PATRICK MACNEE BIRTHDAY

In the recent excitement of The Beatles 50th anniversary of coming to America and appearing on Ed Sullivan, we missed an important day in the Spy Vibe calendar. Happy Birthday to Patrick Macnee, who turned 92 on February 6th. Macnee was born in Paddington in 1922, educated at Eton, and was decorated for his service in WWII. His early acting appearances included Olivier's Hamlet (1948) and The Twilight Zone (1959). In 1961 he landed the role of John Steed in The Avengers. Macnee brought the character to life with an air of mystery and charm. As with so many stories about the arts during the early 1960s, Macnee found himself in a serendipitous collaboration with great talent. The Avengers drew some of the best artists of the period, including Pierre Cardin, John Bates, Honor Blackman, Laurie Johnson, Brian Clemens, and Diana Rigg. The program became a cultural phenomenon and ran through 1969. Macnee donned his bowler hat again in The New Avengers (1976-1977). His career includes appearances in many iconic projects from the 1960s and 1970s: Sherlock Holmes movies, Battlestar Galactica, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., This is Spinal Tap, A View to a Kill, and he narrated the James Bond series documentaries. Macnee also penned two Avengers novels and various memoirs, and lent his voice to many audio books, including thrillers by Jack Higgins, Dick Francis, and Frederick Forsyth. See Patrick Macnee in a 1983 episode of This is Your Life here. Related posts: Avengers Sing here, lost Avengers episodes return as Audio Books here, Emma Peel fashion designer John Bates here, Spy Vibe's look at Avengers fashion here. The Avengers was recently featured in a comic book series by Boom! Studios. Spy Vibe wishes Patrick Macnee a happy birthday and many happy returns! 

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Gloria Steinem and Denny O'Neil on MOD Wonder Woman, Win Scott Eckert interview, Siegel and Shuster's SPY, David McCallum: Son of Batman, Jon Gilbert talks Fleming, Barbarella TV series, Meet the Beatles 50th, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Batman Strips, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute. 

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.