Merrick again...

AMC is currently streaming the entirety of THE PRISONER. It's free, and ou can find it HERE.

Merrick here...

Patrick McGoohan passed away in Los Angeles today. He was 80.

McGoohan is (arguably) best knows as Number Six in THE PRISONER, for which he was a producer, writer, and director. Some theorize THE PRISONER may have been a loose continuation of DANGER MAN, an early 60s TV series featuring McGoohan as an operative named John Drake (more on the series' connections HERE).

But his accomplishments spanned a far greater range of projects - including ICE STATION ZEBRA, ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, David Cronenberg's SCANNERS, Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART, and THE PHANTOM (father to Billy Zane's character). In 1976 he co-starred with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in Arthur Hiller's SILVER STREAK.

McGoohan appeared on stage in Orson Welles' MOBY DICK REHEARSED, and directed a rock opera adaptation of OTHELLO called CATCH MY SOUL. He reprised his Number Six role for an episode of THE SIMPSONS, and won Emmys for his work with Peter Falk on COLUMBO (which he also wrote, produced, or directed upon occasion).

Perhaps most interestingly, McGoohan is said to have turned down the roles of both James Bond (successor to Connery) and THE SAINT's Simon Templar.

"Mel [Gibson] will always be Mad Max, and me, I will always be a Number," he was once quoted as saying (per Wiki). This isn't exactly true - he was so much more.