Actor Peter Wyngarde has died, aged 90.
Wyngarde was best known for the role of Jason King – a novelist turned detective who first appeared in the hit TV series Department S before getting his own self-titled spin-off series.
“He was one of the most unique, original and creative actors that I have ever seen,” reads a statement from his agent and manager, Thomas Bowington. “As a man, there were few things in life he didn’t know.”
Wyngarde died in hospital on Monday morning, having been unwell for a couple of months.
He was often considered a bit of heartthrob in his day, and was also known as Klytus in the 1980 big screen sci-fi Flash Gordon, as well as starring as Timanov in the Doctor Who four-parter, Planet of Fire in 1984.
Perhaps most memorably, he appeared as Number Two in The Prisoner.
Here, he appeared opposite Patrick McGoohan in the cult TV series.
He’s also said to have inspired the character of Austin Powers, played by Mike Myers in the hit movies.
“I sometimes nicknamed him ‘the King’ because he simply knew everything.”
“He was a mentor on everything you can think of, from sports cars to how to make a good cup of tea and how to do a tie and shirt,” added his agent. “He died at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital [in London], and even then he was saying that you shouldn’t button the upper button on a shirt.”
Peter Wyngarde began his career on stage, in a production on Noel Cowards’ Present Laughter at Birmingham’s Theatre Royal in 1947. He then went on to star in the likes of Alexander the Great.
“As a person he was the most exceptional person I met in my life and a great mentor and teacher.”
Peter Wyngarde died 15 January 2018, aged 90.
