Shane Rimmer

Shane Rimmer

1929-05-28 – 2019-03-29 (age 89) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Biography

Shane Rimmer was a Canadian actor, voice actor and screenwriter, known for providing the voice of Scott Tracy in the British television series Thunderbirds.

He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s. His appearances include roles in such widely-known films as Dr Strangelove (1964), Rollerball (1975), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Gandhi (1982), Out of Africa (1985) and Crusoe (1989). More recently, he has appeared in Spy Game (2001) and Batman Begins (2005). In the earlier years of his career, there were several uncredited performances, among others for films such as You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Star Wars (1977) and Superman II (1980). With the exception of recurring featured cast members, he has appeared in more James Bond films than any other actor.

Rimmer has a long association with Gerry Anderson. Thunderbirds fans may recognise him as the voice actor behind the character Scott Tracy. He drafted the plotline for the penultimate episode, "Ricochet", which was later turned into a script by Tony Barwick. He also wrote scripts and provided uncredited voices for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, has made appearances in episodes of Anderson's live-action UFO and The Protectors, and has provided voices for Space: 1999 and has guest-starred in the episode "Space Brain". In later years, he starred in the unscreened pilot Space Police (later made into a series with other actors and titled Space Precinct) and provided the voice for Anderson's stop-motion gumshoe Dick Spanner, P.I.

Rimmer and fellow Anderson actor Ed Bishop often joked about how often their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a-Yanks". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice and as USN sailors in The Bedford Incident, as well as touring together in live stage shows, including "Death of a Salesman" in the 1990s. He also appeared in Doctor Who in 1966, and in Coronation Street as two different characters: Joe Donnelli (1968–1970), who held Stan Ogden hostage in No. 5 before committing suicide, and Malcolm Reid (1988), father of Audrey Roberts' son Stephen.

He has made many guest appearances in British television series for ITV, including in Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected, and ITC's The Persuaders!. In 1989, Rimmer was reunited with former Gerry Anderson actors Ed Bishop and Matt Zimmerman in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. Rimmer and Bishop also appeared in the BBC drama-documentary Hiroshima, completed not long after Bishop's death in 2005. Note: His official website and travel record on the Immigration & Travel section of Ancestry give his year of birth as 1929.

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Known For

Star Wars
Star Wars

1977

as InCom Engineer (uncredited)

Batman Begins
Batman Begins

2005

as Older Gotham Water Board Technician

Superman
Superman

1978

as Naval Transport Commander (uncredited)

Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows

2012

as Board Member #1

You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice

1967

as Hawaii Radar Operator (uncredited)

The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me

1977

as Cmdr. Carter

Superman II
Superman II

1980

as Controller

Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever

1971

as Tom (uncredited)

Out of Africa
Out of Africa

1985

as Belknap, farm manager

Superman III
Superman III

1983

as State Policeman

Spy Game
Spy Game

2001

as Estate Agent

Gandhi
Gandhi

1982

as Commentator

The Hunger
The Hunger

1983

as Arthur Jelinek

Rollerball
Rollerball

1975

as Rusty, Team Executive

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
White Nights
White Nights

1985

as Ambassador Larry Smith

Reds
Reds

1981

as MacAlpine

Space Truckers
Space Truckers

1996

as E. J. Saggs

The Dogs of War
The Dogs of War

1980

as Dr. Oaks