Patrick McGoohan was an oddity among actors, and thank God for it. A devout Roman Catholic, he was married to his one and only wife for almost 58 years and refused to kiss any actress unless she was his wife. He turned down the role of James Bond because of the promiscuity of the character. That his strong beliefs cost him roles never mattered a whit to him. The Prisoner suited him well as it had one man standing up against a world seemingly gone mad.
Episodes of The Prisoner are available on You Tube.
A bizarre series to be sure, especially the finale. My second son said The Prisoner is what you would get if Lewis Carroll wrote 1984.
Still a favorite series, and a favorite actor as well. Thanks for the additional facts about him and his character.
My folks and I also once greatly enjoyed his work as the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, in a serial shown on the original Sunday night Disney TV series in the 1960s.
McGoohan’s stance on roles sounds like Neil McDonough. He too will not kiss any actress who is not his wife. He lost a continuing role on Desperate Housewives for that reason.
The interplay between Patrick McGoohan and Leo McKern (as chief baddie aka #2) is *almost* as good as the interplay between McKern and Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons.
Great show. Even more so if you ignore the final episode.
Come to think of it, many shows are best if you ignore the final episode 🤔
Be seeing you. 👌
There was a miniseries in 2009 also called the Prisoner starring another Catholic, Jim Caviezel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_(2009_miniseries)
I have recently discovered The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh and the Catholic Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan said that he could have been a millionaire if he had not turned down James Bond and The Saint. Turning down promiscuous and violent roles did not trouble him.
Now I will find The Prisoner.
Patrick McGoohan refused the role of Columbo. He said that Columbo belonged to Peter Falk.
What I remember the most about this series was the giant bubble that came after anyone trying to escape. That thing scared the daylights out of me
LQC:
Patrick Joseph McGoohan passed in 2009.
Nicola Tesla believed that the brain waves were electronic impulses and therefore could be photographed.
The Prisoner goes even further by filming the brain waves and replaying them.
If AI has every man’s DNA code is it possible for AI to eradicate mankind?