Emmy-winning actor Patrick McGoohan, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday after a short illness, his film producer son-in-law Cleve Landsberg stated for the Associated Press.

 

McGoohan, was best known for creating and starring in cult classic 1960s TV show “The Prisoner.” He embodied a character known only as Number Six in the sci-fi British series in which a former spy is held captive in a small enclave known only as The Village, from which he constantly attempts to escape and also find out the identity of his captor, a mysterious authority named Number One who prevents him from running away.

 

"The Prisoner" turned out to be more than an idea. It was a personified idea which became a real artistic success thanks to McGoohan who made the series work. The nearly 40 at the time actor, he was heroic in a way that mixed the self-reliance of the classic secret agent with the comedy of the new age's anti-authoritarian tricksters. His good-looks, his musical voice and twinkling eye gave him a little hand to become the movie star he was.

 

Patrick McGoohan won two Emmy awards for his performance as different characters on the TV detective series “Columbo,” directed by the main character embodied by Peter Falk. McGoohan won two Emmys for guest spots on this particular show 16 years apart, in 1974 and 1990. After that he took smaller roles in film and television, until the actor appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart.

During his career, he was also considered for the role of James Bond in the movie Dr No., he reprised his most famous role in an episode of The Simpsons in 2000, while two years later he accepted which was to be his last role, as a voice artist in animated picture Treasure Planet. Besides all these roles, he also played a warden in the 1979 Clint Eastwood film "Escape from Alcatraz" and a judge in the 1996 John Grisham courtroom drama "A Time to Kill.

 

His agent, Sharif Ali, stated on Wednesday that Patrick McGoohan was still active in Hollywood and had two offers for wide-release films on the table when he passed away.

 

The actor was born in New York on the 19^th of March, 1928. In spite of the place he was born, he grew up in England and Ireland.

 

Before taking his shot in television, he had a pretty busy stage career, which made him the winner of a London Drama Critics Award for playing the title role in the Henrik Ibsen play "Brand."

 

He is survived by his wife, stage actress Joan Drummond who married McGoohan in 1951 and their three children. The oldest of their daughters, Catherine, is also an actress.