Michael Rennie

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Michael Rennie (born August 25, 1909 in Bradford , † June 10, 1971 in Harrogate ; actually Eric Alexander Rennie ) was a British actor .

Life

Rennie came from a fairly wealthy business family. After graduating from Cambridge University , he worked in various odd jobs, such as a car salesman and later also as the manager of his uncle's factory. He had his first small role in a 1936 Hitchcock film. After that, he mainly played in the theater .

In 1941 he joined the Royal Air Force . After the end of the war in 1945, he starred in a number of movies, which made him famous in Great Britain. In 1951 he moved to Hollywood to have success in the USA. His first and best known engagement there was the role of Klaatu in The Day on which the earth stood still . The fame of the film and his role earned Michael Rennie, among other things, a mention in the opening song Science Fiction / Double Feature of the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . He then played in the 1952 filming of the poor (directed by Lewis Milestone ) and 1953 in the garment to Peter . He played the same role in the sequel The Gladiators (1954). After that he mainly played smaller roles in film and television. He never made the real breakthrough in the USA.

He became even more famous in 1959 when he played the role of Harry Lime in the television series The Third Man (after the film of the same name with Orson Welles ) . In the 1960s he held several guest appearances on television series, including Bonanza , Lost in Space ( Lost in Space ), Time Tunnel , The Invaders ( The Invaders ) and Batman .

Rennie was married twice, both marriages ended in divorce. His son David (* 1951) comes from his second marriage to actress Maggie McGrath .

He spent the last years of his life in Geneva . Rennie, who was a heavy smoker , died of emphysema in 1971 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Rennie in the All Movie Guide (English)
  2. ↑ Michael Rennie. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Rennie, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rennie, Eric Alexander (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Bradford
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 1971
Place of death Harrogate