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Douglas Rain

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Douglas Rain
Rain in 1968
Born
Douglas James Rain

(1928-05-09)May 9, 1928
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedNovember 11, 2018(2018-11-11) (aged 90)
St. Marys, Ontario, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba
Banff School of Fine Arts
Old Vic Theatre School
OccupationsActor, voice actor
Known forVoice of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Spouse(s)Lois Shaw
Martha Henry
Children3
AwardsDora Mavor Moore Award

Douglas James Rain (May 9, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor. Although primarily a stage actor, he is best known for voicing HAL 9000, the supercomputer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and its sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). He co-founded the Stratford Festival, and was nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway play Vivat! Vivat Regina!.

Early life

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Rain was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Scottish parents Mary and James Rain. His father was a rail yard switchman and his mother was a nurse. His parents emigrated to Canada from Glasgow, Scotland.[1]

He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1950,[2] then studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta and the Old Vic Theatre School in London, England.[3][4]

Career

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Rain was a founding member of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1953 and was associated with it as an actor until 1998.[5]

He performed a wide variety of theatrical roles, such as a production of Henry V staged in Stratford, Ontario, that was adapted for television in 1966.[6][7] In 1972, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in Vivat! Vivat Regina![8]

Voice of the HAL 9000 computer

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Stanley Kubrick cast Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) after hearing his narration of a short documentary titled Universe and later chose him as "the creepy voice of HAL".[9] Rain produced all of his lines during the post-production, in a ten-hour recording session over two days with Kubrick in London. He did not think the recording session went well, later saying: "If you could have been a ghost at the recording you would have thought it was a load of rubbish."[10] In the film, his voice was sometimes processed with an electronic device called the Eltro information rate changer.[11] In an interview with the New York Times in 2018, Rain said that he had never seen the movie.[10]

Rain reprised the role for the sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). He also briefly parodied it in a sketch on Second City Television where Merv Griffin (played by Rick Moranis) takes his talk show into outer space.[12]

Personal life and death

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Rain was married twice, first to Lois Shaw and then to Martha Henry, who was also an actress on stage, film and television, and had three children and a grandchild. He died of natural causes on November 11, 2018, at the age of 90, at St. Mary's Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, Ontario.[13][14][15]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes
1956 Christmas in the Market Place Joey TV film
1957 Oedipus Rex Messenger
1960 The Hill Jesus
1960 Universe[16] Narrator Short film
1961 One Plus One Segment: The Divorcee
1961 William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country William Lyon Mackenzie Short film (documentary)
1961 Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle William Lyon Mackenzie Short film (documentary)
1964 Twelfth Night TV film
1964 Fields of Sacrifice Narrator Short film (documentary)
1966 Henry V Henry V TV film
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey HAL 9000[8] Voice
1973 The Russian-German War Narrator Documentary
1974 The Man Who Skied Down Everest Narrator Documentary
1984 2010: The Year We Make Contact Hal 9000 Voice
1985 Love and Larceny Ashton Fletcher TV film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1960 Just Mary Voice
1960 The Night They Killed Joe Howe Joseph Howe
1963 The Other Man David Henderson Miniseries
1971 Talking to a Stranger voice Miniseries
1976 One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker Narrator Documentary
1982 SCTV HAL 9000[8] Voice

References

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  1. ↑ "Douglas Rain, Stratford actor who voiced HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, dies at 90". The Globe and Mail. November 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ "University of Manitoba: Archives & Special Collections". University of Manitoba. December 8, 2018. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Rain, Douglas". www.canadiantheatre.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Harrison (November 12, 2018). "Douglas Rain, Shakespearean actor who voiced HAL in 'Space Odyssey,' dies at 90". The Washington Post.
  5. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (November 12, 2018). "Douglas Rain, voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, dies aged 90". The Guardian. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Rain, Douglas". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Douglas Rain acting credits". Stratford Festival Archives. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "Voice of 2001: A Space Odyssey's Hal dies". BBC News. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ Johnson, Alex (November 12, 2018). "Douglas Rain, the creepy voice of HAL in '2001,' dies at 90". NBC News. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Gerry Flahive, "The Story of a Voice: HAL in '2001' Wasn’t Always So Eerily Calm", New York Times, March 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ Langford, Simon (2013). Digital Audio Editing: Correcting and Enhancing Audio in Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, and Studio One. CRC Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-134-11130-5.
  12. ↑ "Programs: Merv Griffin Show". SCTV Guide.
  13. ↑ Gray, Andy (November 11, 2018). "Stratford Festival Founder Dies". Mystratfordnow.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  14. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (November 11, 2018). "Douglas Rain, Voice of HAL 9000 in '2001: A Space Odyssey,' Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Voice actor HAL 9000 has passed away". Techwarrant.com. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  16. ↑ Ohayon, Albert. "The 1960s: An Explosion of Creativity". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
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