Gene: You've got convictions datin' back to your twelfth birthday. Theft and fencing -- I don't mean the sort that Steed does in The Avengers.

John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee, was the central character in both The Avengers and The New Avengers, a popular British spy/mystery series in the sixties and seventies (no relation of any kind to the American comic book super hero group).

Utilizing light comedy deriving from tongue-in-cheek humor and a sense of self-deprecation, mildly science fictional plots, a mature sensuality, and engaging characters The Avengers and its revival remain camp favorites from the sixties and seventies. The series was also the subject of a rightfully poorly received 1998 movie staring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman.

John Steed was the quintessential John Bull form of spy -- impeccably tailored and cleanly stylish, imperturbable, and always at ease. Just as much an alpha male as James Bond, but not a lothario, Steed was popular with ladies but he was always a complete gentleman. Among Steed's trademarks were a bowler hat and a black umbrella. He was, as suggested by the comment, also an expert fencer.