Patrick Macnee, star of the 1960s British import spy series, The Avengers, died Thursday, June 25 in California. Macnee starred as the dapper John Steed, always arriving in his signature bowler hat. The Avengers was a wry mix of British style and espionage and began each week with its swinging James Bond-styled danger theme, played here (from the 1966 season, when the show went to color). Steed carried no gun, instead relying on guile and ingenuity, while his most popular sidekick, the avant-garde Emma Peel, (played by Diana Rigg from 1965-68) did the heavy martial arts work and often dispensed with the villain of the week. The Avengers, along with Roger Moore’s The Saint, regularly brought American broadcast audiences the wit and eccentricity of British drama and humor. Macnee was 93.