Douglas Rain, Actor Who Voiced HAL 9000 In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Has Died Aged 90

Douglas Rain, the classically-trained Shakespearean actor who voiced HAL 9000 in director Stanley Kubrick’s seminal science-fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died at the age of 90.

The Stratford Festival, a dramatic festival in Canada based around the works of the bard (which Rain co-founded in 1952), released a statement to say that Rain had died of natural causes at his home in Stratford, Ontario.

“Canadian theatre has lost one of its greatest talents and a guiding light in its development,” Antoni Cimolino, the festival’s director, wrote in a press release yesterday, “Douglas Rain was that rare artist: an actor deeply admired by other actors.”

Douglas Rain, born in Winnipeg in 1928, studied at the Old Vic in London. He was a beloved performer across Canada, and even received a Tony nomination in 1972 for his performance in Vivat! Vivat! Regina!