Douglas Rain

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!.

Douglas Rain
Rain in 1968
Born	Douglas James Rain (1928-05-09)May 9, 1928 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died	November 11, 2018(2018-11-11) (aged 90) St. Marys, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	University of Manitoba Banff School of Fine Arts Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation(s)	Actor, voice actor
Known for	Voice of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Spouse(s)	Lois Shaw Martha Henry
Children	3
Awards	Dora Mavor Moore Award

Early life

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

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

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] In the film, his voice was also sometimes processed with an electronic device called the Eltro information rate changer.^{[when?][citation needed]}

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.^[10]

Personal life and death

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.^[11][12][13]

Filmography

• Christmas in the Market Place (1956, TV movie) - Joey
• Oedipus Rex (1957) — Messenger
• The Hill (1960, TV movie) - Jesus
• Just Mary (1960, TV series) — voice
• The Night They Killed Joe Howe (1960, TV drama, co-starring Austin Willis and James Doohan) — Joseph Howe
• Universe (1960, short film)^[14] — Narrator
• One Plus One (1961) — segment "The Divorcee"
• William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country (1961, short) — William Lyon Mackenzie
• Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle (1961, short) — William Lyon Mackenzie
• The Other Man (1963, TV miniseries) — David Henderson
• Twelfth Night (1964, TV movie)
• Fields of Sacrifice (1964) — Narrator
• Henry V (1966, TV movie) — Henry V
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) — voice of HAL 9000^[8]
• Talking to a Stranger (1971, TV miniseries) — Alan
• Sleeper (1973) — voice of Evil Computer and 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