Douglas Rain
Douglas James Rain (March 13, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor and narrator. Although primarily a stage actor, he is perhaps best known for his voicing of the HAL 9000 computer in the film "" (1968) and its sequel "" (1984). Early life. Rain was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Mary, a nurse, and James Rain, a rail yard switchman, both from Glasgow, Scotland. Career. Rain graduated with a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1950, then studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre  School in Bristol, England. He was a founding member of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1953 and was associated with it as an actor until 1998. 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. In 1972, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in "Vivat! Vivat Regina!" Voice of the HAL 9000 computer. Stanley Kubrick cast Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer for the film "" (1968) after hearing  his narration of a short documentary titled "Universe" and later chose him as "the creepy voice of HAL". In the film, his voice was also sometimes processed with an electronic device called the Eltro information rate changer. Rain reprised the role for the sequel "" (1984). He also briefly parodied it in Woody Allen's film "Sleeper," and in a sketch on "Second City Television" where Merv Griffin (played by Rick Moranis) takes his eponymous talk show into outer space. Death. Rain died on November 11, 2018, at the age of 90 at St. Mary's Memorial Hospital in St. Marys , Ontario of natural causes. He was survived by three children and a grandchild.