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Michael Rennie |
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Height: 6' 4"
Born: 25 August 1909, Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK
Deceased: 10 June 1971, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, UK.
Married to: 'Meg McGrath' (? - ?) (divorced) |
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The British actor Michael Rennie worked as a car salesman and factory manager before he turned to acting. A meeting with a Gaumont-British casting director led to Rennie's first acting job--that of stand-in for Robert Young in Alfred Hitchcock's The Secret Agent (1936) . He put his film career on hold for a few years to get some acting experience on the stage, working in repertory in York and Windsor. Afterwards, he returned to films and achieved star status in I'll Be Your Sweetheart (1945) . In 1951, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a supporting actor for eight years until his return to England in 1959. At that time, he took the lead role of Harry Lime in the television series The Third Man (1959) . Throughout his career, he made numerous guest appearances on television, particularly on American programs. Arguably his most popular role is Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) , now considered a science fiction classic. Lyn Hammond Trivia:
Michael Rennie joined the Royal Air Force in 1941, training as a
fighter pilot in the United States under the Arnold Plan. While at
Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama for his advanced flight training he was
asked by fellow trainee, Scotsman Jack Morton, what he did in civilian
life. Rennie told Morton and the other pilots gathered around that he
was a movie actor. They stared at him in disbelief then broke out in a
chorus of laughter. A couple of nights later Rennie and his classmates
went into town to watch a movie, "Ships with Wings". Not long into the
movie, and much to the surprise of those seated with him, Michael
Rennie appeared on the screen as Royal Navy Pilot "Lt. Maxwell" |
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