Patrick McGoohan: 1928-2009

I’m a big fan of the 60’s cult television series The Prisoner, so of course that would make me a big fan of its star and creator Patrick McGoohan. You could tell from that show that McGoohan was different, a deep thinker willing to grapple with a lot of internal and geo-political issues, not to mention industry conventions. He seemed to be saying “screw you” to the establishment, while maintaining his Catholic values, his character #6 never slept with any of the parade of beautiful women he encountered on the show, despite ample opportunity (and apparently being single). McGoohan left us a tragically slim film canon, but you were always drawn to him regardless of the part, be it the warden in Escape from Alcatraz or King Longshanks in Braveheart. I will miss the inscrutable Patrick McGoohan.