Matt Zimmerman
Encyclopedia
Matt Zimmerman is a Canadian actor best known as the voice of Alan Tracy
in Thunderbirds
, the TV series, as well as the movies Thunderbirds are GO
and Thunderbird 6
. He also attended Bowling Green State University
where he was a telecommunications major.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario
, Canada
, and educated in Detroit, he started acting at an early age. Having won a scholarship he moved to Britain in 1959 to study drama at LAMDA where he was a contemporary of Ed Bishop
.
As well as voicing Alan in Thunderbirds, he in common with other actors in the series, also voiced several minor or incidental characters. He also appeared in an episode of Space 1999, another Gerry Anderson
production.
Matt also appears as Shooty in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
.
Other television appearances include T-Bag
, Mike and Angelo
, Crazy Like a Fox
, Never the Twain
, and many commercials, most notably for Wrangler Jeans
.
Also a theatrical actor, he has appeared in shows such as Anything Goes
, Once in a Lifetime
and West Side Story, and made his most recent West End
appearance in Fiddler on the Roof
at the Savoy Theatre
in London. He is currently appearing in the touring cast of Cabaret
(2008), taking the role of Herr Schultz.
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
in Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, the TV series, as well as the movies Thunderbirds are GO
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
and Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science-fiction and adventure film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, directed by David Lane and produced by Century 21 Cinema...
. He also attended Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
where he was a telecommunications major.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and educated in Detroit, he started acting at an early age. Having won a scholarship he moved to Britain in 1959 to study drama at LAMDA where he was a contemporary of Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain.-Early life:Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns in Newfoundland...
.
As well as voicing Alan in Thunderbirds, he in common with other actors in the series, also voiced several minor or incidental characters. He also appeared in an episode of Space 1999, another Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
production.
Matt also appears as Shooty in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
.
Other television appearances include T-Bag
T-Bag
T-Bag is a witch-like character who appears in a number of television programmes which ran from the mid-80s to early 90s on Children's ITV. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series has a different title and features a single story told over several episodes.-History:The programme was...
, Mike and Angelo
Mike and Angelo
Mike and Angelo is a sci-fi TV sitcom series that ran on CITV between 16 March 1989 and 7 March 2000. It centres on Angelo , an alien who came from another world during the first series; the portal from his world being that of a...
, Crazy Like a Fox
Crazy Like a Fox (TV series)
Crazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984 to May 3, 1986.-Overview:...
, Never the Twain
Never the Twain
Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 1981 to 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke...
, and many commercials, most notably for Wrangler Jeans
Wrangler Jeans
Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items. The brand is owned by the VF Corporation, who also own Lee, JanSport and The North Face, among others. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, with production plants in a variety of locations throughout the world...
.
Also a theatrical actor, he has appeared in shows such as Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
, Once in a Lifetime
Once in a Lifetime (play)
Once in a Lifetime is a play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, the first of eight on which they collaborated in the 1930s.-Plot:The satirical comedy focuses on the effect talking pictures have on the entertainment industry...
and West Side Story, and made his most recent West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
appearance in Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in London. He is currently appearing in the touring cast of Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
(2008), taking the role of Herr Schultz.
Movies
- 1966 A Man for All SeasonsA Man for All Seasons (1966 film)A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
- 1966 Thunderbirds Are GoThunderbirds Are GOThunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
- 1968 Thunderbird 6Thunderbird 6Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science-fiction and adventure film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, directed by David Lane and produced by Century 21 Cinema...
- 1979 Birth of the BeatlesBirth of the BeatlesBirth of The Beatles is a 1979 biopic motion picture, produced by Dick Clark's company and directed by Richard Marquand. The film was released into cinemas worldwide except in parts of the United States, where it was shown as a TV movie.-The film:The film focuses on the early history of 1960s rock...
- 1986 Haunted HoneymoonHaunted HoneymoonHaunted Honeymoon is a 1986 comedy movie starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom Deluise, and Jonathan Pryce. Wilder also served as the film's writer and director. The film also marked Radner's final appearance prior to her death of ovarian cancer in 1989....
- 1989 The Forgotten
- 1995 Margaret's MuseumMargaret's MuseumMargaret's Museum is a critically acclaimed 1995 British-Canadian dark film drama, directed by Mort Ransen and based on Sheldon Currie's novel The Glace Bay Miners' Museum....