Patrick Macnee, star of the 1960s TV series “The”


July 7, 2015  

He played a number of minor roles on the big and small screen in the 1940s and 1950s, before rising to fame in the original Avengers series between 1961 and 1969.
Sanjeev Bhaskar, a star of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars At No 42, wrote: “RIP Patrick Macnee”.
His character was known for his signature style of a bowler hat and umbrella, which was used as a secret weapon.
“The Avengers television series was probably Britain’s greatest television export and is still broadcast around the world”.
Evelyn paid his way to Eton, one of the U.K.’s most prestigious boarding schools, where he developed his acting skills before being expelled for bookmaking and selling erotic pictures to his schoolmates. After that, Macnee returned to acting and hopped around Canada, The USA, and England, appearing in films like Les Girls (with Gene Kelly) and A Christmas Carol.
It quickly drew attention for, among other things, the jumpsuits worn by his female colleague Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg.
The legendary actor was also known for his theatre roles, having appeared on Broadway during his lengthy career.
While he made his name internationally playing a smart, debonair British secret agent, Macnee was never a fan of the James Bond movies. (Both Blackman and Rigg also starred in James Bond films.).
He also played a record company boss in the film This Is Spinal Tap.
“I said, ‘No, I dont. His final marriage was to Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye in 1988. In 1998, when “The Avengers” was remade as a feature film starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, Mr. Macnee had an offscreen part as a narrator.
He is survived by a son, daughter and grandson.
In a 2014 interview with The Lady magazine, Macnee said he believed The Avengers was a success because it “did something different and did it better”.
The reason was simple, he once said.
“It made them delight in the awareness that they could get out there and do it all, fight men, take on villains, all the kinds of stuff we showed in The Avengers“.