Friday, July 3, 2015

Patrick Macnee-A Tribute.





Patrick Macnee was a British actor best known for his role as John Steed in the 1960's TV show, The Avengers. He had a long career which included TV and film roles. He starred in a lot of movies before and after The Avengers but it is that role that defined him for many people. He starred in a 1972 movie called Incense for the Damned which I will be reviewing soon with Peter Cushing and also in The Howling which is now a cult classic. He also popped up in This Is Spinal Tap, another cult classic. He starred in the Bond movie, A View to A Kill as an ally of Bond and he was in Waxwork and the sequel which were not bad horror movies. On TV, he was in a lot of shows such as The Twlight Zone, Columbo and of course, The New Avengers, where he reprised his role as Mr John Steed. He continued to act in his later life but not as much. He died at his home in California. He was 93.


To me, Patrick Macnee will always be associated with John Steed in the The Avengers. That show is a cult classic and deservedly so. I love the stories and the ridiculous plots in the episodes, especially in the later seasons. John Steed was the quintessential British gentleman in a time when it was dying out. In the show, he is always impeccably dressed with his trademark umbrella and bowler hat. He always has a witty remark and he rarely gets his feathers ruffled by anything, even when his life is in danger. He is undeniably British and proudly so. His career has been in the army and he has been working with British Intelligence Organisations. He has the rank of Major and he is well respected by his peers. He gets to fight crime with a beautiful woman by his side who is just as capable of kicking butts as he is. Macnee was the perfect choice for Steed and now, you could not imagine anyone else in the role.


I will always remember him as Mr. John Steed and I think that many people will too. He was such a great actor in that role and I think that the show would not have been a success without him....I will leave it at that with one of the iconic lines from the show- Mrs. Peel, we're needed....


1 comments:

msmariah said...

Lovely acknowledgement of Patrick Macnee. I saw Avengers reruns in the 80s and soon developed a great fondness for Steed. My mother loved Patrick and Diana Rigg.

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