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Kathleen Steed Biography & Facts

The Avengers is a British espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series screened as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The first episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. The Avengers was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Weekend became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, subcontracted to ABC Television Films. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series, The New Avengers (1976–1977), with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2004 and 2007, The Avengers was ranked No. 17 and No. 20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever. Premise The Avengers was marked by different eras as co-stars came and went. The only constant was John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee. Series 1 (1961) ABC Weekend TV produced a single series of Police Surgeon, in which Ian Hendry played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent, from September through December 1960. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewers praised Hendry, and ABC Television cast him in its new series The Avengers, which replaced Police Surgeon in January 1961. The Avengers began with the episode "Hot Snow", in which medical doctor David H Keel (Hendry) investigates the murder of his fiancée, office receptionist Peggy, by a drug ring. A stranger named John Steed who was also investigating the ring appears, and together Keel and Steed set out to avenge Peggy's death in the first two episodes. Steed asks Keel to partner with him, as needed, to solve crimes. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two of the series' episodes. As the first series of The Avengers progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay—and often tension—between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in one of the three surviving episodes from the first series, "The Frighteners", Steed also had informants among the general population to aid his investigations, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes. The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, and in at least one episode ("Girl on the Trapeze") was very much in the thick of the action, but without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in one episode of Police Surgeon. The role of Carol Wilson was initially offered to Jan Watson, who turned it down for another film. The series was shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage was shot (although the first shot of the first episode consisted of location footage). As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of The Avengers were reused. At present, only three complete Series 1 episodes are known to exist and are held in archives as 16-mm film telerecordings: "Girl on the Trapeze" (which does not feature Steed), "The Frighteners" and "Tunnel of Fear". Additionally, the first 15 minutes of the first episode, "Hot Snow", also exist as a telerecording; the extant footage ends at the conclusion of the first act, prior to the introduction of John Steed. The missing television episodes were recreated for audio by Big Finish Productions under the title of The Avengers – The Lost Episodes and star Julian Wadham as Steed, Anthony Howell as Dr Keel and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson. Series 2–3 (1962–1964) Production of the first series was cut short by a strike. By the time production could begin on the second series, Hendry had quit to pursue a film career. Macnee was promoted to star and Steed became the focus of the series, initially working with a rotation of three different partners. Dr Martin King (Jon Rollason), a thinly disguised recreation of the Keel character, saw action in only three episodes, which were produced from scripts written for the first series. King was intended to be a transitional character between Keel and Steed's two new female partners, but while the Dr King episodes were shot first, they were shown out of production order in the middle of the season. The character was thereafter quickly and quietly dropped. Nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a spy adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although some episodes—"The Removal Men", "The Decapod"—indicate she is not always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him, and their relationship is somewhat similar to that later portrayed between Steed and Tara King. Her episodes featured live musical portions showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress. The first episode broadcast in the second series introduced the partner who would change the show into the format for which it is most remembered. Honor Blackman played Dr Cathy Gale, a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in judo and had a passion for leather clothes. Widowed during the Mau Mau rebellion years in Kenya, she was the "talented amateur" who saw her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. She was said to have been born on 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was reared in Africa. Gale was in her early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger. Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV, and became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm was because her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Series scriptwriter Dennis Spooner described about this detail: "there's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such—it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!" In "Conspiracy of Silence", she holds her own in a vociferous tact.... Discover the Kathleen Steed popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Kathleen Steed books.