I just read that one of the actors who passed away in 2015 was Patrick Macnee. He was a British actor and played secret agent John Steed on the spy series "The Avengers." He was 93 when he died in June.
Rest in Peace Patrick Macnee/John Steed.
I'll never forget you, or your famous partner, Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg. Radio hosts often ask me what real or fictional character my series heroine, Moriah Dru, is most like. The first time I gave it a bit of thought and came out with "Emma Peel of "The Avengers."'
They both drive fast and fell their opponents with crafty martial arts moves. I did not consciously create an Emma Peel-like character, but Dru turned out to be very much like her -- without the catsuit. Maybe one day she'll don a catsuit. You never know with Dru.
However, Richard Lake -- the Atlanta police lieutenant and Dru's lover and partner in fighting crime -- is not at all like John Steed, the buttoned-up Brit who wore a bowler and carried an umbrella. Lake wears a fedora, carries a nine-millimeter in a shoulder holster and is contained but not stiff.
About Patrick Macnee: He came from an upscale Berkshire, England family where his father trained horses. He was a naval veteran of World War II. "The Avengers" premiered in 1961 on UK television. He was partnered with a couple of beautiful and talented women before Diana Rigg. They remain in the public's minds because of their chemistry. They were not lovers; Mrs Peel has/had a husband in the background.
Come to think of it, Emma and John do have something in common with Dru and Lake. While driving the evil-doers off the streets and out of the world, they exchange quick-witted banter and fight their foes with their intellects as well as their physical talents.
Gerrie Ferris Finger
The Dru Lake Series:
THE END GAME
THE LAST TEMPTATION
THE DEVIL LAUGHED
MURMURS OF INSANITY
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD
COMING IN 2016: AMERICAN NIGHTS
