Douglas James Rain (March 13, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor and narrator. Although primarily a stage actor, he is perhaps best known for his voicing of the

HAL 9000 HAL 9000 is a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's ''Space Odyssey'' series. First appearing in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', HAL ( Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) ...

computer in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) and its sequel '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact'' (1984).

Early life

Rain was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, the son of Mary, a nurse, and James Rain, a rail yard switchman, both from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland.

Career

Rain graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the University of Manitoba in 1950, then studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta and the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...

in Bristol, England. He was a founding member of the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

of Canada in 1953 and was associated with it as an actor until 1998. He performed a wide variety of theatrical roles, such as a production of ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

'' staged in Stratford, Ontario, that was adapted for television in 1966. In 1972, he was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in '' Vivat! Vivat Regina!''

Voice of the HAL 9000 computer

Stanley Kubrick cast Rain as the voice of the

computer for the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) after hearing his narration of a short documentary titled ''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

'' and later chose him as "the creepy voice of HAL". In the film, his voice was also sometimes processed with an electronic device called the

Eltro information rate changer The Eltro information rate changer was an analog recording tool used to modulate pitch without changing speed and vice versa. Patents for the device date back to the 1920s. The Eltro was the first technology capable of changing audio pitch (freque ...

. Rain reprised the role for the sequel '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact'' (1984). He also briefly parodied it in Woody Allen's film '' Sleeper,'' and in a sketch on ''

Second City Television ''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from To ...

'' where

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

(played by

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...

) takes his eponymous talk show into outer space.

Death

Rain died on November 11, 2018, at the age of 90 at St. Mary's Memorial Hospital in

St. Marys, Ontario St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the north branch of the Thames River and Trout Creek southwest of Stratford, and is surrounded by the Township of Perth South in Perth County, Ontario. St. ...

of natural causes. He has three children and a grandchild.

Filmography

*''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' (1957) — Messenger *''

Just Mary ''Just Mary'' was a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television in 1960. Premise Mary Grannan narrated stories based on her ''Just Mary'' books in this Toronto-produced series while puppets and human actors performed t ...

'' (1960, TV series) — voice *''The Night They Killed Joe Howe'' (1960, TV drama, co-starring

Austin Willis Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host. Biography Austin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Fran ...

and

James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...

) — Joseph Howe *''

'' (1960, short film) — Narrator *''One Plus One'' (1961) — segment "The Divorcee" *''William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country'' (1961, short) —

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

*''Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle'' (1961, short) — William Lyon Mackenzie *''The Other Man'' (1963, TV miniseries) — David Henderson *''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'' (1964, TV movie) *''

Fields of Sacrifice ''Fields of Sacrifice'' is a 1964 documentary by Donald Brittain about Canadian war dead. The film visits former battlefields where over 100,000 Canadian soldiers lost their lives in World War I and World War II and examines Canadian military ceme ...

'' (1964) — Narrator *''

'' (1966, TV movie) — Henry V *'' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) — voice of

*''

Talking to a Stranger ''Talking to a Stranger'' (1966) is a British television drama, written by John Hopkins for the BBC, which consists of four separate plays recounting the events of one weekend from the viewpoints of four members of the same family. The play cycl ...

'' (1971, TV miniseries) — Alan *'' Sleeper'' (1973) — voice of Evil Computer / Various Robot Butlers *''The Russian-German War'' (1973, documentary) — Narrator *'' The Man Who Skied Down Everest'' (1974) — Narrator *'' One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker'' (1976, TV miniseries, voice) *'' SCTV'' (1982, "The Merv Griffin Show") — voice of HAL 9000 *'' 2010: The Year We Make Contact'' (1984) — voice of HAL 9000 *'' Love and Larceny'' (1985, TV movie) — Ashton Fletcher

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rain, Douglas 1928 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors Male actors from Winnipeg Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Manitoba alumni Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Canadian male Shakespearean actors