Career: After making his mark on the London stage, McGoohan appeared in his first film, The Dam Busters, in 1954. He later gained contracts with the Rank Organisation and Walt Disney, but it was the TV play The Greatest Man in the World that led to him being cast in spy series Danger Man in 1960. Its huge success made him Britain's highest-paid TV actor. McGoohan created surreal cult hit The Prisoner in 1967 before moving to the US. Afterwards his output was sporadic, but he appeared in, directed and written episodes of Columbo, had his own series called Rafferty, and starred in the films Ice Station Zebra, Escape from Alcatraz, Silver Streak and Braveheart. McGoohan died on January 13, 2009, in Santa Monica, California, following a brief illness.

Career: McCallum became an assistant stage manager, but National Service interrupted his career. He made his film debut in 1957's These Dangerous Years, and appeared in numerous British movies before moving to Hollywood in the early 1960s. He landed roles in Billy Budd and The Great Escape but it was his performance as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from UNCLE that made him a household name in 1964. The series ran until 1968, and a spin-off TV movie was made in 1983. He also released four albums in the 1960s. Other major projects include Colditz, The Invisible Man, Sapphire and Steel, Mother Love, Hear My Song, and Cluedo. Since 2003, he has starred in popular American drama NCIS, playing forensics expert Dr Donald 'Ducky' Mallard.

Career: While still a bodybuilder, Sean was offered the chance to appear in a West End production of South Pacific, which kick-started his acting career. His film debut came in 1955's Lilacs in the Spring, but he didn't become a major star until he appeared as Bond in 1962's Dr No. It remains his most famous role, despite hits including The Man Who Would Be King, Rising Sun, A Bridge Too Far, Time Bandits, Highlander, The Rock, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Entrapment. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Untouchables in 1987.

Career: James became known in the film trade as 'one-take James' and was constantly in demand for small parts. His first major role was alongside Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951). His first big break came in 1954, when he became Tony Hancock's sidekick in the hugely popular BBC radio comedy Hancock's Half Hour. His next break came when he appeared on the big screen in Carry On Teacher (1959). He went on to make 19 Carry On films and various stage and TV spin-offs. On the small screen, he enjoyed success in the sitcoms Hancock's Half Hour, Citizen James, George and the Dragon and Bless This House. He was touring in a stage version of The Mating Season when he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 26, 1976. He was 62.