Shane Rimmer
Voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds who broke records as a non-regular cast member in Bond films
SHANE RIMMER, who has died aged 89, was a legend among the millions of Thunderbirds fans who instantly knew him as the voice of Scott Tracy, pilot of the rocket Thunderbird 1, in producer Gerry Anderson’s most popular puppet series.
He brought authority and drama to the role of the eldest of Jeff Tracy’s five sons taking International Rescue’s hi-tech craft to land, sea, air and space emergencies. Anderson and his wife Sylvia, who was responsible for storylines, voice casting and costume design, sought characters that would appeal to an American audience, making Thunderbirds (1965-66) a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Toronto-born Rimmer, a singer who established himself as an actor after moving to Britain, fitted the format perfectly, taking his place alongside other Canadian, American, Australian and British voice artists. He was heard in all 32 episodes and two film spin-offs.
His face also became a fixture over the next half-century. He holds the record for the most appearances in James Bond films by a non-regular cast member – You Only Live Twice as a Hawaii radar operator, Diamonds Are Forever as a security chief and The Spy Who Loved Me as submarine commander Carter, who helps Roger Moore’s 007 to rescue Barbara Bach’s Russian agent, as well as voicing ill-fated agent Hamilton (played by Robert Dix) in Live and Let Die.
Shane Leslie Rimmer was born in
Toronto on 29 May 1929 to British-born parents, Thomas, an advertising copywriter from Belfast, and Vera (née Franklin).
On leaving school, Rimmer forged a career in radio, presenting the breakfast show at CHVC, Niagara Falls. On moving to CKLB in Oshawa, near Toronto, as a sports announcer, he teamed up with two other station staff to become lead singer in the Johnny Paul Trio, performing in cabaret.
In 1953 the group toured Britain, changing their name to the Three Deuces, with some success. Back in Canada, Rimmer began acting, mainly on television, before returning to Britain in 1959, recording solo singles and becoming resident vocalist in the second series of Michael Bentine’s sketch show After Hours.
His big break as an actor came with the role of B-52 Stratofortress co-pilot Captain “Ace” Owens in the black comedy Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Peter Sellers.
By the time it was released, Rimmer had begun a five-month stint as Russell Corrigan in the BBC TV soap Compact, about a women’s magazine. “I was brought in as a rather aggressive American editor to add a little fizz to the show,” he recalled. “Gerry Anderson had spotted enough to reckon that the voice of Corrigan would fit the character of Scott Tracy.”
This led to a long association with Anderson. Rimmer provided voices for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90 before appearing in Anderson’s liveaction series UFO in three roles, The Protectors, Space: 1999 and, as Lieutenant Chuck Brogan, in the pilot Space Police (1986). He also voiced the detective of the title in Dick Spanner, P.I. (1987).
These programmes were sold around the world by Lew Grade’s ITC Entertainment, which distributed action-adventure series that provided plenty of scope for Rimmer’s acting skills – from The Saint and Danger Man to Court Martial and The Persuaders. Rimmer also wrote episodes of Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service and The Protectors.
His 1970s and 1980s film highlights included playing a CIA agent in S*P*Y*S, coach Rusty in Rollerball, pilot Hogan in The People that Time Forgot, a rebel crew chief in Star Wars and a farmer in Out of Africa, as well as small roles in Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
Rimmer had two parts in Coronation Street – as the American GI Joe Donnelli, who pushed Steve Tanner, husband of Elsie, down a staircase to his death, and Malcolm Reid, a Canadian who had adopted Audrey Roberts’s illegitimate son Stephen and unsuccessfully tried to persuade her to leave her husband, Alf.
His autobiography, From Thunderbirds to Pterodactyls, was published in 2010.
In 1963, Rimmer married the dancer, Sheila Logan. She survives him with three sons.
Shane Rimmer, born May 28 1929, died March 29 2019