Shane Lance Deacon (May 28, 1929 – March 29, 2019), known professionally as Shane Rimmer, was a Canadian actor and screenwriter who spent the majority of his career in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed "Rent-A- Yank" of the British entertainment industry, he appeared in over 160 films and television programmes from 1957 until his death in 2019, usually playing supporting North American characters. Among his best known roles were the voice of Scott Tracy in the original '' Thunderbirds'' series, Air Force Captain "Ace" Owens in '' Dr. Strangelove'', Joe Donnelli and Malcolm Reid on ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', Edward R. Murrow in ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

'', and Louie Watterson on the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

series ''

The Amazing World of Gumball ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' (also known simply as ''Gumball'' or by its abbreviation ''TAWOG''; retitled ''The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball'' beginning with its The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, seventh season) is an animated si ...

''. He appeared in several

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

films. He made several on-stage appearances for the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, and wrote scripts for ''

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films#Century 21, Centu ...

'' and '' Joe 90''.

Early life

Rimmer was born Shane Lance Deacon in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to a British mother, Vera (née Franklin), and an Irish father, Thomas Deacon, who was a journalist. He had a younger sister, Noreen. He adopted his paternal grandmother's maiden name Rimmer and began his career on Canadian radio as a singer and disc jockey before becoming a television presenter.

Career

Film

Rimmer appeared mainly in supporting roles, especially in films and television series produced in the United Kingdom. He emigrated to England in 1959, after initially performing as a cabaret singer. His appearances include roles in films such as '' Dr. Strangelove'' (1964), '' Rollerball'' (1975), '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977), ''

'' (1982), ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the eighteen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Africa ...

'' (1985), '' Crusoe'' (1989), ''

Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and written by Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata. The film stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt as CIA operatives entangled in a covert rescue mission during the final day ...

'' (2001) and ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'' (2005). During his career, Rimmer appeared uncredited in, among other films, '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), '' The Dirty Dozen'' (1967), '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' (1977) and ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

'' (1980). He also is believed to have provided the voice for the character Hamilton (played by Robert Dix) in '' Live and Let Die'' (1973). Shane Rimmer as Captain Owens in Dr Strangelove

Shane Rimmer as Captain Owens in Dr Strangelove

Television

Rimmer had a long-running association with TV producer Gerry Anderson, including the series '' Thunderbirds'' (1964–1966). He was the voice actor behind the character of Scott Tracy. He drafted the story for the series' penultimate episode, "Ricochet" (1966), from which writer Tony Barwick penned a script. Rimmer thought the studio rates for voices in those days were "absolutely deplorable". Years after working on ''Thunderbirds'', Rimmer, along with fellow Anderson associate Matt Zimmerman, retained a solicitor. They informed him of the level of payment they received, and the solicitor then gained Rimmer and Zimmerman an immense raise in the residuals. He also appeared in an episode of ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

''. Rimmer also wrote scripts and provided uncredited voices for Anderson's subsequent

Supermarionation Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", " marionette" and "animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet T ...

productions ''

'' (1967–68), '' Joe 90'' (1968–69) and '' The Secret Service'' (1969), appeared in episodes of the

live-action 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 feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

series '' UFO'' (1970) and '' The Protectors'' (1972–74), provided voices for '' Space: 1999'' (1975–77), and guest-starred in one of its episodes, " Space Brain" (1976). Later, he appeared in the un-televised 1986 pilot ''Space Police'' (which was adapted as a full TV series and renamed '' Space Precinct'' in the 1990s, though Ted Shackelford replaced Rimmer for the series) and provided the voice of the title character in '' Dick Spanner, P.I.'' (1987). Rimmer and American actor Ed Bishop—himself an Anderson associate–would joke about how their professional paths frequently crossed, calling themselves "Rent-a- Yanks". They appeared together as

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailors in '' The Bedford Incident'' (1965) and as

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

technicians in the opening of '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), as well as touring together on stage, including a production of ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'' in the 1990s. Rimmer and Bishop also appeared in the BBC drama-documentary ''

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

'', which was completed shortly after Bishop's death in 2005. He was the second voice of Louie Watterson in the

series ''

'' from 2014 to 2019. The episode "The Agent" was his final role before his death in 2019.

Other work

Rimmer appeared once in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (in the 1966 serial '' The Gunfighters''), and twice in ''

'': as Joe Donnelli (from 1968 to 1970), who held Stan Ogden hostage before taking his own life, and Malcolm Reid (in 1988), the adoptive father of Audrey Roberts' son

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

. Rimmer was the main character in "Alternative 3 " documentary 1977 hoax ITV Mars landing He made many guest appearances in British TV series for ITV, including

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's '' Tales of the Unexpected'', as well as ITC's ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is a British action comedy television series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the c ...

'' In 1980, Rimmer played

Edward Condon Edward Uhler Condon (March 2, 1902 – March 26, 1974) was an American nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, and a participant during World War II in the development of radar and, very briefly, of nuclear weapons as part of the Ma ...

in the BBC mini-series '' Oppenheimer'', which was rebroadcast in the United States in 1982, and appeared in the 1984 miniseries '' Master of the Game'', opposite Dyan Cannon. In 1989, Rimmer was reunited with Bishop and Zimmerman during the production of a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

adaptation of Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 Detective fiction, detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would go on to become one of the most well-known detective ...

''. In 2012, he recorded a reading of Donald Cotton's ''Doctor Who'' novelisation of ''The Gunfighters'' for release in February 2013. In 2010, Rimmer returned to the world of ''Thunderbirds'' with a 15-minute

fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. It is a form of fan fiction. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been ...

simply entitled ''Thunderbirds 2010''. He portrays Jeff Tracy in a voiceover on '' Thunderbird 3''s radio, towards the end of the movie, instructing Scott and Alan to take the three astronauts they rescued in the movie to an intact space station, and return to Tracy Island in anticipation of a storm in the Pacific. Rimmer played the role of Leo Carlin in the 2013 audio drama '' The Mighty Carlins'' by award-winning Canadian playwright Collin Doyle. The recording was produced by Wireless Theatre Company. In 2014, Rimmer released his first fiction novel ''Long Shot'', through amazon.co.uk/com. This marked his second foray into publishing, having released his autobiography ''From Thunderbirds to Pterodactyls'' four years previously. In 2015, he played the role of "Anderson" in the science fiction short ''DARKWAVE: Edge of the Storm''; this was released for free online the following year.

Personal life and death

Rimmer married Sheila Logan in 1963; the couple had three sons: Damien, Ben and Paul. Rimmer died at Barnet Hospital in London on 29 March 2019, at the age of 89.

Selected filmography

*'' A Dangerous Age'' (1957) as Nancy's Father *'' Flaming Frontier'' (1958) as Running Bear *'' The Day the Sky Exploded'' (1958) as John McLaren (voice) *'' Dr. Strangelove'' (1964) as Captain "Ace" Owens *'' The Bedford Incident'' (1965) as Seaman 1st Class *'' Thunderbirds Are GO'' (1966) as Scott Tracy (voice) *'' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) as Hawaii Radar Operator (uncredited) *'' The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) as American Soldier (uncredited) *'' Thunderbird 6'' (1968) as Scott Tracy (voice) *''

'' (1971) as Lomax *'' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) as Tom (uncredited) *'' Baffled!'' (1973) as Race Track Announcer / Commentator *'' Scorpio'' (1973) as Cop in Hotel (uncredited) *'' Live and Let Die'' (1973) as Hamilton (voice, uncredited) *'' Take Me High'' (1973) (uncredited) *'' S*P*Y*S'' (1974) as Hessler *'' Rollerball'' (1975) as Rusty, Team Executive *'' The 'Human' Factor'' (1975) as Carter, CIA Man *'' Twilight's Last Gleaming'' (1977) as Colonel Alexander B. Franklin *'' Nasty Habits'' (1977) as Officer *''

'' (1977) as Rebel Fighter Technician (uncredited) *'' Silver Bears'' (1977) as American Banker *'' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977) as Hogan *'' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) as Commander Carter (USS Wayne) *'' Julia'' (1977) as Customs Officer (uncredited) *'' Warlords of Atlantis'' (1978) as Captain Daniels *'' The Billion Dollar Bubble'' (1978) *''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' (1978) as Naval Transport Commander (uncredited) *'' Hanover Street'' (1979) as Col. Ronald Barth *'' Arabian Adventure'' (1979) as Abu *'' Charlie Muffin'' (1979) as Braley *''

'' (1980) as Controller No. 2 *'' The Dogs of War'' (1980) as Dr. Oaks *'' Priest of Love'' (1981) as Immigration Officer *'' Reds'' (1981) as MacAlpine *''

'' (1982) as Edward R. Murrow *'' The Hunger'' (1983) as Arthur Jelinek *'' Superman III'' (1983) as State Policeman *'' The Lonely Lady'' (1983) as Adolph Fannon *''

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

'' (1985) as Jay *'' Morons from Outer Space'' (1985) as Redneck (Melvin) *'' Reunion at Fairborough'' (1985) as Joe Szyluk *'' The Holcroft Covenant'' (1985) as Lieutenant Miles *'' Dreamchild'' (1985) as Mr. Marl *'' White Nights'' (1985) as Ambassador Smith *''

'' (1985) as Belknap *'' The Last Days of Patton'' (1986) as Dr. Col. Lawrence Ball *'' Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna'' (1986) as Harvey Coward *'' Whoops Apocalypse'' (1986) as Marvin Gelber *'' The Bourne Identity'' (1988) as Alexander Conklin *'' A Very British Coup'' (1988) as Marcus Morgan *'' Crusoe'' (1989) as Mr. Mather *'' A Kiss Before Dying'' (1991) as Commissioner Malley *'' Company Business'' (1991) as chairman, Maxine Gray Cosmetics *'' Year of the Comet'' (1992) as T.T. Kelleher *'' Piccolo Grande Amore'' (1993) as Mr Hughes *'' A Kid in King Arthur's Court'' (1995) as Coach *'' Space Truckers'' (1996) as E.J. Saggs *'' One of the Hollywood Ten'' (2000) as Parnell Thomas *''

'' (2001) as Estate Agent *''The War of the Starfighters'' (2003) as Tantive Base Operative (voice) *''

'' (2005) as Older Gotham Water Board Technician *'' Mee-Shee: The Water Giant'' (2005) as Bob Anderson *'' Alien Autopsy'' (2006) as Colonel *''Lovelorn'' (2010) as The Barman *''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'' (2012) as board member 1 *'' Darkwave: Edge of the Storm'' (2016) as Captain S. Anderson

References

External links

Shane Rimmer
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*
Shane Rimmer in the ''James Bond'' films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimmer, Shane 1929 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Audiobook narrators Canadian cabaret singers Canadian autobiographers Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Canadian expatriate actors Canadian expatriates in England Canadian male film actors Canadian male radio actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male television writers Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of British descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian television writers Male actors from Toronto Screenwriters from Toronto