THE
UNMUTUAL WEBSITE
CAST & CREW INTERVIEWS
SUE McNAUGHT - FRIEND OF RONNIE LILES (PRODUCTION MANAGER)
Recently,
The Unmutual Website contacted Sue McNaught after she had requested a copy of
a video which featured Ronnie Liles being interviewed about his time on The
Prisoner (he was Production Manager on the final 4 episodes of "The Prisoner").
Sue kindly shared her memories of her time with Ronnie.
"Regarding any memories I might have of Ronnie Liles, Production Manager,
The Prisoner. The memories I have are mainly of a personal nature as Ron &
I were an 'item' for about 2 years or so. It was during the latter part of "The
Prisoner" but primarily during the making of "Department S" &
"Randall & Hopkirk Deceased", and beyond, when he was the Production
Supervisor on the series'. I was a PA to another producer at the time.
"However, I do remember him reminiscing about his short time in The Prisoner and looking at the Video it brought back those memories and others vividly and I'm grateful for that. Obviously he looked very different from his image in the video when we were together. Unfortunately I haven't any photos, they were lost along with the video during a move. All I will say is that despite the large age gap, we had a fantastic time together. He was a lovely man and I remember him fondly and was sad to learn of his death in 2007. He was 86yrs of age."
"There
was one memory that I will relate as I thought it rather amusing. On returning
from a holiday in Germany we stopped in Belgium. Intending only to stop overnight
as we were catching a ferry the following day, we looked for a hotel and as
it was dark and late about 1am, stopped at the first one we came across. Pulling
up at what we thought was the entrance, our car, an American Ford Galaxie, was
driven away to be parked by an attendant who rushed out of the building. To
cut a long story short, as we discovered the next morning, Ron had
inadvertently stopped outside the tradesmans entrance of the biggest and grandest
hotel in Brussels, the equivalent of Claridges! but I suspect he had soon realised
that something wasn't quite right from the start but didn't want to say anything!
To make matters worse, when the bill came to be settled, neither of us had enough
money on us, being the end of the holiday. A telegraph transfer of money had
to be hastily arranged. The good part being, we stopped longer than intended
in this lovely hotel, the huge bill being well worth it!"
"My
other claim to fame, quite coincidental, is when I worked in Lloyds Bank in
Mill Hill in the sixties, just after leaving school, Pat McGoohan who was living
in Mill Hill at the time, held his accounts there. For some reason he developed
a soft spot for me as I was the junior and always brought me a packet of Ginger
Nut Biscuits every time he came into the bank, with strict instructions that
they were only for me, not to be shared! Needless to say the rest of the staff
didn't go much on it or him!"
Added Sue: "Sadly all my photos were lost together with other
memorabilia of my time with Ron. They were all in my briefcase that was lost
in transit during a move back to the UK. Regrettably the attached photo of EMI-MGM
Studios is the only one I have of that era taken by me in about May 1970."