Matthew Zimmerman (December 26, 1934 – 9 June 2022) was a Canadian actor. He was best known as the voice of Alan Tracy in the 1960s television series '' Thunderbirds'' and sequel films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' and '' Thunderbird 6''.

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 C ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, United States, and started acting at an early age. He attended

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, 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 ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, 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 i ...

(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 Myst ...

. Zimmerman was cast as Alan Tracy 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 pre ...

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, 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: the ...

. 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'' (" Exposed", 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 ...

'', '' 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 ...

'', 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 ...

'', '' 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- ...

'', and made his most recent

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

appearance in ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 190 ...

'' 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 Pal ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. 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 dinin ...

'', 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'' * 1979: '' Birth of the Beatles'' * 1979: '' Quincy's Quest'' * 1986: '' Haunted Honeymoon'' * 1987: '' Still Crazy Like a Fox'' * 1989: ''The Forgotten'' * 1995: '' Margaret's Museum'' * 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