One Foot In The Past, 06/08/1997- the Avengers' John Steed takes us to his home town in West Sussex. Not my copyright - just found ephemera. (Avengers theme removed as requested - the only voice-over lost was "it was a lovely place".)
He was the finest of gentleman. Using his interpretation of his social training to improve upon the finest standards of his and our purveyance through life, while all the while maintaining the inspiration of happiness. Extraordinary. It is no wonder his acting was a joy to us all.
Just seeing and hearing Patrick is like a soothing balm to me. It takes me back to when men were mature and not just petulant boys in men’s bodies. They had been through the war - many through the Great War - and they had manners and a sense of what was right and wrong. You felt comfortable in that society as you were surrounded by people who (with few exceptions) were stable and reliable. In my personal experience they were (once again with a few exceptions) protective and kind. What a privilege to have experienced those times. Please come back, Patrick, and bring your generation with you.
I enjoyed morning coffee most mornings over a month with Mr Macnee when he visited the hotel restaurant where I was manager. He was filming Sherlock Holmes (TV) in Victoria BC. When he arrived at the hotel I was amused when he sent an "emissary" to the restaurant to inform us of his imminent arrival for breakfast. He delighted in the recognition that comes with being a successful actor. During his stay, he shared several personal anecdotes. He recalled being outraged because his name was misspelled in a TV movie credit. I think it was The Gambler with Kenny Rogers. He recalled his fondness for his one-time local pub, The Mermaid, in Rye, UK. An affection we shared as I visited the pub during the filming of the Disney movie, Scarecrow, starring another Patrick, Patrick McGoohan. It's a lovely old Pub...worth a visit. He bought two Maltese Terriers whilst on Vancouver Island. He was truly a professional of the old school. So few left, and he will be missed.
Would that hotel be the one on Victoria harbour, where you could get afternoon tea English style? My cousin who had lived in Victoria till his wife died and he moved to Vancouver, took my wife and i there for tea when we visited.
@@ronaldsimpson8890 Hi Ronald. You're thinking of the Fairmont Empress which is truly world famous for English Afternoon Tea. (It was a favourite stop-over for actor, John Wayne who moored the Wild Goose in the harbour and walked across the street for tea on several occasions.) Mr Macnee stayed at another Inner Harbour hotel: The Regent.
@inside outside upside downside Well of course. He revelled in his celebrity and loved to be recognized. But that was part of his charm. He always obliged when someone requested a photograph with him. The only truly humble celebrity I met was Gregory Hines. He actually stood up from his breakfast table to shake hands, when I greeted him. Perfect gentleman.
The two Patrick’s, McNee and McGoohan, stars of two programmes from a wonderful period in Britain. McGoohan was John Drake in Danger Man. I was so privileged to have been alive during that period. Just to hear Patrick McNee’s voice takes me back to a more gentile period when a true English Gentleman could still be found.
I saw Patrick speak, years ago, in Glendale, Calif. at the Alex Theater....a retrospective....a great and entertaining evening. RIP Patrick ....and Diana Rigg
I was just today waking on the South Downs above Chichester Harbour! If anyone is interested Kingsley Vale has a forest of 2,000 year old Yew trees. The oldest in Europe. Completely awe inspiring! R.I.P. Patrick.
Did you mean the forest is the oldest in Europe? The oldest Yew tree in Europe sits in the churchyard at the village of Fortingall in Perthshire Scotland. Estimated to be well over 5,000 years old. Now there is a village you might also wish to visit. Steeped in history and folklore. Watch for my story, "It Was Night...and Time Stood Still.
@@Thewritingbutler Oooo yes - I would LOVE to visit Fortingall. Its on my list. Yes, according to the information board at Kingsley Vale it is the oldest yew wood in Europe. I counted 15 absolutely colossal trees with many dozens smaller and younger ones around them.
My family lived in Bosham for many years and are buried their. I have great memories of it and had a lot of fun sitting outside the The Anchor Bleu pub with a pint on a Sunday watching the cars go underwater at high tide "the warning signs are their" lol and my mate at the garage in Bosham got great business pulling the cars out. This was in the 80's and 90's and I still go back for the memories.
I used to go to Bosham and its harbour at times with my Mum and Dad, although sadly now both have since died. I have not been there since as I am disabled, and also live in north west Kent so it is quite a long way away really. But I do remember when we went there that it is in a very nice area near Chichester and all that and wonderful too. I also remember in I think it was April 1982 we saw the now also late actor Leonard Rossiter there (of Rising Damp and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin fame of old). I know it was around then before he sadly died I think in October 1984. Thank you of course anyway!
If Steed made it to 93 years old I still wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him, he would have a trick or two up his sleeve. As to Mr. Macnee you are very much missed have no doubt about that. R.I.P
Patrick was a fine actor born in Paddington London, and Mrs Peel (AKA Dame Diana Rigg) Doncaster Yorkshire England. She said Yorkshire made her the actress she was. A great team they both were?? They don"t make them like this anymore?? R.I.P Both xx
Bosham harbour has just been put up for sale, starting price £6m, along with the title Lord of the manor. It is a lovely place and relatively untouched by modern development. God rest your soul Patrick.
A friend of my mother met Patrick Macnee whilst going over to The Isle Of Arran , she said he was a truly lovely man more than happy to have photographs taken with him
Most Relaxing and Stimulating to watch, I was very fond of Patrick Macnee, in the end he was buried at the Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, in the United States.
I read that but I haven't seen a photo of his grave online and you would expect there to be one in the case of a celebrity when his burial location is known. I've also read that he was cremated so I don't know which one is true.
A fabulous actor and a genuinely lovely man. He created a brilliant and original character in John Steed and had great chemistry with all 4 of his assistants: Hendry, Blackman, Rigg and Thorson. He also appeared in Sir Roger Moore's last Bond film A View to a Kill amongst other things. Mr Macnee left us in 2015 at the age of 93. God rest his soul Thanks Patrick ❤ 😊
@Andrew Howard It wouldn't have been possible for him to have been buried there as the churchyard was closed for burials in 1902. Although Macnee could have been buried at the Bosham burial ground about half a mile away.
i was watching him on tv in the Avengers. he was the embodiment of phlegm and the British class for us, french..i watched the boxset of the Avengers many times because i loved the serie and the landscapes and English life, andf i loved his natural class, he seemed so simple and modest in real life ...RIP Patrick MacNee
attended a funeral and burial at Bosham church, brought back memories, my then brother-in-laws wife.Sorry Patrick did n't get to be buried there- a special place.
I remember going in that church and wandering the shoreline in Bosham. How very sad Patrick wasn’t buried there. A peaceful place indeed. I’m tearing up with nostalgia. I’ll have to visit again when this Covid business is over.
Good morning dear friend.Good quality interesting video.What is your name? Where are you from originally?Many thanks for posting.Greetings from Moscow, Russia.🇷🇺 Enjoy your weekends.
Actually, he was cremated. It wouldn't have been possible for him to have been buried there as the churchyard was closed for burials in 1902. Although Macnee could have been buried at the Bosham burial ground about half a mile away.
@@alexnelson9512 Calling him a hypocrite is a bit harsh since we don't know the reason why he wasn't buried in Bosham, possibly it wasn't his choice to make. I had an aunt who wanted no service of any kind and she wanted her remains cremated and scattered to the wind. However when she died her family went specifically against her will, held a service and buried her (which she absolutely did not want).
@@alexnelson9512 Not hypocritical at all, America and Canada gave him regular acting work in the 50s whereas Britain didn't so much. He had to be away from his family and worked a professional "triangle" between the three countries.
Superb , never seen this before , thanks for posting ! Wasn't One Foot In The Past a quality programme , and always with interesting people featured. Any one remember Can Cruickshank finding pieces of the Euston Arch ? The portrayal of eccentric traits and moments by Patrick M and his partners in the Avengers episodes never failed to delight .
Yes One Foot In The Past indeed was a quality series. I used to watch it with my family at the time, and we felt it was wonderful really at the time. I know it ran on BBC2 from 1993 to I think 2001 and was of course presented by Kirsty Wark, who had already presented The Late Show and then Newsnight, which she still does, which are or were also on BBC2. Thank you for this of course!
Indescribably beautiful but also, to me, rather painful as it shows an England now gone but one I grew up in. It was an England where true gentlemen were not difficult to find….. now, I don’t see any, just boys instead of men. God bless you Patrick.❤
He was a great actor, and as John Steed he was impeccable of course. Which made him seem as if he as just being himself. I have his signed autographed picture fondly displayed in my home office. He was an early TV role model =) and my favorite actor. R I P Mr. Macnee .
a true gentleman RIP Patrick MacNee now Dame Diana Riggs must be joining you somewhere out there in the Universe...will be missed by all who had the luck and joy to watch you as Mr Steede and Mrs Peel
You'd have to pay me to move to southern california like Macnee did. I rather be in England in the countryside in a nice house like what he could have afforded.
I love Macnee - although his Canute story is incorrect. Canute was demonstrating to his followers that he was NOT infallible, and that even the waves would not obey him.
Patrick, once told me a story about when Lorne Greene and he used to act on stage in Toronto, I do not remember the name of the troupe, he told me this around 1988.... Every time they would get a 'pittance' of pay, back then, Lorne would try to cajole Patrick into giving some of Pat's $ to him, to invest in a fledgling company. Patrick would always, politely, decline. Patrick said, to me, that when Lorne went off to Hollywood, for that "silly Bonawnza thing"(trying to get his accent) that Lorne was doing 'quite well'! "You see, Allen, that fledgling company was/is...........................................I.B.M. ! Lovely man, was Patrick Macnee! 🪐🌠
Many moons ago my sister stayed in Chichester and every Sunday we went to Bosham for a Sunday drink. Sadly never ran into Patrick but we did muse at the tourists to the town who unknowingly parked their cars close to the sea unaware when the tide came in it it took their cars and floated them out to sea. Even King Canute could not stop it but many of the locals always ran to save some red faces .
I am one of those Americans who have always felt a strong kinship (despite 13 of my family fought in our Revolutionary War) with our British Relatives across the water. Even more so because for over the past Fifty years our countries adversaries have tried their hardest to re-write or completely delete this countries past--perhaps from their need to supplant that history with their own views and definition of Freedom which both our countries hold so dear.
It wouldn't have been possible for him to have been buried there as the churchyard was closed for burials in 1902. Although Macnee could have been buried at the Bosham burial ground about half a mile away. He was cremated so I presume those were his wishes.
@inside outside upside downside i hear ya...sad when i heard that Lewis Collins had also died abroad in the US, i don't think living the life of a multimillionaire as well since his career faded out...
I understand that Patrick Macnee had duel UK-US citizenship and having lived in the US for so long it's not really surprising that he was buried in California.
If you haven't already, try to get a copy of Patrick McNee's amazing biography "Blind in One Ear". What an amazing life he had. Love you forever, Patrick McNee and the great Diana Rigg!
We are becoming a homogeneous Society. The individuality that made life interesting in this country is almost gone. He epitomised the Men that were my rolemodels as a Kid. Now we have hipsters and yobs. All style and no content.
@@peterclark1041 I'm not really talking about actors. Just talking about Men and Women who weren't Sheep. Who figured out life for themselves and didn't care what other people thought. When the rest of that Generation go, we'll have lost a treasure trove. There are still a few youngsters around who are made of the same stuff. But not enough.
Absolutely correct, but you miss one important element, namely MANNERS. The men at that time had experienced harder times and had gone through the war or even the Great War. They were disciplined, loved this country, and were the backbone of this country. Now we have no backbone, just a free for all.
@@misdangered4326 If I read that correctly.......true, but can hardly be slowed down now if wanted.....worst problem is to continue trying to improve our own cultural past weaknesses while adding the problem of dealing with other cultural weaknesses?!
Can anyone name the various places Patrick visits in this film Clearly there not all filmed in Bosham. I am quite sure the house he lived in was actually in Runcton, for example
I'm a bit confused as on his Wikipedia page it doesn't mention him living in Bosham at all. It reads he died at Rancho Mirage, California, his home for the previous four decades! I can only assume he owned a property in Bosham which he used as a holiday home. One of those pleasant looking empty properties which plague the Sussex coastline. I can knock down a whole row of them and the owners would be none the wiser as they use them that rarely.
I dont believe he actually lived in Bosham just visited it. Apparently that house was in Runcton. And the place where he was walking at the start of the film yet another location. In reality, as far as I can see he spent most of his life in Canada and latterly America. I seem to recollect, either reading or watching him talk about his life, that he went to America partly because of the warm weather, which was kinder on his joints. But I could be wrong about that. Aside from that many actors seeking to better their career go across the pond which usually gives greater opportunities. Ironically though his best success was in England.
A place of faith and hope Here we may rest upon a seat of oak within a hall of stone and feel same a peace of mind as those through age have known a place to seek your directions or just to rest a thought a hope to hear a reasoned voice when answers here are sought such a windows light may cast away those shadow within in your being and lighten your soul as though a path ahead you then are seeing this sanctuary where all can freely sit among a place of silent prayer your mind imagining the gentle choirs as though now is singing there such sounds may echo within yourself and a peace within then see and will by this a given calm to your daily life and a stronger person be though at times it may seem there are but moments for a prayer in this life of mine and of that in this thought would wish a hoped for a vision to be divine but for this a light must shine from outside to in and that all hope will be illuminated and a belief and faith begin could this then be a sign from such a gentle light that falls on a mason'd stone that would to those of a faith will see this as a message shown within such a light a warmth and calm that can when sought be found where within these walls of man's history a faith will then abound I now pause here as if lost to a dream asking why it is I pass this way wondering only what the enlightened mind and my thoughts would say would then such windows to saints hold all those answers then for me or do these windows light serve merely to remind there is a better place i will see Poem by Ironmonger
@@degsbabe I'm not sure which is correct. Some accounts say his wife was buried in Desert Memorial Park cemetery in California so it would make sense that he was buried there as well but I've never seen a photo of his grave and you would expect there to be one online. So maybe he was cremated.
@@tonywoodham7362 Here we go... I see the racists are here and this one can't even spell his home country... Just out of interest, how do you define a foreigner? Is it someone from a different country or someone who lives outside Lincolnshire?
England as for racism I assume you are an expert as your type always real out this kind of crap as I said we don't need any more foreigners in MY COUNTRY go back to your roots.
Patrick, once told me a story about when Lorne Greene and he used to act on stage in Toronto, I do not remember the name of the troupe, he told me this around 1988.... Every time they would get a 'pittance' of pay, back then, Lorne would try to cajole Patrick into giving some of Pat's $ to him, to invest in a fledgling company. Patrick would always, politely, decline. Patrick said, to me, that when Lorne went off to Hollywood, for that "silly Bonawnza thing"(trying to get his accent) that Lorne was doing 'quite well'! "You see, Allen, that fledgling company was/is...........................................I.B.M. ! Lovely man, was Patrick Macnee! 🌠🪐
We are becoming a homogeneous Society. The individuality that made life interesting in this country is almost gone. He epitomised the Men that were my rolemodels as a Kid. Now we have hipsters and yobs. All style and no content.
