Patrick McGoohan--R.I.P 1928-2009

Dr Syn (The Scarecrow)
John Drake
Number Six
Rafferty
King Edward "Longshanks"

A few of the many roles this British actor portrayed over a career that began in the late 1940s and ended a few years prior to his death.

Originally he was approached to be both James Bond and Simon Templar (the Saint), turning down both offers. They later went to Sean Connery and Roger Moore respectively. However, when television producer Lew Grade approached him on a new series about a secret agent, McGoohan accepted. With a few conditions. His agent would not use weapons, instead relying on his wits, intelligence. In addition...no romantic involvments or hint of involvement. They agreed.

Dangerman was the first series, 30 minutes in length was each episode and had Drake as an operative for NATO. Seasons 2 and 3 had shows expanded to 60 minutes and had Drake working for a British spy agency. The stories were well written and well acted. In the US, the show was renamed Secret Agent.

Season 4 filmed 2 episodes when McGoohan left the series. Instead he concieved, wrote and produced what is perhaps the greatest cult show of all time: The Prisoner.

A secret agent resigns his position. At his apartment, he is gassed and taken to a remote village. When he wakes up, his name, like everyone else's is taken away and he is given a number. He is Number Six. Thru 17 episodes, Number Six tries to escape the village and to learn the identity of Number 1. Each attempt fails. His captors try to break him, find out why he resigned and the information that is locked in his head.

The ending of the series was ambigious leaving much food for thought as to who is Number 1, why is Number 6 a prisoner. Who is he imprisoned by, or is he imprisoning himself.

McGoohan left a large body of work that will be enjoyed for many years by fans old and new.

Thanks Patrick for your work.

Much more could be written

Regrets and wishes

I was a know it all as a young person. Time has a way of mellowing one, teaching and showing one what could (and perhaps should) have been done differently.

My degree in college was Communication Arts. It was all I really wanted to do ever since I was a child. My folks knew the job options would be more difficult and the rewards few in that line of work. They tried to broaden my thinking, my options. But I heard none of it. I got my degree at JMU. I got my degree in "real life" afterwards. It eventually led me to where I am now at VOA in Washington and perhaps it has worked out.

BUT

If I could have done it over, I would have liked to have majored in history. Always an interest of mine and one that has grown over the years. What has gotten me thinking of this lately has been William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. A massive tome that I'd never read before even tho I own the book. I still haven't read it but I have been listening to the unabridged audio book of it. And it has been absorbing. By listening to it, it has stirred my curiosity and desire to know more about the years leading up to the war...from the Weimar Republic (and its failures) to the rise of National Socialism, from Hitler's rise to power and the impotence, fear of Britain and France to respond to Hitler's threats with aside from appeasement.

It has made me want to research and study more this period of history. Not the war itself but the reasons, the policies, the machinations, the personalities. I have found many of my preconcieved notions to be in error (such as the belief that Hitler's 'power of personality' had everyone in Germany behind him in blind support).

Finishing this book will likely lead me to other sources to delve more deeply into this. If I should live long enough to retire and be fortunate enough to go back to college, studies in history would not be unwelcome.