Friday 02 November 2007
Patrick McGoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner?
Surely no-one is better qualified than Roger Langley to write Danger Man or Prisoner? - a biography of the renowned actor, Patrick McGoohan.
Roger has, for the best part of three decades, been the principal organiser of the Appreciation Society for The Prisoner.
The Prisoner was, of course, the seminal TV series of the 60's, which ran for just seventeen episodes and is still, even today, revered and debated by fans and academics alike.
But, as Danger Man Or Prisoner? reveals, Patrick McGoohan was much more than a one-trick pony.
In fact McGoohan, soon to enter his ninth decade, has enjoyed a distinguished career, spanning theatre, cinema and television.
His pre-Prisoner series, Danger Man, even saw McGoohan pre-empt 007's catchphrase with: 'My name is Drake, John Drake'.
McGoohan choose his professional roles carefully. He liked to have both artistic and moral control over his storylines.
He also commanded an obsessive like control over his private life.
His absence from the media glare meant his enigma created many myths about the man.
So it falls to Langley's Danger Man Or Prisoner? to set the record straight on Patrick McGoohan's behalf.
Langley's book is heavyweight in its authority but everyman in its voice.
The author's depth of knowledge and heartfelt love for his subject glosses over the sometimes untainted picture he paints of the Sheffield-born, McGoohan.
The book is also a treasure trove of documentation and rarely seen photos.
Langley had accumulated them during his three-decades as head of the aforementioned Appreciation Society for The Prisoner.
McGoohan's time on The Prisoner is exhaustively investigated by Langley.
Seemingly those who worked alongside McGoohan have sketched two very different idents of the actor at work.
Some say he was self-opinionated and difficult to work with, others had nothing but the utmost admiration for the man.
Patrick McGoohan was a man who needed to be given time to be able to get to the heart of his true personality.
Spend some time with Roger Langley's Danger Man Or Prisoner? and you'll come away feeling you know what truly makes the heartbeat inside this extraordinary and quite unique British actor of ours.
Patrick McGoohan : Danger Man or Prisoner? - is available for £15.49 (post free) from www.tomahawkpress.com - or via all good booksellers. Email: sales@gazellebooks.co.uk for more info.
by: Mike Cobley
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Extraordinary & Unique British Actor
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