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1-11 of 11
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Cinema lovers and sci-fi fans will always remember the great Douglas Rain not exactly by his face but specially because of his vocal talents that brought him attention and eternity in the cinema world as the soothing voice of computer HAL 9000 in the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and its sequel 2010 (1984).
What most people don't know is that he wasn't the first choice of Stanley Kubrick for voicing the most famous robot voice of all time: Kubrick had in mind using the voice of more famous and established actors such as Martin Balsam, Jason Robards and Walter Pidgeon (just to name a few). But Kubrick wanted something with an extra-quality and his description to an assistant of what he wanted was to find him an actor who could have an intelligent, sincere and disarming voice with some friendly quality. The rest is history: Rain won the role despite being an almost unknown actor with few theatre and TV film/series roles on his resume; but Kubrick's choice turned out to be the perfect one. HAL 9000 with Rain's voice brought calm and humanity to a machine that seemed perfect in all possible ways in contrast to the robotic and lifeless astronauts of whom he shares company outer space.
In front of cameras, the Canadian actor can be found in TV series such as General Motors Presents, Startime, Quest and Playdate; or films like Oedipus Rex (1957), Twelfth Night (1964) and the title role in Henry V (1966). On stage, his career consists of several William Shakespeare play adaptations - in fact, Rain was co-founding member of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival - and other authors in between the 1950's and 1990's. In 1972, he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for the play "Vivat! Vivat Regina!".
He passed away from natural causes at the age of 90 in 2018 - the 50th year anniversary of "2001". He left an important mark and legacy to the cinema world, even though with just one memorable character that paved the way to other actors using his voice talents in other feature films.- Frank Allenby was born on 22 December 1894 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He was an actor, known for Madame Bovary (1949), The Next of Kin (1942) and The Flame and the Arrow (1950). He was married to Dorothy Hamilton. He died on 29 May 1953 in St Mary Abbot's Hospital, Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Larry Ford died on 12 August 2012 in St. Marys, Georgia, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
C. Carson Parks was born on 26 April 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a composer, known for Birthday Girl (2001), Legend (2015) and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). He died on 22 June 2005 in St. Marys, Georgia, USA.- Writer
- Actor
Frank Harvey was born on 11 August 1912 in Manchester, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for I'm All Right Jack (1959), Private's Progress (1956) and Lost Daughter (1949). He died on 6 November 1981 in Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England, UK.- Sound Department
Claude Hitchcock was born on 8 November 1918 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. Claude is known for The Dirty Dozen (1967), Zulu (1964) and The Avengers (1961). Claude died on 4 October 2010 in Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England, UK.- Alec Worcester was born on 26 April 1887 in Brockley, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Justice (1914), King Robert of Sicily (1912) and The Cloister and the Hearth (1913). He was married to Dorothea Madge Mears, Kitty Reidy (actress), Muriel May Bennett and Violet Hopson. He died on 9 June 1952 in St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, UK.
- Peter Walter was born on 11 March 1915 in Hythe, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Ghost Train (1948), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and My Mother Said (1949). He was married to Victoria Hopper and Daphne Maddox. He died in 1993 in St Mary in the Marsh, Kent, England, UK.
- Karen Barnes died on 13 August 2012 in St. Marys, Georgia, USA.
- Alan Laing was born on 5 October 1937 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was a composer, known for Romeo & Juliet (1993). He died on 22 October 2016 in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada.
- Vernon J. Baker was born on 17 December 1919 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. He was married to Heidy Pawlik, Fern Brown and Leola Baker. He died on 13 July 2010 in St. Maries, Idaho, USA.