Patrick Macnee Biography
Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role in 1960s and 70s TV series The Avengers.
Daniel Macnee was born in London and educated at Summer Fields School and Eton College, where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was one of the guard of honour for King George V at St George’s Chapel in 1936. He was later expelled from Eton for selling pornography and being a bookmaker for his fellow students.
After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, Daniel Macnee began his acting career in Canada, where he spent much of his early career in playing small roles in American and Canadian television shows.
In 1961, he landed the role of secret agent John Steed in the English television series The Avengers alongside Bond girls Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg. The show was a success running for eight seasons from 1961 to 1969 and was revived in 1976 as The New Avengers. The show was a major breakthrough for Macnee.
In addition to his television career, Macnee appeared in various films such as A View to a Kill (1985), where he played Sir Godfrey Tibbett opposite Roger Moore, and the cult classic rockumentary comedy This Is Spinal Tap (1984) as Sir Denis Eton-Hogg. Macnee also featured in several Sherlock Holmes productions, uniquely portraying both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson at different times.
Macnee married his first wife Barbara Douglas (1921–2012) in 1942. They had two children. After they were divorced in 1956, his second marriage (1965–1969) was to actress Katherine Woodville. His third marriage was to Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye, daughter of opera singer Ella Némethy. It lasted from 1988 until her death in 2007. On 25 June 2015 aged 93, Macnee died at Rancho Mirage, California, his home for the previous four decades.
