BERMUDIAN actor Earl Cameron is this weekend celebrating a double anniversary his 90th birthday and the festivities surrounding the 40th anniversary of the cult television classic The Prisoner which he guest starred in.

Mr. Cameron, presented with the Prospero Award for lifetime achievement by the Bermuda International Film Festival earlier this year, was one of the UK's first black film and TV stars.

He will be celebrating the double anniversary at Portmeiron, Wales where much of The Prisoner was filmed joining fans of the show from around the world as guest of honour at The Prisoner 40th anniversary convention. This comes less than two weeks after Earl celebrated his 90th birthday on August 8.

Any profits from the convention will be given to Ty Gobaith, a satellite unit of Oswestry's Hope House Hospice, the only hospice in the whole of North Wales dedicated to the care of terminally-ill children. Two previous Prisoner conventions raised thousands of pounds for Ty Gobaith.

A spin-off of Patrick McGoohan's popular secret agent show Danger Man ¿ which Mr. Cameron appeared on five times ¿ The Prisoner was a revolutionary departure from its predecessor.

An allegorical science fiction series, it follows an unnamed English spy (McGoohan) who, after abruptly resigning from his position, is held captive in a small, colourful village by unknown people who are concerned about his resignation.

Each episode typically features the imprisoned former agent, labelled "Number Six" by his captors who refuse to use names, failing to escape "The Village", but resisting the interrogation and brainwashing attempts by his captors.

Created by McGoohan and George Markstein The Prisoner was filmed primarily on location at the Hotel Portmeirion resort village in Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales, only 17 episodes were produced.

But its combination of 1960s countercultural themes and surreal setting had a far-reaching effect upon science fiction-fantasy-genre television and also popular culture in general and The Prisoner remains an international television phenomenom along the lines of Star Trek.

Mr. Cameron, who has appeared in more than 60 movies and TV shows during the course of his career, appeared in The Schizoid Man episode of The Prisoner.

Mr. Cameron's films include his breakthrough performance in 1951's Pool of London, screened at this year's BIFF tribute to the actor. Set in post-war London, Pool involves racial prejudice, romance, and a diamond robbery.

The success of this film led to a big screen career that took in films from Tarzan the Magnificent to James Bond's Thunderball to more recent appearances in films such as The Queen, in 2006 alongside Helen Mirren.

And in 2005, he appeared in the film The Interpreter alongside Nicole Kidmanas the fictitious dictator Edmond Zuwanie.

His performance in The Interpreter was universally praised. The Baltimore Sun wrote: "Earl Cameron is magnificent as the slimy old fraud of a dictator..." Rolling Stone magazine described Mr. Cameron's appearance as "subtle and menacing".