Patrick McGoohan | |
|---|---|
 McGoohan inAll Night Long (1962) | |
| Born | Patrick Joseph McGoohan (1928-03-19)March 19, 1928 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 13, 2009(2009-01-13) (aged 80) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Paddy Fitz |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1948–2002 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingCatherine |
Patrick Joseph McGoohan (/məˈɡuː.ən/; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director and screenwriter of film, television, and theatre. He is best known for his roles inThe Prisoner (1967–1968) andDanger Man (1960–1968).
Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during the 1950s and became well known for the titular role of secret agentJohn Drake in theITC espionage programmeDanger Man (1960–1968). He then created and produced thesurrealisticITV seriesThe Prisoner (1967–1968), in which he starred as former British intelligence agentNumber Six, becoming well known for this role.
Beginning in the 1970s, McGoohan maintained a long-running association with the television seriesColumbo, writing, directing, producing and appearing in several episodes. His notable film roles included David Jones inIce Station Zebra (1968);James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray inMary, Queen of Scots (1971); the Warden inEscape from Alcatraz (1979); Dr. Paul Ruth inScanners (1981);Edward I of England inBraveheart (1995); Judge Omar Noose inA Time to Kill (1996); and the voice ofBilly Bones inTreasure Planet (2002).
During the height ofDanger Man's fame in the 1960s, McGoohan was the highest-paid actor on British television.[1] McGoohan won the 1960BAFTA Television Award forBest Actor for his work onDanger Man, and twice won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, including its inaugural 1975 entry, for roles onColumbo, while his seriesThe Prisoner ultimately developed a cult following.[2][3]
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was born inAstoria, Queens, New York City on March 19, 1928, toIrish Catholic immigrant parents Thomas McGoohan and Rose McGoohan (née Fitzpatrick).[4] Soon after he was born, the family returned to Ireland, settling in the Mullaghmore area ofDrumreilly, County Leitrim.[5][6]
Seven years later, they relocated to England, settling inSheffield,Yorkshire. McGoohan attended St Marie's School, thenSt Vincent's School,[7] andDe La Salle College, all in Sheffield.[8] DuringWorld War II, he was evacuated toLoughborough, where he attendedRatcliffe College at the same time as future actorIan Bannen. McGoohan excelled in mathematics andboxing, and left school at the age of 16 to return to Sheffield, where he worked as a chicken farmer, bank clerk, and lorry driver before getting a job as a stage manager forSheffield Repertory Theatre. When one of the actors became ill, McGoohan substituted for him, which began his acting career.[9]
In 1955, McGoohan featured in aWest End stage production ofSerious Charge, as aChurch of Englandvicar accused of being homosexual.[10]
"Intimidated" by McGoohan's stage presence,Orson Welles cast him as Starbuck in his York theatre production ofMoby Dick—Rehearsed.[11] Welles said in 1969 that he believed McGoohan "would now be, I think, one of the big actors of our generation if TV hadn't grabbed him,"[12] reflecting that he had "all the required attributes, looks, intensity, unquestionable acting ability and a twinkle in his eye".[4]
McGoohan's first television appearance was asCharles Stewart Parnell in "The Fall of Parnell" for the seriesYou Are There (1954).[13][14] He had an uncredited role in the movieThe Dam Busters (1955), standing guard outside a briefing room. He delivered the line, "Sorry, old boy, it's secret—you can't go in. Now, c'mon, hop it!," which was cut from some prints of the movie.[citation needed]
He also had small roles inPassage Home (1955),The Dark Avenger (1955) andI Am A Camera (1955). He could also be seen inZarak (1956) forWarwick Films. For television he was in "Margin for Error" inTerminus (1955), guest featured onThe Adventures of Sir Lancelot andAssignment Foreign Legion, andThe Adventures of Aggie. He played the lead in "The Makepeace Story" forBBCSunday Night Theatre (1955). He also appeared in Welles' movie version ofMoby Dick—Rehearsed.
He didRing for Catty on stage in 1956.[15]
While working as a stand-in during screen tests, McGoohan was signed to a contract withThe Rank Organisation. They gave him mostly villainous parts in films, includingHigh Tide at Noon (1957), directed byPhilip Leacock;Hell Drivers (1957), directed byCy Endfield; andThe Gypsy and the Gentleman (1958), directed byJoseph Losey.[16]
He had frequent roles in television anthology series such asTelevision Playwright,Folio,Armchair Theatre,ITV Play of the Week andITV Television Playhouse. He was given a leading role inNor the Moon by Night (1958), filmed in South Africa.[17] After some disputes with Rank management, the contract was dissolved. He then did some TV work, winning a BAFTA in 1960.[18][clarification needed]
His favourite part for stage acting was the lead inHenrik Ibsen'sBrand, for which he received an award[clarification needed].Michael Meyer, the play's translator, wrote of the last act "McGoohan suddenly unleashed all his terrifying power, and from then until the final moments... the audience was gripped as seldom happens in a theatre."[19] He also played the role in a BBC television production in August 1959.[20]Michael Meyer, who translated the stage version, thought McGoohan's performance was the best and most powerful he had ever seen.[19] It was McGoohan's last stage appearance for 28 years.[citation needed]
Production executiveLew Grade soon approached McGoohan about a television series where he would play a spy namedJohn Drake. Having learned from his experience at Rank, McGoohan insisted on several conditions: all the fistfights should be different; the character would always use his brain before using a gun; and—much to the executives' horror—no kissing. The show debuted in 1960 asDanger Man,[21] a half-hour programme intended for American audiences. It did fairly well, but not as well as hoped.[22][23]
Production lasted a year and 39 episodes. After the first series was over, an interviewer asked McGoohan if he would have liked it to continue. He replied, "Perhaps, but let me tell you this: I would rather do twenty TV series than go through what I went through under that Rank contract I signed a few years ago and for which I blame no one but myself."[24]
McGoohan appeared in the movieTwo Living, One Dead (1961), filmed in Sweden. He featured in two movies directed byBasil Dearden:All Night Long, an updating ofOthello, andLife for Ruth (both 1962). He also featured in an adaptation ofThe Quare Fellow (1962) byBrendan Behan.
McGoohan was one of several actors considered for the role ofJames Bond inDr. No. While McGoohan, a Catholic, refused the role on moral grounds,[25] the success of the Bond films is generally cited as the reason forDanger Man being revived. (He was later considered for the same role inLive and Let Die, but refused again.)[26]
McGoohan spent some time working forThe Walt Disney Company onThe Three Lives of Thomasina (1963) andThe Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963). A staid English vicar, Dr. Christopher Syn (a reformed pirate captain - played by McGoohan) disguised as a scarecrow and mounted on a magnificent black stallion thwarts King George III's Revenue officers in daring night-time smuggling adventures on the remote Kent coast.
After he had also refused the role ofSimon Templar inThe Saint,[26] Lew Grade asked McGoohan if he wanted to give John Drake another try. This time, McGoohan had even more say about the series.Danger Man (Secret Agent in the US) was resurrected in 1964 as a one-hour programme. The scripts now allowed McGoohan more range in his acting. Because of the popularity of the series, he became the highest-paid actor in the UK,[27] and the show lasted almost three more years.[28]
After shooting the only two colour episodes ofDanger Man, McGoohan told Grade that he would quit the role.[29]
Knowing McGoohan's intention to quitDanger Man, Grade asked if he would at least work on "something" for him. McGoohan pitched aminiseries about a secret agent who angrily quits and is abducted to a surreal, cheerful holiday resort village. Grade asked for a budget, McGoohan had one ready, and they made a deal over a handshake early on a Saturday morning to produceThe Prisoner.[21] In addition to being the series' protagonist, McGoohan was its executive producer, forming Everyman Films with producerDavid Tomblin, and also wrote and directed several episodes, in some cases using pseudonyms.[30][31] The originally commissioned seven episodes became seventeen.
The title character, the otherwise-unnamed "Number Six", spends the entire series trying to escape from a mysterious prison community called "The Village", and to learn the identity of its ruler. The Village's administrators try just as much to force or trick him into revealing why he resigned as a spy, which he refuses to divulge. The series' main exterior filming location was theItalianate resort village ofPortmeirion,Gwynedd, Wales, which had been featured in some episodes ofDanger Man. Although the show was sold as a thriller in the mould ofDanger Man, itssurreal andKafkaesque setting and reflection of concerns of the1960s counterculture have had a far-reaching influence on popular culture and the series ultimately developed acult following.[2][3]
The Prisoner was created while McGoohan andGeorge Markstein were working onDanger Man, an espionage show produced byIncorporated Television Company.[32] The exact details of who created which aspects of the show are disputed, as there is no "created by" credit. Majority opinion credits McGoohan as the sole creator of the series, but a disputed co-creator status was later ascribed to Markstein after a series of fan interviews were published in the 1980s.[32]
Some sources indicate that McGoohan was the sole or primary creator of the show.[33] McGoohan stated in a 1977 interview that, during the filming of the third series ofDanger Man, he told ITC Entertainment managing director Lew Grade that he wanted to quit working onDanger Man after the filming of the proposed fourth series.[34] Grade was unhappy with the decision, but when McGoohan insisted upon quitting, Grade asked if McGoohan had any other possible projects, and McGoohan later pitchedThe Prisoner. In a 1988 article in British telefantasy magazineTime Screen, though, McGoohan indicated that he had planned to pitchThe Prisoner before speaking with Grade.[35] In both accounts, McGoohan pitched the idea orally, rather than having Grade read the proposal in detail, and the two made an oral agreement for the show to be produced by Everyman Films, the production company formed by McGoohan andDavid Tomblin.[35] In the 1977 account, McGoohan said that Grade approved of the show despite not understanding it, whereas, in the 1988 account, Grade expressed clear support for the concept.[34]
Other sources, however, credit Markstein, then a script editor forDanger Man, with a significant or even primary portion of the development of the show.[32] For example, Dave Rogers, in the bookThe Prisoner and Danger Man, said that Markstein claimed to have created the concept first and McGoohan later attempted to take credit for it, although Rogers himself doubted that McGoohan would have wanted or needed to do that.[2] A four-page document, generally agreed to have been written by Markstein, setting out an overview of the themes of the series, was published as part of an ITC/ATV press book in 1967. It has usually been accepted that this text originated earlier as a guide for the series writers.[36] Further doubt has been cast on Markstein's version of events by author Rupert Booth in his biography of McGoohan, entitledNot a Number. Booth points out that McGoohan had outlined the themes ofThe Prisoner in a 1965 interview, long before Markstein's tenure as script editor on the brief fourth series ofDanger Man.[37]
Part of Markstein's inspiration came from his research into theSecond World War, where he found that some people had been incarcerated in a resort-like prison in Scotland calledInverlair Lodge, nearInverness.[38] Markstein suggested thatDanger Man's main characterJohn Drake (played by McGoohan) could suddenly resign and be kidnapped and sent to such a location.[38] McGoohan added Markstein's suggestion to material he had been working on, which later becameThe Prisoner. Furthermore, a 1960 episode ofDanger Man entitled "View from the Villa" had exteriors filmed in Portmeirion, a Welsh resort village that struck McGoohan as a good location for future projects.
According to "Fantasy or Reality" — a chapter ofThe Prisoner of Portmeirion — the Village is based, in part, on "a strange place in Scotland" operated by theInter-Services Research Bureau, wherein "people" with "valuable knowledge of one sort or another" were held prisoners on extended "holidays" in a "luxury prison camp".[39]The Prisoner's story editor, George Markstein, this source contends, knows of "the existence of this 'secure establishment'". However, this "Scottish prison camp, in reality, was not, of course, a holiday-type village full of people wearing colourful clothing."[39]
Further inspiration came from aDanger Man episode called "Colony Three", in which Drake infiltrates a spy school in Eastern Europe during theCold War. The school, in the middle of nowhere, is set up to look like a normal English town in which pupils and instructors mix as in any other normal city, but the instructors are virtual prisoners with little hope of ever leaving. McGoohan also stated that he was influenced by his experience from theatre, including his work in theOrson Welles playMoby Dick—Rehearsed (1955) and in a BBC television play,The Prisoner byBridget Boland.[38] McGoohan wrote a forty-pageshow Bible, which included a "history of the Village, the sort of telephones they used, the sewerage system, what they ate, the transport, the boundaries, a description of the Village, every aspect of it."[34] McGoohan wrote and directed several episodes, often using pseudonyms. Specifically, McGoohan wrote "Free for All" under the pen name 'Paddy Fitz' (Paddy being the Irish diminutive for Patrick and Fitzpatrick being his mother's maiden name) and directed the episodes "Many Happy Returns" and "A Change of Mind" using the stage name 'Joseph Serf', the surname being ironically a word meaning a peasant who is under the control of a feudal master. Using his own name, McGoohan wrote and directed the last two episodes—"Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out"—and directed "Free for All".[35]
In a 1966 interview for theLos Angeles Times by reporterRobert Musel, McGoohan stated, "John Drake ofSecret Agentis gone." Furthermore, McGoohan stated in a 1985 interview that Number Six is not the same character as John Drake, adding that he had originally wanted another actor to portray the character.[40] However, other sources indicate that several of the crew members who continued on fromDanger Man to work onThe Prisoner considered it to be a continuation, and that McGoohan was continuing to play the character of John Drake.[35] Author, Dave Rogers claims that Markstein had wanted the character to be a continuation of Drake, but by doing so would have meant paying royalties toRalph Smart, the creator ofDanger Man.[2] The second officially licensed novel based onThe Prisoner, published in 1969, refers to Number Six as "Drake" from its first sentence: "Drake woke."[41] The issue has been extensively debated by fans and television critics.[42][43]
McGoohan had originally wanted to produce only seven episodes ofThe Prisoner, but Grade argued that more shows were necessary in order for him to successfully sell the series toCBS.[34] The exact number that was agreed to and how the series was to end are disputed by different sources. The finale ofThe Prisoner left numerous open-ended questions, generating controversy and letters of outrage.[44] Following the final episode, McGoohan "claimed he had to go into hiding for a while".[44]
During production ofThe Prisoner, MGM cast McGoohan in an action movie,Ice Station Zebra (1968), for which his performance as a British spy drew critical praise.
After the end ofThe Prisoner, he presented a TV show,Journey into Darkness (1968–69). He was meant to follow it with the lead role ofDirk Struan in an expensive adaptation of theJames Clavell best-sellerTai-Pan but the project was cancelled before filming.[45] Instead he made the movieThe Moonshine War (1970) for MGM.
McGoohan playedJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray inMary, Queen of Scots (1971). He directedRichie Havens in arock opera version ofOthello, entitledCatch My Soul (1974), but disliked the experience.[46]
McGoohan received twoEmmy Awards for his work for the television seriesColumbo, with his long-time friendPeter Falk. McGoohan said that his first appearance onColumbo (in the 1974 episode "By Dawn's Early Light") was probably his favourite American role. He directed fiveColumbo episodes (including three of the four in which he appeared), one of which he also wrote and two of which he also produced. McGoohan was involved with theColumbo series in some capacity from 1974 to 2000; his daughterCatherine McGoohan appeared with him in the episode "Ashes to Ashes" (1998). The other twoColumbo episodes in which he appeared are "Identity Crisis" (1975) and "Agenda for Murder" (1990).
As he had done early in his career with the Rank Organisation, McGoohan began to specialise in villains, appearing inA Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975),Silver Streak (1976) andThe Man in the Iron Mask (1977).
In 1977, he had the main role of the television seriesRafferty as a retired army doctor who moves into private practice.[47]
He had the lead in a Canadian movie,Kings and Desperate Men;[48] then had supporting parts inBrass Target (1978) and theClint Eastwood movieEscape from Alcatraz (1979), portraying the prison's warden.
In 1980 he appeared in the UK television movieThe Hard Way.
In 1981 he appeared in the science fiction/horror movieScanners, and inJamaica Inn (1983) andTrespasses (1984). When McGoohan sawJamaica Inn he decided he could no longer act and rejected invitations byMichael Elliott to playCaptain Ahab andHotspur.[49]
In 1985 he appeared in his only Broadway production, featuring oppositeRosemary Harris inHugh Whitemore'sPack of Lies, in which he played another British spy.[50] He was nominated for aDrama Desk Award as Best Actor for his performance.
He could also be seen in the moviesBaby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985) andOf Pure Blood (1986) as well as an episode ofMurder, She Wrote.
McGoohan featured inThe Best of Friends (1991), and featured asEdward I of England inBraveheart (1995) which revitalised his career; he was seen the following year as Judge Omar Noose inA Time to Kill and inThe Phantom, a cinema adaptation of the comic strip.[26]
In 2000, he reprised his role as Number Six in an episode ofThe Simpsons, "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes". In it,Homer Simpson concocts a news story to make his website more popular, and he wakes up in a prison disguised as a holiday resort. Dubbed Number Five, he meets Number Six, and later betrays him and escapes with his boat; referencing his numerous attempts to escape on a raft inThe Prisoner, Number Six splutters "That's the third time that's happened!"
McGoohan's last movie role was the voice ofBilly Bones in the Disney animated filmTreasure Planet (2002). That same year, he received aPrometheus Hall of Fame Award forThe Prisoner.
McGoohan married actress Joan Drummond on May 19, 1951. They had three children includingCatherine McGoohan.[51]McGoohan "would not act any part in which he had to kiss any actress who was not his wife (and she, looking after him and their small sons, had little time for acting)",[19] which somewhat restricted his choices.
For most of the 1960s they lived in a secluded detached house on the Ridgeway,Mill Hill, London. They settled in thePacific Palisades district of Los Angeles during the mid-1970s.[52]
McGoohan died following a "short illness" atSaint John's Health Center inSanta Monica, California, on January 13, 2009, at the age of 80.[53]
Thesurreal andKafkaesque setting ofThe Prisoner and its reflection of concerns of the1960s counterculture have had a far-reaching influence on popular culture and the series ultimately developed acult following.[2][3] Since its debut, the series' enduring popularity has led to its influencing and being referenced in a range of other media.
McGoohan's name was associated with several aborted attempts at producing a new movie version ofThe Prisoner. In 2002,Simon West was signed to direct a version of the story. McGoohan was listed as executive producer for the movie, which never came to fruition. Later,Christopher Nolan was proposed as director for a movie version. However, the source material remained difficult and elusive to adapt into a feature movie. McGoohan was not involved with the project that was ultimately completed. Aminiseries was filmed for theAMC network in late 2008, with its broadcast occurring during November 2009.
A biography of McGoohan was published in 2007 by Tomahawk Press,[54] and another followed in 2011 by Supernova Books.[55]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Passage Home | McIsaacs | |
| The Dark Avenger a.k.a.The Warriors | English soldier | Uncredited | |
| The Dam Busters | RAF guard | ||
| I Am a Camera | Swedish water therapist | ||
| 1956 | Zarak | Moor Larkin | |
| 1957 | High Tide at Noon | Simon Breck | |
| Hell Drivers | G. 'Red' Redman | ||
| 1958 | The Gypsy and the Gentleman | Jess | |
| Nor the Moon by Night a.k.a.Elephant Gun | Andrew Miller | ||
| 1961 | Two Living, One Dead | Erik Berger | |
| 1962 | All Night Long | Johnny Cousin | |
| Life for Ruth a.k.a.Walk in the Shadow | Doctor James 'Jim' Brown | ||
| The Quare Fellow | Thomas Crimmin | ||
| 1963 | The Three Lives of Thomasina | Andrew McDhui | |
| Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow | Dr. Christopher Syn | ||
| 1968 | Ice Station Zebra | David Jones | |
| 1970 | The Moonshine War | Frank Long | |
| 1971 | Mary, Queen of Scots | James Stuart | |
| 1974 | Catch My Soul | — | Director |
| 1975 | A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe | Major Cabot | |
| 1976 | Silver Streak | Roger Devereau | |
| 1977 | The Man in the Iron Mask | Fouquet | |
| 1978 | Brass Target | Colonel Mike McCauley | |
| 1979 | Escape from Alcatraz | The Warden | |
| 1981 | Scanners | Doctor Paul Ruth | |
| Kings and Desperate Men | John Kingsley | Filmed in 1977 | |
| 1984 | Trespasses | Fred Wells | |
| 1985 | Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend | Doctor Eric Kiviat | |
| 1995 | Braveheart | King Edward Longshanks | |
| 1996 | The Phantom | Phantom's Dad | |
| A Time to Kill | Judge Omar Noose | ||
| 1997 | Hysteria | Dr. Harvey Langston | |
| 2002 | Treasure Planet | Billy Bones | Voice (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | You Are There | 2 episodes: "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "The Fall of Parnell" | |
| 1955 | The Vise | Tony Mason | 1 episode ("Gift from Heaven") |
| Terminus | James Hartley | 1 episode ("Margin for Error") | |
| BBC Sunday Night Theatre Presents: The Makepeace Story | Seth Makepeace | 1 episode ("The Ruthless Destiny") | |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot | Sir Glavin | 1 episode ("The Outcast", S1, E4) |
| 1957 | Assignment Foreign Legion | Captain Valadon | 1 episode ("The Coward", S1, E23) |
| 1956–57 | The Adventures of Aggie | Migual | 1 episode ("Spanish Sauce", S1, E3) |
| 1958 | The Vise | Vance | 1 episode ("Blood in the Sky") |
| Armchair Theatre | Jack 'Pal' Smurch | 1 episode ("The Greatest Man in the World") | |
| Television Playwright Presents | James Coogan | 1 episode ("This Day in Fear") | |
| ITV Television Playhouse | Mat Galvin | 1 episode ("Rest in Violence") | |
| 1959 | Brand | Brand | Henrik Ibsen play |
| 1961 | Armchair Theatre | Nicholai Soloviov | 1 episode ("The Man Out There") |
| 1960–62 1964–68 | Danger Man | John Drake | 86 episodes. Also directed 3 episodes. |
| 1963 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | Doctor Christopher Syn/ Scarecrow of Romney Marsh | 3 episodes |
| 1963 | Sunday Night Play | The Interrogator | 1 episode ("The Prisoner") |
| 1967–68 | The Prisoner | Number Six | 17 episodes. Also directed 5 episodes. |
| 1969 | Journey into Darkness | Host | TV film |
| 1974 | Columbo | Colonel Lyle C. Rumford | 1 episode ("By Dawn's Early Light") |
| 1975 | Nelson Brenner | 1 episode ("Identity Crisis"). Also directed. | |
| 1976 | — | 1 episode ("Last Salute to the Commodore") – director | |
| 1977 | Rafferty | Doctor Sid Rafferty | 13 episodes. Also directed 1 episode. |
| 1980 | The Hard Way | John Connor | TV film |
| 1983 | Jamaica Inn | Joss Merlyn | |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | Chief magistrate | 3 episodes ("Three Sovereigns for Sarah" parts I, II & III) |
| 1986 | Of Pure Blood | Dr. Felix Neumann | |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Oliver Quayle | 1 episode ("Witness for the Defense") |
| 1990 | Columbo | Oscar Finch | 1 episode ("Agenda for Murder"). Also directed. |
| 1998 | Eric Prince | "Ashes to Ashes". Also directed. | |
| 2000 | — | 1 episode ("Murder with Too Many Notes") – director | |
| The Simpsons | Number Six | Episode: "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" |
This is an incomplete list. Sources include[56] and.[57]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Pride and Prejudice | Mr D'Arcy | Vincent's Youth Club, Sheffield (amateur production) |
| 1950–51 | The Rivals | Theatre Royal, Bath | |
| 1951 | The Little Foxes | Oscar Hubbard | Sheffield Playhouse |
| Man and Superman | John Tanner | ||
| 1951–52 | Hobson's Choice | Albert Prosser | Grand Theatre, Blackpool, then The Arts Theatre Club, London |
| 1952–53 | Henry V | Bristol Old Vic andThe Old Vic, London | |
| 1952 | The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio | Sheffield Playhouse |
| Cupid and Psyche | Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool | ||
| 1953 | Spring Model | Roy Mawson | Theatre Royal, Windsor |
| The Castiglioni Brothers | Camillo Castiglioni | Bristol Old Vic | |
| The Cherry Orchard | Peter Trofimov | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | Pompey / a schoolmaster | ||
| Old Bailey | Robert Bailey II | ||
| The River Line | Philip Sturgess | Theatre Royal, Windsor | |
| Time on Their Hands | Leonard White | Q Theatre, London | |
| 1954 | Burning Bright | ||
| Spring Model | |||
| Grace and Favour | Producer and director | ||
| 1955 | Serious Charge | Howard Phillips | Garrick Theatre, London and Winter Gardens, Morecambe |
| Moby Dick – Rehearsed | A Serious Actor / Starbuck | Duke of York's Theatre, London | |
| Ring For Catty | Leonard White | Coliseum Theatre, Harrow,Lyric Theatre, London | |
| Brand | Brand | Lyric Theatre, London | |
| 1959 | Danton's Death | St. Just | |
| 1985 | Pack of Lies | Stewart | Royale Theater, New York |
Danger Man, McGoohan put a new spin on the secret agent formula by refusing to allow his character, John Drake, ... The show's success made McGoohan Britain's highest-paid TV actor
The McGoohans, who live in Pacific Palisades, Calif
