He did something different and did it better
June 25, 2015 11:59 AM   Subscribe

Patrick Macnee, known for his portrayal of the dapper John Steed in the British TV series The Avengers, has died at the age of 93.

(The post title is a paraphrase of Macnee's description of The Avengers.)
posted by Gelatin (89 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
Hulk sad.
posted by dances with hamsters at 12:05 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


As Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in Spinal Tap, he didn't have a lot of screen time, but he carried the right amount of cheerful gravitas for a knighted record producer/summer camp manager.

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posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:06 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]


"Mrs. Peel, you're needed."

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posted by jim in austin at 12:10 PM on June 25, 2015 [8 favorites]


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posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:10 PM on June 25, 2015


I wanted to be John Steed when I grew up.

(All I know about him is that he was raised by a lesbian couple, got kicked out of Eton for gambling, and then like ...helped found the CBC?)
posted by The Whelk at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


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posted by Etrigan at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2015


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A class act, even in terrible crap.

(I last saw him in The Howling)
posted by Artw at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Coincidentally, he also had brief mention in the recent AVClub interview with Diana Rigg/"Emma Peel".
posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2015


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I remember well when he and Diana Rigg were the coolest people on the planet.
posted by bearwife at 12:14 PM on June 25, 2015 [21 favorites]


Whaddaya mean, "were"?
posted by Gelatin at 12:14 PM on June 25, 2015 [21 favorites]




God. I loved that show so much. He and Diana Rigg were so cool, even when I was too young to completely understand what that was.

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posted by mondo dentro at 12:18 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by jquinby at 12:18 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by aught at 12:19 PM on June 25, 2015


I wonder if 90s things look as dated to young kids today as those opening titles did to me in the 80s. Or if those things will come to look as modern to them as that does today to me.

Anyway, a sad loss.

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posted by vbfg at 12:20 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Kinky Boots

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and he was excellent doing the intro voiceover/Imperious Leader in Battlestar Galactica
posted by mazola at 12:21 PM on June 25, 2015 [7 favorites]


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posted by doctornecessiter at 12:23 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by allthinky at 12:28 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by Thorzdad at 12:29 PM on June 25, 2015


Made it to 93 and snogged Emma Peel. Now that's a good innings.
posted by sobarel at 12:33 PM on June 25, 2015 [21 favorites]


Count me as another MeFite who thought Steed and Peele were the height of a coolness I didn't even understand yet. Sounds like Macnee had a heck of a life off screen as well as on.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:36 PM on June 25, 2015


I still want to be John Steed when I grow up.

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posted by delfin at 12:37 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


First saw him in "The New Avengers," and appreciated him and the show as a barely-teen. Even his "cameo" (heh) in the mostly crap but still entertaining Avengers movie (w/ Uma) was cool. And yeah -- those opening titles from the original show -- AND the theme music is top five in TV history.
posted by davidmsc at 12:39 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by Blackanvil at 12:44 PM on June 25, 2015


I just saw recently that he was 93, and thought, "He's still alive, that's terrific!" Alas.

I shall have a glass of champers this evening in his honour.

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posted by droplet at 12:46 PM on June 25, 2015


Hate to be a contrary voice, but - I was watching one episode of "The Avengers" a few weeks ago, from the golden Emma Peel era, and some parts did not pass my now-adult scrutiny. I loved those shows when I was a kid, and I remember some scenes maybe with more of a glow than was in the original. I should check out some more - what are your favorite Avengers episodes?
posted by King Sky Prawn at 12:47 PM on June 25, 2015


Mark Gatiss tweeted a still life of a bowler and umbrella and it nearly broke my heart.

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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:48 PM on June 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


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posted by Going To Maine at 12:49 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by Lynsey at 12:51 PM on June 25, 2015


what are your favorite Avengers episodes?

The House That Jack Built is pretty great and a textbook example of the genre.
posted by The Whelk at 12:51 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


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John Steed and Emma Peel loomed so large in my imagination when I was a kid.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 12:52 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by biddeford at 12:52 PM on June 25, 2015


Aha - one person's Avengers Top Ten with Emma Peel
posted by King Sky Prawn at 1:03 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Or "Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir" as the series was known (with goofy panache) in France.


wiki : Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir est le titre français de deux séries télévisées : The Avengers série britannique, et The New Avengers série franco-britannique mélangeant espionnage, science-fiction et action, mettant en scène John Steed, le personnage principal (la seconde série pouvant être considérée comme la suite de la première)...
posted by Jody Tresidder at 1:04 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


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posted by jasper411 at 1:04 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by fairmettle at 1:05 PM on June 25, 2015


In the James Bond films, the antagonists tend to be foreign nationals. On The Avengers, the antagonists tend to be British to a fault. James Bond's mission is to protect Britain from foreign intruders, the Avenger's mission is to protect Britain from its own worst excesses.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:08 PM on June 25, 2015 [18 favorites]


I guess the lesson of the Avengers is that no matter what the situation it pays to keep your sense of humor. That's being cool.

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posted by njohnson23 at 1:08 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


...what are your favorite Avengers episodes?

Oh, " A Touch of Brimstone," naturally. Plus all the others with Mrs. Peel.

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posted by ogooglebar at 1:10 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


what are your favorite Avengers episodes?

Whichever one it is where he shoots the bullet-deflecting martial arts practitioner in the thigh with his umbrella. That one.

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posted by topynate at 1:15 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by Smart Dalek at 1:15 PM on June 25, 2015


So Amazon has season 4 of The Avengers and that's it? That's kind of weird.
posted by Artw at 1:17 PM on June 25, 2015


"The Avenger's mission is to protect Britain from its own worst excesses" - case in point: S.N.O.B.
posted by King Sky Prawn at 1:17 PM on June 25, 2015


(Streaming, I mean.)
posted by Artw at 1:17 PM on June 25, 2015


Oh, " A Touch of Brimstone," naturally.

Because of the scene with the axe and the pea. Steed was always so fucking cool.
posted by ogooglebar at 1:20 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]



posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:25 PM on June 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


I wanted to be Emma Peel. But that was, in part, because I could then hang out with John Steed.
posted by yellowdog at 1:42 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by andraste at 1:48 PM on June 25, 2015


Thank you for many happy hours, Mr Macnee.
posted by andraste at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by along came the crocodile at 1:52 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by kuppajava at 1:53 PM on June 25, 2015


He brought a touch of class to everything I ever saw him in, including one of the Roger Moore James Bond movies (A View to a Kill, on checking with IMDB). Their interactions really brought home that Steed >>> Bond, at least in that incarnation.
posted by immlass at 1:55 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Like most, I preferred the Emma Peel era of the Avengers, but I found this Tara King episode memorable. In "My Wildest Dream", Steed visits a Dr. A. Jaeger, Agresso-Therapist. . . .

Steed: My name is Steed -- John Steed. I'd like to make an appointment. I keep thinking I'm a horse. Must be something to do with my name. . . .

Jaeger: Highly amusing. Oh yes. This looks like an interesting case. So -- you think you're a horse, eh?

Steed: Oh, not often. But 'round about Derby Day, I do get a slight twinge in my fetlocks.

This episode if from the sixth series of the show, post-Honor Blackmun, post-Diana Rigg and as far as I can recall, it's the only one where they take any notice of his name.

Meanwhile, NcNee / Steed is why I never leave the house without my bowler, and rarely without my brolly.


Mr. McNee . . . you're needed.

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posted by Herodios at 1:56 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by colie at 2:07 PM on June 25, 2015


He was always a delight to watch whatever odd little role or interview couch he popped up on in latter years. RIP.
posted by comealongpole at 2:12 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


I've just been bouncing through Macnee's (many) personal quotes on imdb (first link). They are wonderful:

"In the year 1960, which I think was when the Bond films started, somebody said, when I was in Canada, when I was preparing to do The Avengers (1961), they said, "Will you read the Bond stories by Ian Fleming to get an idea of your character?". And I read it and said, "I would like to play, and in fact, I will not be in the show at all unless I can play, the part completely opposite to James Bond." I find James Bond repulsive, sadistic and, of course, we now read the life of Ian Fleming and realize that he liked smacking women's bottoms more than anything else. Just read it."
posted by Jody Tresidder at 2:28 PM on June 25, 2015 [11 favorites]


I enjoyed the Girl from Auntie episode, partly because it was so goofy (a variety of pop and inside references ) but mostly because Emma Peel ended up in a cage waiting to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The House that Jack Built was also fun. Also What the Butler Saw, which was fun because Mr. Steed wears lots of disguises. Also, a military officer keeps trying and failing to seduce Mrs. Peel. At one point Mr. Steed, posing as the man's butler, is worried that Mrs. Peel has been overpowered by the officer. When he comes in, however, the officer and Mrs. Peel are playing a board game because Mrs. Peel kicked his ass and explained she did not want to fool around. The officer is mightily relieved and confesses how tedious it is to woo women simply to live up to his reputation as a playboy.

The silly episodes never bothered me. I enjoyed how athletic Mrs. Peel was, plus she was always smarter than the men she faced. As Wikipedia puts it for the barber episode, "the hidden man in the chair, now revealed as no high officer at all ... makes the usual villainous mistake of trying to overpower Mrs Peel in hand to hand combat." Mr. Steed was dapper and ideal and yes, probably part of the reason I wanted to be Mrs. Peel. But mostly Mrs. Peel was the reason I wanted to be Mrs. Peel. Then again, she couldn't have been there without Mr. Steed. And the actor lived to be 93, now that is something to aspire to!

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posted by Bella Donna at 2:30 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


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posted by skye.dancer at 2:30 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by lupus_yonderboy at 2:32 PM on June 25, 2015


Firstly
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Also it would be remiss not to link to the opening titles to The Avengers which is the purest distillation of Swinging London Spyfi Cool that basically everyone else has been trying to copy and found WANTING.


Watching those two examples of Platonic Human Elegance, my boner just got a boner.

Or, should I say, "stiff trouble was encountered in the trouser department"?
posted by lalochezia at 2:32 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by Novus at 2:46 PM on June 25, 2015


C|:-(
posted by erin trouble at 2:49 PM on June 25, 2015 [7 favorites]


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posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:04 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by kewb at 3:08 PM on June 25, 2015


He was the same age as Christopher Lee, and they were both in Olivier's Hamlet. Farewell to a classy gent.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:09 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]


He was the same age as Christopher Lee, and they were both in Olivier's Hamlet.

This is starting to sound like a plot.
posted by Etrigan at 3:29 PM on June 25, 2015


He will also be long remembered as Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in "This Is Spinal Tap".

The Avengers went through multiple re-inventions (the Emma Peel version in Colour being the obvious best) and hung in there through all of them, sustained by his charm and wit while subtly refining his style all along. If only all derby-wearing, cane-carrying Brits were like him...
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:46 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by sammyo at 3:46 PM on June 25, 2015


One of the coolest cats ever - Spinal Tap and Emma Peel - what more do you need? A mighty good life.

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posted by dbiedny at 3:49 PM on June 25, 2015


Not only John Steed but also Iblis and original narrator on the 70's Battlestar Galactica.

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posted by Queen of Robots at 5:35 PM on June 25, 2015


I just watched "Wish You Were Here"

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posted by clavdivs at 6:26 PM on June 25, 2015


The Avengers formed so much of my early conception of what a balanced partnership could be, and his determination to (as noted above) be the exact opposite of James Bond was a big part of that. He had the most wonderful smile.
posted by rednikki at 6:46 PM on June 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


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posted by reedcourtneyj at 6:57 PM on June 25, 2015


:-(
posted by bjgeiger at 7:00 PM on June 25, 2015


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posted by trip and a half at 7:26 PM on June 25, 2015


Always so jealous of him. Class act, Emma Peel, etc
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posted by Fibognocchi at 7:33 PM on June 25, 2015


Toodle pip old bean.
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posted by Webbster at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015


Oh goodness. I came to The Avengers late (not as a kid) but really loved the series. 93 is a good run, and he certainly made his mark while he was here.

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posted by hippybear at 12:36 AM on June 26, 2015


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Godspeed, Mr Steed.
posted by On the Corner at 1:52 AM on June 26, 2015


What a great legacy to leave behind. Like hippybear, I found "The Avengers" later and loved it -- the library had a bunch of the episodes and I recall watching them all within a few weeks. It doesn't seem that long ago, but I'm now recalling that they were all on VHS (!) and it's been almost 10 years, egads.

I remember the Avengers Forever website; good to see it's still around.

The question about favorite examples also reminded me that I wrote notes about many of the episodes I watched, with favorite moments or other brief observations. I had totally forgotten about that until now -- I must have the file somewhere.

My favorites were definitely the ones that had a good combo of humor and action. Offhand, I can think of two: "Death at Bargain Basement Prices" where everything happens in a department store (and I see that according to Avengers Forever, it was also one of Macnee's favorite episodes, too -- pretty cool). And "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station" because I generally like train settings, and IIRC, this one was used pretty well.

In any case, I remember enjoying the show quite a lot. Hope I can finally catch up on the episodes I missed. Macnee's portrayal of Steed (and Rigg's Mrs. Peel) was for me the definition of "unflappable" and they were an awesome team who clearly respected each other as colleagues (the tone of that era was definitely different compared to the episodes I saw from the non-Mrs. Peel eras). I enjoyed the sci-fi aspects and was especially happy to escape into their more self-consciously humorous adventures.

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posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 3:14 AM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


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posted by condour75 at 5:05 AM on June 26, 2015


This is in today's Times.
posted by topynate at 5:06 AM on June 26, 2015


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posted by El Brendano at 5:43 AM on June 26, 2015


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posted by Spinda at 7:02 AM on June 26, 2015


I still have a soft spot for Dial a Deadly Number and The House That Jack built.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:30 PM on June 26, 2015


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posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:30 PM on June 26, 2015


Okay, just one last: my favourite moment has to be the scene where he gets a Christmas card from Kathy Gale -- from Fort Knox.

"I wonder what she's doing there!"
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:34 PM on June 26, 2015


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C):-(

Ta Mr Steed, you will be missed.
posted by evilDoug at 8:22 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by Gadgetenvy at 9:04 PM on June 27, 2015


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