MacNee: manners still matter

Press, 1 June 1977, Page 15

MacNee: manners still matter

The 58-year-old star of "The New Avengers,” Patrick MacNee, who can be seen on TVI tonight, lives comfortably in Palm Springs, California, with his daughter, Jenny. Educated at public schools in Britain, his

interest in theatre began early. He acted in "Henry V” at the age of eight, and, when he was at Eton, be was keenly interested in the theatre. MacNee came from a wealthy family, and theatre contacts were easy to come by. He was advised to enter drama school and in 1940, after winning a scholarship to the Webber-Douglas drama school. South Kensington, he began his professional training.

Patrick met his first wife, Barbara Douglas, when she toured with "Little Women” in 1941. But he entered the Royal Navy soon after this.

He admits that a member of the eighth Gunboat Flotilla he saw little action; and on his discharge from the Navv in 1944 at

the age of 25 he married Miss Douglas. The marriage did not last long. He played roles in a string of plays — “The Elusive Pimpernel,” "Hamlet,” "Thursday’s Child,” “The Fatal Night,” “The Cruel Sea,” “The Moonstone,” “Les Girls,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Skin Game,” and “The Family Honour.” This established him firmly in the theatre. While in Canada, earning £5O a week, he wrote to the successful British television producer, Sydney Newman, who was working on a series called, “Police Surgeon.” lan Hendry was the star and they needed a stand-in for him for a few months — MacNee was offered the part. He accepted and by the time he returned to England the title of the show had been changed to “The Avengers.” Catherine Woodville, the girl who was killed in the first series of “The Avengers,” was to become MacNee’s second wife. But within months they parted — Catherine went to Los Angeles while MacNee remained in Britain. Patrick maintains that this marriage was far from a total flop. “Catherine made me wonder what life would be like if one lived a much purer, closer-to-nature sort of existence,” he says. “That thought helped me later when I was having psychiatric help to get rid of smoking and virtually give up drinking.”

MacNee is now 14st. He must theoretically shed two stone for his role as Steed in “The New Avengers,” which could mean that viewers may notice a visible shrinkage as the series progresses.

He managed to give up cigarettes and cut down his alcohol intake so he feels entirely confident about slimming. “In developing Steed as a character, I considered

one of the most important facets was to give him good manners,” he says. "That fitted my background — it was manners to the exclusion of all, even to a fault.

“You did not complain about the food, you opened doors for ladies; you could bash some-one over the head if you felt like it, but you always observed the social priorities.”

MacNee says when he was younger, he was so neurotically blinkered by his own worries and self-

interest, he did not see anything going on around him. “Now I find the very moment of time and people very precious. If you conclude this is maturity, then it has been a hell of a long time coming.” The first woman in the series was Honor Blackman who left in 1965. She was succeeded by Diana Rigg, christened Emma Peel. Stylish in everything from jeans to evening gowns, she became enor-

mously popular. Her fan mail came from New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. Then came Linda Thorsen, the third of “The Avenger” girls whose series name was Tara King. She appeared in 30 episodes and in the tradition of the late sixties wore heavy eye make-up, expensively tailored suits and a suede hat. The latest lady of “The New Avengers” is Joanna Lumley, a blonde practitioner of the martial arts.