Patrick Macnee Biography

Fast Facts

• Served as an officer in the British Royal Navy during World War II, an experience which led him to insist that his character John Steed in "The Avengers" shouldn't carry a gun
• Credited with helping to pioneer the Canadian television industry
• Won a scholarship to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London in 1940
• Spent his early life in Wiltshire, England, with his mother and her lesbian lover, whom he referred to as "Uncle" Evelyn
• His mother, Dorothea Hastings, was a niece of the Earl of Huntingdon, possibly making him a distant descendant of Robin Hood
• Quote: "I'm not afraid of death․ What's to fear? Once you're dead, that's it․ Nothing ․․․ What matters is the here and now․ Yes, I'm 88 and there are things I can't do: I can't run a race or climb Everest․ But isn't life magnificent?"
• Quote: "[on why "The Avengers" was so successful] "It was the first show that put its leading man and leading lady on an equal footing, and showed a woman fighting and kicking and throwing men around․ That was a radical departure in its time․""
• Best known for his role as John Steed on the hit British TV series "The Avengers․"
• Enjoyed recording audio books and worked on several different projects, including the Bible and a number of Jack Higgins' thriller novels
• Claimed to participate in "bird-watching, desert reclamation and preventing terrorism" in his spare time