A Friend in Steed

June 25th marked, sadly, the passing of television and film actor Patrick Macnee, aged 93. The British-American gent packed a lot of achievements into his lengthy lifetime. 

I probably first saw Macnee in the role of Jacob Marley in the 1951 film A Christmas Carol. In my mid to late teens I discovered The New Avengers shows on TV, and was immediately hooked. I was already a fan of spy fiction and film, enamoured with the James Bond and Matt Helm movies shown regularly on the tube. I don't think I've ever seen the original Avengers series, but the second series made an impression on me. 

Born into a noble family, Macnee studied acting as a young man, then left the UK after serving in WWII and taking some small film roles. He kept at the biz in Canada, then moved to the States where more lucrative offers awaited him. Then back to the UK for an exciting opportunity in '61. 

Best known as agent John Steed on TV's The Avengers (1961-69), Macnee was teamed up with fellow agents to combat crime. Of those agents, the female lead was played by some very notable actresses, like Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg, who would both go on to star in James Bond films (incidentally, Macnee himself appeared in the Bond picture A View to a Kill), and Linda Thorson . Joanna Lumley took over as female lead in the 70's revival of the show, The New Avengers. 

The bowler hat and umbrella, along with Macnee's British gentleman manners, conveyed the prim and proper attitude that made agent John Steed a charismatic character. Macnee hated guns thanks to his harrowing war-time experiences, so he avoided using them in the TV series, instead resorting to fancy footwork and clever umbrella slinging. Steed was a brainier, more elegant version of James Bond. More polished, light-hearted and courteous. 

Macnee appeared in dozens of TV shows as far-ranging as The Twilight Zone and Love Boat, and acted in over two dozen films such as The Sea Wolves (with Roger Moore; a pretty good flick, too, I must say) and The Howling (a favourite horror film of mine and a fave Macnee role), and was one of very few actors to have played both Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson on the screen. He brought a touch of class and quirky light humour to everything he worked on. 

I had the pleasure of spotting young Patrick in a rather obscure, but personal favourite, 1949 film called The Small Back Room. And of course, he was part of musical history when he appeared as Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in This is Spinal Tap, the mother of all mockumentaries. 

Macnee kept busy in other pursuits over the years, doing some TV commercial work, narrating behind-the-scenes features for James Bond DVDs (quite funny when you consider that he hated the cinematic Bond, much preferring the original Fleming books), reading for audio books, and even appearing in music videos - one time as his beloved Steed character.