THE AVENGERS and STUCK in a LIFT may seem like strange bedfellows, but both came into my life about the same time – let me explain.
‘The Avengers’, is one of the most successful television series of all time, shown in over ninety countries. They’re stories of espionage and intrigue, starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed, the quintessential English spy, along with various leading ladies Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman and Joanna Lumley. It is one of those superstars that links my stories.
Anyway, I met Patrick Macnee, whilst filming for Robin Crichton at his studios in the lee of the Pentland Hills. Patrick was the first Eton Scholar who came into my life, the second was George Orwell.
In real life Patrick was very similar to the character he played in ‘The Avengers’. His special kind of upper-class genialityand charm covered all topics and made him very enjoyablecompany. We talked at length about our shared experience with asthma. Both his daughter Jenny and I have serious asthma problems.
Patrick moved to California in the hope that a dry climate might help Jenny’s breathing. I’d moved from one Industrial centre(Sheffield) to another(Glasgow) taking my asthma and bronchiectasis with me.
Now the connection between ‘The Avengers’ story and the ‘Stuck in a Lift’ Story’ is Diana Rigg, one of Patrick’s leading ladies.
The multi-talented Andy Park had chosen Diana to feature in a commercial he was producing for a local radio station in London and had asked me to direct the photography.
The morning shoot with Diana was slow due to technical reasons, which meant lunch was also delayed and we were all starving. Normally I took the stairs in fear of the lift, but on this occasion, bribed by hunger, I joined the rest of the crew in the lift .
I pressed the button, nothing happened, then with a loud bangit suddenly dropped about five feet and stuck. We were all full of bravado, thinking mistakenly that our gung-ho attitudewould ease the fear. It didn’t and as time passed, our little box grew very quiet as apprehension seeped in.
Eventually, the fire brigade arrived and we were set free. I concluded that starvation was preferable to being stuck in a lift for two hours.
#TheAvengers #AndyPark #ShapingTheShadowsAPictureMakersstory #EustonFilms
The AVENGERS and STUCK in a LIFT are in my book“Shaping the Shadows: A Picture Maker’s Story”, along with many others.
For sale from the National Library of Scotland for £10.
Also see: marklittlewood.org.uk
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