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Matthew Zimmerman (December 26, 1934 – 9 June 2022) was a Canadian actor. He was best known as the voice of
Alan Tracy Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', its film sequels '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and '' Thunderbird 6'' (1968), as well as the TV remake '' Thunde ...
in the 1960s television series '' Thunderbirds'' and sequel films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' and ''
Thunderbird 6 ''Thunderbird 6'' is a 1968 British science fiction puppet film based on '' Thunderbirds'', a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by th ...
''.


Life and career

Zimmerman was born in Sudbury,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, on December 26, 1934. He was educated in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, United States, and started acting at an early age. He attended
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where he was a telecommunications major. Having won a scholarship, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1959 to study drama at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...
(LAMDA), where he was a contemporary of
Ed Bishop George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in ''UFO'', Captain Blue in ''Captain Scarlet and the Myste ...
. Zimmerman was cast as
Alan Tracy Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', its film sequels '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and '' Thunderbird 6'' (1968), as well as the TV remake '' Thunde ...
in '' Thunderbirds'' after being recommended to producers
Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...
and
Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In a ...
by
David Holliday David Holliday (August 4, 1937March 26, 1999) was an American Broadway actor and television voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Virgil Tracy, pilot of '' Thunderbird 2'', in the first series (26 episodes) of '' Thunderbirds'' (1965&n ...
, the voice of
Virgil Tracy Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
. In an interview, he remembered of his casting: "They were having great difficulty in casting the part of Alan Tracy as they wanted a certain sound for him ...As I walked in ylvia Andersonlooked at me and said, 'Don't talk! Oh, my god, you've got those big eyes and the cleft in the chin and the cheek bones, and if you were blond you'd look very much like Alan.' She said, 'Now, sit down. What's your name again?' And I said, 'My name is Matt Zimmerman and I'm from Detroit, Michigan,' and she said, 'That's the voice!' And that's how I got the job." Besides voicing Alan, Zimmerman, like other actors on the series, also voiced various minor characters. He made a
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
appearance in one episode of ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
'' ("
Exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...
", 1970) among the Andersons' other TV productions. He also starred as Shooty in ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...
''. Other TV appearances include ''
T-Bag ''T-Bag'' is a British television series about the eponymous witch-like character and her assistant, T-Shirt. The series ran from 1985 to 1992 on '' Children's ITV''. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series adopted a different ti ...
'', ''
Mike and Angelo ''Mike and Angelo'' is a British sci-fi TV sitcom series, that ran on CITV between 16 March 1989 and 7 March 2000. The show is ITV's second longest running sitcom (as per series count). Plot The shows initially centred on Mike King (played by ...
'', '' Crazy Like a Fox'', ''
Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer w ...
'', in addition to many commercials, most notably for
Wrangler Jeans Wrangler is an American manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items, particularly workwear. The brand is owned by Kontoor Brands Inc., which also owns Lee. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States, w ...
. In 2015, Zimmerman appeared in the ''Thunderbirds'' revival '' Thunderbirds Are Go''; he played Professor Harold in the episode "Tunnels of Time". Also a stage actor, he starred in plays such as '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''
Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'', '' Once in a Lifetime'' and ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-19 ...
'', and made his most recent West End appearance in ''
Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the D ...
'' at the
Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
. In 2008, he appeared in the touring cast of ''
Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...
'', taking the role of Herr Schultz. Zimmerman died in June 2022, at the age of 87.


Filmography

* 1965–1966: '' Thunderbirds'' * 1966: '' A Man for All Seasons'' * 1966: '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' * 1968: ''
Thunderbird 6 ''Thunderbird 6'' is a 1968 British science fiction puppet film based on '' Thunderbirds'', a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by th ...
'' * 1979: ''
Birth of the Beatles Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
'' * 1979: ''
Quincy's Quest ''Quincy's Quest'' is a 1979 British family film directed by Robert Reed, and starring Tommy Steele, Mel Martin and Charles Morgan. A version was first shown on television on 23 December 1962 as ''The Tommy Steele Show: Quincy's Quest''. Plot s ...
'' * 1986: ''
Haunted Honeymoon ''Haunted Honeymoon'' is a 1986 American comedy horror film starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom DeLuise and Jonathan Pryce. Wilder also served as writer and director. The title ''Haunted Honeymoon'' was previously used for the 1940 U.S. r ...
'' * 1987: '' Still Crazy Like a Fox'' * 1989: ''The Forgotten'' * 1995: ''
Margaret's Museum ''Margaret's Museum'' is a 1995 British-Canadian drama film, directed by Mort Ransen and based on Sheldon Currie's novel '' The Glace Bay Miners' Museum''. Plot Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the film tells the story of ...
'' * 2015: '' Thunderbirds Are Go''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Matt 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Male actors from Greater Sudbury Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Bowling Green State University alumni Canadian expatriates in England Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors