Though born in America, Irish actor Patrick McGoohan rose to become the number-one British TV star in the 1950s to 1960s era. His parents moved to Ireland when he was very young and McGoohan acquired a neutral accent that sounds at home in British or American dialogue. He was an avid stage actor and performed hundreds of times in small and large productions before landing his first TV and film roles. McGoohan is one of few actors who has successfully switched between theater, TV, and films many times during his career. He was often cast in the role of Angry Young Man. In 1959, he was named Best TV Actor of the Year in Britain. Shortly thereafter, he was chosen for the starring role in the "Secret Agent" TV series (AKA "Danger Man" (1960)), which proved to be an immense success for three years and allowed the British to break into the burgeoning American TV market for the first time. McGoohan became bored with the limiting role of spy and turned in his resignation right after the first episode of the fourth year had been filmed ("Koroshi"). McGoohan set up his own production company and collaborated with noted author and script editor George Markstein to sell a brand new concept to ITV's president, Lew Grade. McGoohan starred in, directed, produced, and wrote many of the episodes, sometimes taking a pseudonym to reduce the sheer number of credits to his name. Thus, the TV series "The Prisoner" (1967) came to revolve around the efforts of a secret agent, who resigned early in his career, to clear his name. His aim was to escape from a fancifully beautiful but psychologically brutal prison for people who know too much. The series was as popular as it was surreal and allegorical and its mysterious final episode cause such an uproar that McGoohan was to desert England for more than 20 years to seek relative anonymity in LA, where celebrities are "a dime a dozen."
During the 1970s, he appeared in two episodes of the TV detective series "Columbo," for which he won an Emmy Award. His film roles lapsed from prominence until his powerful performance as King Longshanks in Mel Gibson (I)'s production of Braveheart (1995). As such, he has solidified his casting in the role of Angry Old Man.
Known For
Credits
Cast Credits
The Simpsons (1989)
Guest starring as Number Six
- Episode 12x06: The Computer Wore Menace Shoes (Dec 3, 2000)
Murder, She Wrote (1984)
Guest starring as Attorney Oliver Quayle
- Episode 4x03: Witness for the Defense (Oct 4, 1987)
Columbo (1968)
Guest starring as Nelson Brenner
- Episode 1975-11-02: Identity Crisis (Nov 2, 1975)
Guest starring as Col. Lyle C. Rumford
- Episode 1974-10-27: By Dawn's Early Light (Oct 27, 1974)
Guest starring as Oscar Finch
- Episode 1990-02-10: Agenda for Murder (Feb 10, 1990)
Guest starring as Eric Prince
- Episode 1998-10-08: Ashes to Ashes (Oct 8, 1998)
The Prisoner (1967)
Starring as Number Six
(8 episodes)
- Episode 1x16: Once Upon a Time (Jan 28, 1968)
- Episode 1x15: The Girl Who Was Death (Jan 21, 1968)
- Episode 1x14: Living in Harmony (Jan 14, 1968)
- Episode 1x13: Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (Jan 7, 1968)
- Episode 1x05: The Schizoid Man (Oct 29, 1967)
- Episode 1x03: A. B. and C. (Oct 15, 1967)
- Episode 1x02: The Chimes of Big Ben (Oct 8, 1967)
- Episode 1x01: Arrival (Oct 1, 1967)
Danger Man (1960)
Starring as John Drake
(86 episodes)
- Episode 4x02: Shinda Shima (Jan 12, 1968)
- Episode 4x01: Koroshi (Jan 5, 1968)
- Episode 3x23: Not So Jolly Roger (Apr 7, 1966)
- Episode 3x22: The Paper Chase (Mar 31, 1966)
- Episode 3x21: The Man with the Foot (Mar 24, 1966)
- Episode 3x20: I am Afraid You Have the Wrong Number (Mar 17, 1966)
- Episode 3x19: Two Birds with One Bullet (Mar 10, 1966)
- Episode 3x18: The Hunting Party (Jan 27, 1966)
- Episode 3x17: I Can Only Offer You Sherry (Jan 20, 1966)
- Episode 3x16: Dangerous Secret (Jan 13, 1966)
- Episode 3x15: Someone is Liable to Get Hurt (Jan 6, 1966)
- Episode 3x14: The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (Dec 30, 1965)
- Episode 3x13: Say It with Flowers (Dec 23, 1965)
- Episode 3x12: The Man on the Beach (Dec 16, 1965)
- Episode 3x11: To Our Best Friend (Dec 9, 1965)
- Episode 3x10: Are You Going to Be More Permanent? (Dec 2, 1965)
- Episode 3x09: The Outcast (Nov 18, 1965)
- Episode 3x08: Judgement Day (Nov 11, 1965)
- Episode 3x07: The Mercenaries (Nov 4, 1965)
- Episode 3x06: Loyalty Always Pays (Oct 28, 1965)
- Episode 3x05: English Lady Takes Lodgers (Oct 21, 1965)
- Episode 3x04: Sting in the Tail (Oct 14, 1965)
- Episode 3x03: A Very Dangerous Game (Oct 7, 1965)
- Episode 3x02: The Black Book (Sep 30, 1965)
- Episode 3x01: You Are Not in Any Trouble, Are You? (Sep 23, 1965)
- Episode 2x22: Parallel Lines Sometimes Meet (Mar 16, 1965)
- Episode 2x21: The Mirror's New (Mar 9, 1965)
- Episode 2x20: Have a Glass of Wine (Mar 2, 1965)
- Episode 2x19: It's Up to the Lady (Feb 23, 1965)
- Episode 2x18: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove (Feb 16, 1965)
- Episode 2x17: The Affair at Castelevara (Feb 9, 1965)
- Episode 2x16: A Room in the Basement (Feb 2, 1965)
- Episode 2x15: Whatever Happened to George Foster? (Jan 19, 1965)
- Episode 2x14: Such Men Are Dangerous (Jan 12, 1965)
- Episode 2x13: That's Two of Us Sorry (Jan 5, 1965)
- Episode 2x12: A Date with Doris (Dec 29, 1964)
- Episode 2x11: Don't Nail Him Yet (Dec 22, 1964)
- Episode 2x10: A Man to Be Trusted (Dec 15, 1964)
- Episode 2x09: No Marks for Servility (Dec 8, 1964)
- Episode 2x08: The Battle of the Cameras (Dec 1, 1964)
- Episode 2x07: The Colonel's Daughter (Nov 24, 1964)
- Episode 2x06: Fish on the Hook (Nov 17, 1964)
- Episode 2x05: Fair Exchange (Nov 10, 1964)
- Episode 2x04: The Galloping Major (Nov 3, 1964)
- Episode 2x03: Colony Three (Oct 27, 1964)
- Episode 2x02: The Professionals (Oct 20, 1964)
- Episode 2x01: Yesterday's Enemies (Oct 13, 1964)
- Episode 1x39: Deadline (Jan 20, 1961)
- Episode 1x38: Dead Man Walks (Jan 13, 1961)
- Episode 1x37: The Nurse (Jan 6, 1961)
- Episode 1x36: Under the Lake (Dec 30, 1961)
- Episode 1x35: Find and Destroy (Dec 23, 1961)
- Episode 1x34: The Coyannis Story (Dec 16, 1961)
- Episode 1x33: Hired Assassin (Jun 18, 1961)
- Episode 1x32: The Actor (Jun 11, 1961)
- Episode 1x31: The Trap (Jun 4, 1961)
- Episode 1x30: The Leak (May 28, 1961)
- Episode 1x29: The Contessa (May 21, 1961)
- Episode 1x28: Sabotage (May 14, 1961)
- Episode 1x27: Bury the Dead (May 7, 1961)
- Episode 1x26: The Journey Ends Halfway (Apr 30, 1961)
- Episode 1x25: The Brothers (Apr 23, 1961)
- Episode 1x24: The Relaxed Informer (Apr 16, 1961)
- Episode 1x23: The Gallows Tree (Apr 9, 1961)
- Episode 1x22: The Honeymooners (Apr 2, 1961)
- Episode 1x21: The Conspirators (Feb 5, 1961)
- Episode 1x20: Vacation (Jan 29, 1961)
- Episode 1x19: Name, Date and Place (Jan 22, 1961)
- Episode 1x18: The Girl Who Liked GIs (Jan 15, 1961)
- Episode 1x17: Find and Return (Jan 8, 1961)
- Episode 1x16: The Island (Jan 1, 1961)
- Episode 1x15: Colonel Rodriguez (Dec 18, 1960)
- Episode 1x14: The Traitor (Dec 11, 1960)
- Episode 1x13: The Prisoner (Dec 4, 1960)
- Episode 1x12: The Sisters (Nov 27, 1960)
- Episode 1x11: The Key (Nov 20, 1960)
- Episode 1x10: An Affair of State (Nov 13, 1960)
- Episode 1x09: The Sanctuary (Nov 6, 1960)
- Episode 1x08: The Lonely Chair (Oct 30, 1960)
- Episode 1x07: Position of Trust (Oct 23, 1960)
- Episode 1x06: The Girl in Pink Pyjamas (Oct 16, 1960)
- Episode 1x05: The Lovers (Oct 9, 1960)
- Episode 1x04: The Blue Veil (Oct 2, 1960)
- Episode 1x03: Josetta (Sep 25, 1960)
- Episode 1x02: Time to Kill (Sep 18, 1960)
- Episode 1x01: View from the Villa (Sep 11, 1960)
The Wonderful World of Disney (1954)
Guest starring as The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh
(3 episodes)
- Episode 10x19: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (3) (Feb 23, 1964)
- Episode 10x18: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (2) (Feb 16, 1964)
- Episode 10x17: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1) (Feb 9, 1964)
Guest starring as Dr. Christopher Syn
(3 episodes)
- Episode 10x19: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (3) (Feb 23, 1964)
- Episode 10x18: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (2) (Feb 16, 1964)
- Episode 10x17: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1) (Feb 9, 1964)
Crew Credits
Columbo (1968)
Episode crew as Director
(5 episodes)
- Episode 2001-03-12: Murder with Too Many Notes (Mar 12, 2001)
- Episode 1998-10-08: Ashes to Ashes (Oct 8, 1998)
- Episode 1990-02-10: Agenda for Murder (Feb 10, 1990)
- Episode 1976-03-02: Last Salute to the Commodore (Mar 2, 1976)
- Episode 1975-11-02: Identity Crisis (Nov 2, 1975)
Episode crew as Teleplay
- Episode 2001-03-12: Murder with Too Many Notes (Mar 12, 2001)