Canadian actor Douglas Rain, best known for providing the voice of the homicidal computer HAL in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, passed away on November 11, 2018. He was 90 years old.
“Today we lost Douglas Rain, a member of our founding company and a hugely esteemed presence on our stages for 32 seasons. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” confirmed The Stratford Festival. No specific cause of death was reported.
Born on March 13, 1928, Rain studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England. He became a founding member of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1953 and remained with the company for more than four decades. During this time, Rain performed in a wide variety of theatrical roles, including production of Henry V, that was adapted for television in 1966.
Additional credits include Oedipus Rex, Just Mary, The Night They Killed Joe Howe, Universe, One Plus One, William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country, Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle, The Other Man, Twelfth Night, and Fields of Sacrifice. He was later nominated for the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in Vivat! Vivat Regina!
In 1968, Rain was initially contracted to narrate 2001 before being cast as the film’s central character. Rain’s cold, detached reading of HAL’s lines made the sentient computer’s actions all the more shocking. HAL’s unblinking red eye coupled with Rain’s sonorous voice made for an altogether chilling villain.
“The voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Douglas shared many of the same qualities as Kubrick’s iconic creation; precision, strength of steel, enigma and infinite intelligence, as well as a wicked sense of humor,” Antoni Cimolino, artistic director of the Stratford Festival, said in a statement.
Subsequent roles for Rain included Talking to a Stranger, Sleeper, The Man Who Skied Down Everest, One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker, Love and Larceny, and The Russian-Ger. Rain later returned to the role of HAL for the follow-up film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
He is survived by three children and one grandchild.
