Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of movies and television.
Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during the 1950s and became well known for his role as secret agent John Drake in the ITC espionage programme Danger Man (1960–1968). He then produced and created The Prisoner (1967–1968), a surrealistic television series in which he featured as Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village. Beginning in the 1970s, McGoohan maintained a long-running association with Columbo, writing, directing, producing and appearing in several episodes. His notable movie roles include Dr. Paul Ruth in Scanners (1981) and King Edward I in Braveheart (1995). He was a BAFTA Award and two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner.
Early life
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was born in the Astoria neighbourhood of New York City's Queens borough on March 19, 1928, the son of Irish Catholic, immigrant parents Thomas McGoohan and Rose McGoohan (née Fitzpatrick). Soon after he was born, the family relocated back to Ireland, where they lived in the Mullaghmore area of Carrigallen in the south-east of County Leitrim.
Seven years later, they relocated to England and settled in Sheffield. McGoohan attended St Marie's School, then St Vincent's School, and De La Salle College, all in Sheffield. During World War II, he was evacuated to Loughborough, where he attended Ratcliffe College at the same time as future actor Ian Bannen. McGoohan excelled in mathematics and boxing, and left school at the age of 16 to return to Sheffield, where he worked as a chicken farmer, bank clerk, and lorry driver before getting a job as a stage manager for Sheffield Repertory Theatre. When one of the actors became ill, McGoohan substituted for him, which began his acting career.
Career
Early career
In 1955, McGoohan featured in a West End stage production of Serious Charge, as a Church of England vicar accused of being homosexual.
Orson Welles was so impressed by McGoohan's stage presence ("intimidated", Welles would later say) that he cast him as Starbuck in his York theatre production of Moby Dick—Rehearsed. Welles said in 1969 that he believed McGoohan "would now be, I think, one of the big actors of our generation if TV hadn't grabbed him. He can still make it. He was tremendous as Starbuck", and "with all the required attributes, looks, intensity, unquestionable acting ability and a twinkle in his eye."
McGoohan's first television appearance was as Charles Stewart Parnell in "The Fall of Parnell" for the series You Are There (1954). He had an uncredited role in the movie The Dam Busters (1955), standing guard outside a briefing room. He delivered the line, "Sorry, old boy, it's secret—you can't go in. Now, c'mon, hop it!", which was cut from some prints of the movie.
He also had small roles in Passage Home (1955), The Dark Avenger (1955) and I Am A Camera (1955). He could also be seen in Zarak (1956) for Warwick Films. For television he was in "Margin for Error" in Terminus (1955), guest featured on The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and Assignment Foreign Legion, and The Adventures of Aggie. He played the lead in "The Makepeace Story" for BBC Sunday Night Theatre (1955). He also appeared in Welles' movie version of Moby Dick Rehearsed.
He did Ring for Catty on stage in 1956.
Rank Organisation
While working as a stand-in during screen tests, McGoohan was signed to a contract with the Rank Organisation. They gave him mostly villainous parts in various movies: High Tide at Noon (1957), directed by Philip Leacock; Hell Drivers (1957), directed by Cy Endfield, as a violent bully; and the steamy potboiler The Gypsy and the Gentleman (1958), directed by Joseph Losey.
He had good roles in television anthology series such as Television Playwright, Folio, Armchair Theatre, ITV Play of the Week and ITV Television Playhouse. He was given a leading role in Nor the Moon by Night (1958), filmed in South Africa. After some disputes with the management, the contract was dissolved. He then did some TV work, winning a BAFTA in 1960.
His favourite part for stage acting was the lead for Ibsen's play Brand, for which he received an award. He also played the role in a (still extant) BBC television production in August 1959. Michael Meyer, who translated the stage version, thought McGoohan's performance was the best and most powerful he'd ever seen. It was McGoohan's last stage appearance for 28 years.