Jan 14 2009Number Six Dies in LA
No, not the babe from Battlestar Galactica. Patrick McGoohan, the Emmy-winning creator and star of the British cult favorite The Prisoner has died at 80. From the Associated Press (thanks, Paul):
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in the cult classic television show "The Prisoner," has died. He was 80.McGoohan died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness, his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said Wednesday.
McGoohan won two Emmys for his work on the Peter Falk detective drama "Columbo," and more recently appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film "Braveheart."
But he was best known as the title character Number Six in "The Prisoner," a surreal 1960s British series in which a former spy is held captive in a small village and constantly tries to escape.
If you never got into The Prisoner, this is a good excuse to start watching the sci-fi spy series. You'll realize you've missed a lot of references on old episodes of The Simpsons.
Reader Comments
1. Brian - January 14, 2009 3:30 PM
First???
2. anon - January 14, 2009 3:45 PM
no, he WAS NOT a number...
3. Nate - January 14, 2009 3:48 PM
Yes Brian, you were first.
4. Nate - January 14, 2009 3:50 PM
Actually, in relation to this post, Brian IS first, and will always be first.
5. Mcfeely Smackup - January 14, 2009 3:59 PM
My mom loved The Prisoner when I was a kid, I never actually ever saw it but she mentioned it many times over the years.
About a year ago, I got the series DVD's from Netflix to finally watch it. I got about 5 episodes into it and gave up. It's predictable, repetitive, and extremely poor continuity between episodes. It's also got that late '60's modern art surrealism that made that time period unbearable.
It's just not a very good show. It did however inspire one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
6. Eddy - January 14, 2009 4:21 PM
Oh god, you scared me for a minute. I was totally shocked and worried and... yeah, then I felt like a jerk because I was relived it wasn't Tricia Helfer. >.>
7. J - January 14, 2009 5:21 PM
Y'know, Ricardo Montalbon died as well. Where's his memorial?
KHAAAAAAAN!
8. Number 2 - January 14, 2009 6:24 PM
For those tools that want to poo-poo "The Prisoner", or any old show for that matter, you really have to look at them through the lens of the time they were made! If you watch Star Wars (III) today, you might shrug it off as okay. But back in 1977, if was the fo' shizzle. The same is true for The Prisoner.
If you can't (or wont') do this, just go back to pulling stick and waiting for Miley Cyrus to turn 18 so she can start in the next version of "Varsity Blues".
The Prisoner was an artistic and cerebral show that is almost the definition of cult classic (hate the term, but it fits.) It really sucked you into the puzzle. And McGoohan was great in the role.
For those of you a bit younger, you may recall "Nowhere Man" with Bruce Greenwood. Again, another "old life gone, and 'the man' is after you" show that sucked you in. Too bad they had to kill it off.
9. Yatz - January 15, 2009 5:49 AM
I don't think the prisoner has stood the test of time well - not as good as, say, the Mcnee-Rigg Avengers - but as someone who grew up in the '60s, take my word for it: it was one of the coolest shows ever. The resolution was one of the most infuriating in TV history - but in perspective, after we have been thru The X-Files, Lost, and dozens of other shows that just drag the "mystery" for an eternity - it doesn't seem all that bad...
10. d'ep - January 15, 2009 8:59 AM
I wasn't even born when The Prisoner was on tv, but fell in love with it the first time I caught it on PBS(?) #6 wasn't the typical hero--he could be callous and even cruel, but that only added to his allure.
Be seeing you, Patrick.
11. McE - January 15, 2009 1:26 PM
Secret Agent Man was the coolest. Made Capt. Kirk look like a wuss.
Then again, I'm really effing old....
12. Mr. Jones - January 16, 2009 8:14 AM
"The Prisoner" is quite atypical because it refuses to pander to its audience. You either roll with it, keep up with it, or stay back in the dust.
This show was McGoohan's baby, and its a classic, hands down. It deconstructs the spy genre (many, many years before the Bond series has crapped out one repetitive movie after another), and is a great social study of the 60s.
Rest in Peace, Patrick. You did some great work.
13. Pat - January 16, 2009 10:04 AM
The Prisoner rocks. It's not like contemporary shows, which are more serial than episodic, but for its time it relies very little on convention. Nearly every episode (so far, I'm only about 6 episodes in) is an intriguing exploration of a theme related to identity, ideology, etc.
It also was an incredibly original and strange spy show at a time when spy shows had become what criminal procedurals are today. Boring, predictable, indistinguishable from one another. Despite what other people have said here (you older poo-pooers should be ashamed of yourselves), I think The Prisoner has held up very well - and I'm quite young, having only discovered the show in the past year.
14. Silverfaire - January 16, 2009 4:03 PM
The Prisoner was f-ing brilliant! Patrick was also the one originally offered the role of James Bond ... but he suggested his friend Sean Connery for the part instead.
McGoohan was one of my heroes