes of "Columbo": By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Identity Crisis (1975), Agenda for Murder (1990), and Ashes to Ashes (1998). He also directed all of them except the first, as well as Last Salute to the Commodore (1976) and Murder with Too Many Notes (2000).His first show business job, at age 19, was as a stage hand/manager with the Sheffield Repertory Theatre. At 21, he was given his first lead role in one of their productions.In his youth, considered becoming a Catholic priest.He died at Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, after a brief illness. His remains were cremated.Variety Club of Great Britain ITV personality Award for 1965 for Danger Man (1960).Played the same regular character (John Drake) in two different series of Danger Man: Danger Man (1960) and Secret Agent (1964). His The Prisoner (1967) character, Number Six, may also have been intended to be Drake (although McGoohan has always denied this while George Markstein, who co-created the series with McGoohan, continually said he was).Was the title character of all four series in which he starred: Danger Man (1960) (John Drake), Secret Agent (1964) (John Drake), The Prisoner (1967) (Number Six), and Rafferty (1977) (Dr. Sid Rafferty).As a youth he lived in the rural parish of Drumreilly in county Leitrim, Ireland. Although the house is still there, it is unlived in and in a bad state of repair.Appeared in three different productions with the same name: the The Prisoner (1960), The Prisoner (1963), and The Prisoner (1967). Although they were all completely unrelated, the latter two had many similarities.Directed at least one episode of all four series in which he starred: Danger Man (1960), Secret Agent (1964), The Prisoner (1967), and Rafferty (1977).Was the honourary president of Six of One, the official appreciation society for The Prisoner (1967), from its foundation in 1977 until his death in 2009.While working as part of Sheffield Repertory, he quickly became one of its leading actors, appearing in more than 200 plays over the following four years. Further repertory work took him to Coventry and Bristol.On The Prisoner (1967), McGoohan also contributed to the writing and directing of the series.In 1948 he worked as a a stage manager at the Sheffield Repertory.He suffered a number of health problems during his childhood, mostly as a direct result of acute bronchial asthma.Valued his own privacy and rarely granted interviews.Father of Frances McGoohan, Catherine McGoohan and Anne McGoohan.His parents' names were Thomas McGoohan and Rose Fitzpatrick McGoohan.Had no desire or intention of becoming a huge movie star.Grew up partly in and around Sheffield, England.He made his mark in gritty films like Hell Drivers (1957), which gave him his bad boy persona on screen.Appeared in four different productions with Aubrey Morris: The Quare Fellow (1962), Secret Agent (1964) (three episodes), The Prisoner (1967), and Ashes to Ashes (1998).He had five grandchildren, Sarah, Erin, Simon, Nina and Paddy.He was considered for the role of Charles Shaughnessy in Ryan's Daughter (1970). His The Prisoner (1967) Leo McKern appeared as Thomas Ryan.He was originally offered the role of Knight Two in And the Sky Full of Stars (1994), but although he wanted to accept, he was unable to fit the filming into his schedule.Best known for his starring role as Number 6 in the surreal science fiction allegory series, The Prisoner (1967).On June 11, 2008, he became a great-grandfather to Jack Patrick Lockhart.He was considered for Hardy Kr��ger's role in Hatari! (1962).He was offered the role of Dr. Alan Hewitt in Prudence and the Pill (1968).Irish-American.Has worked with two actors with a glass eye: Leo McKern in The Chimes of Big Ben (1967), Once Upon a Time (1968) and Fall Out (1968) and Peter Falk in By Dawn's Early Light (1974), Identity Crisis (1975), Last Salute to the Commodore (1976), Agenda for Murder (1990), Ashes to Ashes (1998), and Murder with Too Many Notes (2000).He had an intense dislike of guns, so much so that he insisted his characters in The Prisoner (1967) and Danger Man (1960 never use them with John Drake explicitly voicing a disdain for them that reflected McGoohan's own feelings. |
| Trademarks: |
Gravelly smoke burnished voice
"Be seeing you", his catchphrase from The Prisoner (1967).
Almost always played monstrously arrogant, egotistical characters
Powerful vocal projection, a tremendous shouting voice
Often used pauses at inappropriate moments during a sentence, in order to make himself more unsettling to the audience. As in: "You will report to my [pause] office tomorrow for [pause] discipline." |
| Quotes: |
On the fact that he is mostly known as his The Prisoner (1967) character, Number Six: "Mel [Gibson] will always be Mad Max, and me, I will always be a Number."
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[on Rafferty (1977)] a disaster ... the most miserable job I've ever done in my life ... a total frustration from start to finish ... The scripts [were] monstrous pieces of garbage, [with] no time to rewrite them ... There were too many people in charge and all passing the buck. I counted them. There were 11 people who thought that they were the 'creators' of this load of garbage. But you couldn't find one to take responsibility [when it failed].
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<hr>
The more intense the work, the happier that I am.
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I always had this fascination with the man in isolation, against the bureaucracy, against society, and also I've always had the constant fear that we're becoming a numeralised society more and more, and that for the individual, the rebel, shall we say the 'arrogant individual' to survive and keep his self respect, there has to be a certain amount of fighting against the system.
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<hr>
They don't quite - they think there's something in the background there that needs to be dug up. That it's not true that I've been married for thirty years and that I can't have a happy family because there is a reputation that I have for being a rebel. A reputation for being arrogant. |
| Job title: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Others works: |
(1954) Stage: Appeared in "Serious Charge", Garrick Theatre, London, England, UK.
(1955) Stage: Appeared (as "Starbuck") in "Moby Dick". Directed by Orson Welles. London, England, UK.
(1959) Stage: Appeared in Michael Meyer |
| Spouse: |
Joan Drummond (May 19, 1951 - January 13, 2009) (his death, 3 children) |
| Children: |
Catherine McGoohanAnne McGoohanFrances McGoohan |
| Parents: |
Thomas McGoohan
Rose Fitzpatrick McGoohan |
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