'The Avengers' actor passes away

Actor Patrick Macnee, famous for his role in British TV series “The Avengers”, has died. He was 93. The British-born actor died on Thursday of natural causes, with his family at his bedside at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, reports variety.com. “Wherever he went, he left behind a trove of memories. Patrick Macnee was a popular figure in the television industry. He was at home wherever in the world he found himself. He had a knack for making friends and keeping them,” read a statement on the actor’s website. “The Avengers” initially focused on David Keel, played by Ian Hendry, and his assistant Macnee. Macnee’s bowler hat wearing, umbrella-wielding intelligence officer (he never used a gun) became the protagonist when Hendry left the series. Macnee played the part alongside a succession of strong, female partners, including Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg and Joanna Lumley. The show ran from 1961 and 1969 and was reprised in the 1970s. Macnee also made guest appearances on “Columbo,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Love Boat” and “Frasier.” He also appeared in Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet,” the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol,” “This Is Spinal Tap” and the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill.” Macnee is survived by a son and a daughter as well as a grandson.