The Avengers International Fan Forum

J.Mac3 wrote:

SonofTPMcKenna wrote:Hi Guys,

I'm new to the site so just want to say 'Hi'!

My father was a three times guest artist, T.P. McKenna, in:

Trojan Horse (3)
Death at Bargain Prices (4)
Noon Doomsday (7)

I'm currently writing a book on him: 'My Daddy, the Actor - the Life and Times of T.P. McKenna'.

I'm especially keen to add to my knowledge base any information related to these three appearances.



My most useful acquisition, so far, has been a copy of the shooting script for Trojan Horse.

I'd love to find something similar for Death at Bargain Prices.

Here are some of my Avengers Faves.

Fave era: Emma Peel

Fave episodes: the one's set in deserted villages

Fave players: Mother/Paddy Newell

Fave Theme: I'm a big John Dankworth fan, but Laurie Johnson's Avengers theme is one of the great sig tunes of all time.


Fave Moment: Meeting Diana Rigg in 1972. She was simply GORGEOUS and very friendly to this 10 year old.

I'm sorry I can't offer you anything of substance other than to say that Death at Bargain Prices is one of my favorites and your father was superb in the episode.

I couldn't have stated it..any better....one of my favorite episodes..in fact, I may end up later tonight, pulling out the Emma mega box set, that A & E put out a few yrs ago..and watch it....

Great to have you here, Stephen. Your father always put in a great performance and is a joy to watch. I've just been reading the "Rich & E" bit of your website, fascinating stuff! And the little coda about Dustin Hoffman is pure gold.
I'm sure you have a lot to contribute to our discussions of The Avengers!

As a side note, I've just gone through the production correspondence and Telemen definitely signed a studio contract with Elstree for series 4-6, so I'm correcting my site as required. Pinewood was used for The New Avengers.

In haste...

dissolute wrote:As a side note, I've just gone through the production correspondence and Telemen definitely signed a studio contract with Elstree for series 4-6, so I'm correcting my site as required. Pinewood was used for The New Avengers.

Pinewood was used briefly for "The Avengers" around September 1966 when the first episode or so of the colour series was shot there pending availability at Elstree.

All the best

Andrew

Andrew & Dissolute, thanks very much for confirming on Elstree. These are the details I'm always keen to get right.

Coming up, so more TP on The Avengers trivia:

Trojan Horse: T.P. runs an assassin's organisation and he blackmails a naive toff into killing for him. The part is played by a young Geoffrey Whitehead, still going strong today with an amazing sixty years in the business.

Repeat business: It wasn't anything an actor could count on, but director/producers often liked to use the same people on different productions. So, Trojan Horse director, Laurence Bourne, knew Dad from Dublin. Brian Clemens would choose Dad for a Thriller and Terry Nation (writer on Noon Doomsday) suggested him for Blake's 7.

Patrick MacNee: 'Easily one of the most charming men I worked with', said T.P.

Diana Rigg: T.P. quickly bonded with Diana Rigg. They were both actor's actors with strong theatrical backgrounds and a dedication to their craft. They became good professional friends and would work together again a number of times.

Friends: T.P.'s pals were mostly outside of the profession, but four times Avengers player, Peter Bowles, was an exception. They met when shooting Tony Richardson's Charge of the Light Brigade (1967) and would be close friends across forty years.

Funny Bones: DABP contains two excellent lines. One is John Cater sidling up to Mrs. Peel and introducing himself as the 'Store dick', causing her to look down her nose in a very 'of course you are' manner. He was a perennial character actor and T.P. would meet him again guesting on Duchess of Duke Street where he was the hall porter, Starr, and in The Chief. The other funny moment is the picture of Steed running up the store's staircase three steps at a time to catch Mrs. Peel in Ladies Underwear. It could almost be a Carry On line, but MacNee plays it with way too much panache. A moment typical of how well MacNee and Rigg bounced off each other in a classy combo.

Noon doomsday: I doubt there are any actors now who can ride a horse these days, but back in the day, it was a serious requirement and T.P. would definitely need it for Charge of the Light Brigade, Anne of a Thousand Days, Avengers (Noon Doomsday) and Mehmed, My Hawk. Despite that, he didn't always enjoy the smoothest of equine relationships: "I've fallen off more horses than I've had hot dinners. I was always fallin' off on my arse in the Phoenix Park. Horses don't like me."

Daddy's Home: As the kids of a popular TV actor, our homelife was very ordinary and unstarry with a father who cared not for showbiz parties and company. Having said that, the house ran like a cottage industry at times and we were all caught up in it, taking calls from the Agent, the costume designer, the production assistant with the next day's call time. Later hearing Dad's lines, always reading his desk to keep tabs on the latest scripts waiting for his consideration, and sharing the thrills and the disappointments that made up a jobbing actor's life. All in all, it was a very peculiar and uncertain upbringing, but life was never less than interesting and I'd feel sorry for other kids whose dads' just went to an office somewhere. That seemed too dull, altogether.

Brilliant! Wonderful to hear about the friendship with Peter Bowles.

Fascinating stuff! Thanks Stephen!

Frankymole wrote:Brilliant! Wonderful to hear about the friendship with Peter Bowles.

I'm just going to link to a tribute I wrote for PB which I'll drop into his obit post on Avengers People.

A jolly good read, even if I say so myself.

Actually, I can leave it here as well:

mckennawhitefilms.com/fanmailrichande-951854-199060

Hello and welcome on the forum.

Really wonderful that you a writing a book, if for the documentation alone.

When I think of T.P. McKenna I immediately associate it with Noon Doomsday, don't know why as I have seen him in quite a few other parts, but it is a memorable episode with well played baddies.