Patrick with in The Avengers in 1968

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO... THE AVENGERS’ With his trademark , Patrick Macnee turned The Avengers’ into a 60s icon. Now 87 and a widower, London-born Patrick has two children and lives in Southern California was at school with the plot was that his fiancée, played by in 1969. It was so successful because it who still calls me Smee, from the my second wife, Katherine Woodville, was different. Seven years later I Peter Pan play we did as seven-year- had been killed and we were “avenging” reluctantly made The New Avengers. I olds. It was performing at school her death and trying to find the killer. After The Avengers I guest starred in and encouragement from a wonderful I wore ordinary clothes to play Steed, The Virginian and umpteen films and teacher that drove me into acting. a shadowy character from the Secret AFTER THE series including , Diagnosis As I was making my West End debut Service, but one day the producer said, AVENGERS, Murder and Murder, She Wrote, with my in Little Women in 1941, my “Your character isn’t working; can’t you I GUEST STARRED old drama school pal, Angela Lansbury. wrote to me: “Patrick, stop being a Little think up something more interesting?” IN THE VIRGINIAN, My two children, Rupert and Jenny, Woman. Sign up and defend our I was so angry I turned COLUMBO, have been staying since my third wife, country.” So I joined the navy. My boat up in an outrageous Baba, died last year. I bought a house got sunk; fortunately on the night it , bowler hat and DIAGNOSIS near Palm Springs in 1973. Jenny, who happened I was ashore with the flu. , turning MURDER AND has bad asthma, came to stay and felt so More theatre followed and films such as Steed into an over-the- MURDER, SHE much better. So I said, “That’s it.” The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and top, genteel, Englishman WROTE I enjoy being with my family, chatting A Christmas Carol. I moved to in with a voice I inherited and walking with my dogs on the beach. 1952 after David Greene, a TV director from my mother, who I love sitting in my garden which has the and drama school pal, offered me a series had a wonderful most beautiful view of snow-capped and I was so poor I lived at the YMCA. speaking voice. winter mountains as a backdrop. I went to America in the late 50s and It worked. Now I do voice-overs and audio books did a lot of TV work including We filmed with including The Bible and Peter Mayle’s with Leslie Phillips and Alfred Hitchcock Diana [Rigg], in books. People know my voice; it’s as Patrick Presents, then in 1960 I returned and black and white for a now does recognisable as Steed’s bowler hat, which Sydney Newman, a Canadian producer, season, then to colour voice-overs you’d never find me wearing. I hate hats! gave me The Avengers’ John Steed role. in 1965 and finished and audio Tony Padman books I was partnered with and with Linda [Thorson] For details see www.patrickmacnee.com. PHOTOGRAPHS: XYXYXY

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 11