The actor was 80, says the BBC.
McGoohan was chiefly associated with cult ITV drama The Prisoner, writing some of the episodes himself under a different name.
McGoohan played the character Six in the surreal 1960s show, filmed in the north Wales village of Portmeirion.
His character spent the entire time attempting to escape from The Village and finding out the identity of his captor, the elusive Number One. He repeatedly declared: “I am not a number – I am a free man!”
In 2000, McGoohan reprised his most famous role in an episode of The Simpsons.
That Simpsons episode was the first time I was ever aware of The Prisoner. Surely I must have heard the title before, but I had no memory of the show, the island, the krazy numbered inmates and the rest.
There are still many who love it.
So how did The Prisoner finally end?
“The concluding episode, written by McGoohan, was extremely chaotic, confusing, and very controversial. Number Six has defeated and killed Number Two in the previous episode, “Once Upon A Time.” When Number six finally gets to see Number One, he turns out to be a grinning ape. But…
Read on, if you dare.
Good luck to you, Mr. McGoohan, wherever you may be.
From the Who2 blog:
| Latest: | The 'S' in 'Harry S. Truman' Really DID Stand for Something |
| Next: | Jobs's Health Problem "More Complex" Than He Thought |
| Prev: | A Bela Lugosi Burial Tidbit |
| Tags: | Patrick McGoohan, The Simpsons |