Patrick Macnee is most fondly remembered as
"John Steed" (full character name John Wickham Gascoyne Berresford Steed)
from one of the most popular Cult TV shows of all time: THE AVENGERS.
The show started life as a kind of spin off of early 60's drama Police Surgeon.
Ian Hendry returned as a Doctor, but this time his wife has been murdered and is
joined by government agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee) to Avenge her death.
Hendry decided not to continue after the First season and top billing was passed
to Macnee who was assisted by number of female companions.
After a number of side kicks he settled with the judo kicking Cathy Gale
(played by Honor Blackman) followed by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, Linda Thorson,
and later by Joanna Lumley in "The New Avengers".
Towards the end of 1963 it was suggested that Honor Blackman's leather wear could
be the passport to further "Avengers" success and the two stars were persuaded to
collaborate on a novelty record, "Kinky Boots", celebrating Honor's trademark
leather footwear. In an interview in late 1980's Blackman recalled that
Patrick Macnee and herself recorded the track late one night after a long day's filming.
She also admitted that neither of them could sing, and echoed Macnee's assertion that he
regretted ever getting involved in the project. The B-side of the single was another
novelty number called "Let's Keep It Friendly", which featured the two of them in character
singing about the fact that no hanky-panky went on between them.
Honor Blackman bio
Born 22 August 1926 in London, England, Honor Blackman credits her father for
her acting career, given that her family was not especially wealthy.
For her fifteenth birthday he offered her a choice: a bicycle or elocution
classes. Feeling her accent was becoming a bit too Cockney, she chose the latter.
Her teacher advised her father to enroll her in the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama, which she attended part-time while working as an office clerk.
Upon graduation, her father once again influenced her career by suggesting that
she audition as an understudy in a West End play, The Guinea Pig. When the
show's lead actress fell ill, Honor had her first "big break." This led to her
first film appearance, a non-speaking part in Fame is the Spur, wherein she was
killed by a cavalryman-and she was nearly killed for real by a horse that
stepped on her hair while she was lying on the ground.
After a string of unremarkable "English rose" type film roles while working as
a contract player for the Rank Organisation, Honor struck gold when Leonard White
hired her for the part of Cathy Gale. Tony Arnell, casting director, says,
"I put Honor’s name forward simply because when I was at Spotlight I remember she
used to come and see a colleague of mine for help and advice. She was way down on
her luck. I think her health wasn't good, her father had died, her marriage was up
the creek--she was way down on her suppers, but she still looked amazing...
Some people worried that her accent was 'too Kensington,' but I didn't think that
mattered at all."
Honor had married actor Maurice Kaufmann six months before being cast as Cathy
Gale. The couple would often help each other learn lines for upcoming performances,
and The Avengers was no exception. They enacted many Avengers scripts together at
home, and this habit was even noted in a TV Times article in November 1963,
with a photo of Kaufmann complete with a walking stick which doubled for Steed's umbrella!
After two seasons she decided to leave the series before the part got stale,
ostensibly, and she returned to film. Her stint as an expert in hand-to-hand
combat won her the juicy role of Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, after which she
expanded into fantasy, horror and comedy vehicles.
Honor has twice been the featured guest on the long-running tribute program,
This is Your Life, on 17 December 1969 (Thames TV) and again on 17 February 1993
(BBC TV). She is involved with an organization called Fairtrade, which aims to
ensure that third world producers get treated fairly and can actually make a living
from their work. It is not clear whether she's actively supporting it or just
allowing her name to be used, but she was on the front cover of one of their
newsletters and was quoted saying how much she supported the organization.
Patrick Macnee bio
Patrick Macnee was born in 1922 into an aristocratic English family.
His Father was a successful racehorse trainer and his mother was the lovely
Dorothea Hastings, a niece of the Earl of Huntingdon (descendants of Robin Hood!).
His parents divorced after his father ran off to India and his mother moved into
Rooksnest, a bizarre household in Wiltshire, dominated by his mother's lady lover,
the formidable "Uncle" Evelyn. At age three, he was bundled off to Summer Fields
Prep School near Oxford. Patrick then entered Eton College, where apart from an
active role with the school's dramatic society, he distinguished himself as the
leading bookie and pornographer on campus - and was promptly expelled.
Macnee went on to win a scholarship to Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and
got his start in show business in 1941 with a small role in a stage production of
Little Women. One year later he made his debut in films as an extra in The Life
and Death of Colonel Blimp.
After serving as an officer in His Majesty's Royal Britannic Navy (1942-46),
Patrick resumed his career in stage and film roles. Commuting between Britain,
America and Canada, where he helped to pioneer Canadian TV, Macnee starred in
over 30 television plays and more than a dozen feature films during the busy
post-war years. Patrick was in Hollywood from 1957-1959 for Les Girls and Mission
of Danger for MGM; his TV credits during this time included various Playhouse 90's,
Alfred Hitchcock Presents and numerous stage appearances across the country.
In 1960 Macnee landed the leading role in an imaginative new British TV series The
Avengers, playing John Steed, the suave, dashing Englishman with his bowler hat,
rolled umbrella and fancy clothes. Overnight The Avengers became an international
hit, Macnee's popularity soared and both show and star enjoyed a cult-like status.
His leading ladies included Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley and Linda Thorson.
His early major credits include Young Doctors in Love, James Bond's A View To A
Kill, Sea Wolves with David Niven, Gregory Peck and Roger Moore, Rob Reiner's
This Is Spinal Tap, and the television series, The New Avengers. For two years
Macnee also starred in the Broadway production of Sleuth. He then performed the
role in Canada and other U.S. cities.
Numerous appearances on television series include Sherlock Holmes with Christopher
Lee, HBO's Dream On and 26 episodes of Thunder in Paradise with Hulk Hogan. He
currently hosts the Sci-Fi Channel's popular program Mysteries, Magic and Miracles.
One of his great pleasures these days is recording books on tape. Recent recordings
include the Bible, eight of Jack Higgins' thrillers and Peter Mayle's
"Toujours Provence." Patrick's entertaining autobiography, "Blind In One Ear," was published in 1992.
His latest book is a memoir, "The Avengers and Me," which was published by TV
Books in June 1998, and is a companion to the A&E digitally remastered home
videos of the original British TV cult classic, The Avengers. Since their
release in early August 1998, the home videos, with episodes starring Diana Rigg,
have all ranked high on the Billboard Top 40 charts.
Married to his third wife, Baba, they live in Southern California with their two
beloved dogs, dividing their time between Rancho Mirage and La Jolla in the
summer.
In his spare time Patrick enjoys bird-watching, desert reclamation, and
preventing terrorism! (He received an award from the Bureau of Federal Aviation
for preventing terrorism on aircraft). Also, The Academy of Science Fiction,
Fantasy and Horror has honored Patrick with their prestigious Golden Scroll award.
A born raconteur, Patrick delights in entertaining audiences large and small.
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