In this season of inaugurations, I begin this blog with a brief appreciation of the late actor, Patrick McGoohan, star and creator of the late '60s television show, The Prisoner. It's a series that can be appreciated for its surreal imagery, its pitch-perfect location (the architectural wonderland of the Welsh village of Portmerion), its Cold War-era spy shenanigans, or its allegorical, counter-cultural themes. But the show only becomes an unforgettable experience through the granite-solid performance of McGoohan himself. With a near-perpetual lugubrious scowl on his reasonably handsome mug (and who wouldn't strike such a pose, being kidnapped and trapped in the British equivalent of Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride), it's his distinctive voice that carries the bulk of his acting for him, an assortment of purrs, growls and barks that offer no respite to his unyielding belief in personal freedom. (His physical acting can be a little weird though - he runs like a little girl.)
One of my heroes, Patrick McGoohan passed away in Santa Monica on the evening of Tuesday, January 13, 2009. He was 80.
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