Peter Dyneley Biography

Peter Dyneley (13 April 192119 August 1977) was an English-Canadian actor. Although he appeared in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for supplying the voice of Jeff Tracy for the 1960s "Supermarionation" TV series Thunderbirds and its two film sequels, Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), all produced by Gerry Anderson. Uncredited, Dyneley also provided the voice of the countdown that introduces the Thunderbirds title sequence.

Life and career

Born in Hastings, East Sussex, England, Dyneley spent his early years in Canada but was educated at Radley College in Oxfordshire, England. He possessed dual nationality (Canadian and British) and served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. After the war, he attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied opera and developed his bass voice. It was at this institution that he made the acquaintance of fellow student Christine May, whom he later married. They had two children, Richard and Amanda.

With his Canadian background, Dyneley frequently performed with a North American accent. He acted primarily in stage productions prior to 1954, when he turned his attention to film. On stage and in film, he regularly appeared opposite his second wife, the actress Jane Hylton, whom he met on the set of the horror film The Manster (1959). He also appeared as a guest star in many television series. He spoke fluent French, German and Spanish and was tall. Dyneley died of cancer on 19 August 1977, Hylton of a heart attack 18 months later, on 28 February 1979.

Thunderbirds voice-over

English actor Brian Cobby (1929–2012), former voice of the British Speaking Clock, claimed that it was he who had provided the voice-over countdown for the opening sequence of Thunderbirds in 1964. This was refuted by Thunderbirds producer Gerry Anderson, who confirmed that the countdown was indeed recorded by Dyneley:

Question: An actor by the name of Brian Cobby has claimed that he was the voice of the famous '5-4-3-2-1. Thunderbirds Are Go!' countdown, whereas the voice sounds just like Jeff Tracy voice artist Peter Dyneley. Can you please confirm, just for the record, who the actual voice artist was? Ian Fryer, Bradford, W. Yorks

Answer: Sorry, but I haven't got a clue who Brian Cobby is, Ian! Does anyone really believe that we'd hire a different actor to record those eight words in preference to the talented team of artists we'd already assembled to perform in the series? I remember the countdown as being one of the hardest voice recording sessions as it wasn't just a case of someone coming in and reading out the lines. The actor had to really emote, and only an actor who had been involved in the production and understood what it was about could really do it. No, anyone who's heard the Thunderbirds countdown knows that it is Peter Dyneley.

Filmography

• Hell Below Zero as Miller
• You Know What Sailors Are as Lieutenant Andrews
• The Young Lovers as Regan (uncredited)
• Beau Brummell as Midger
• Third Party Risk as Tony Roscoe
• The Stolen Airliner as Uncle George
• Ett Kunggligt aventyr as Greg Preston
• The Battle of the River Plate as Captain, Newton beach, Prisoner on Graf Spee (uncredited)
• The Golden Disc as Mr Washington
• Strange Awakening as Dr Rene Normand
• The Whole Truth as Willy Reichel
• The Manster as Larry Stanford
• October Moth as Tom
• The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone as Lloyd Greener
• Call Me Bwana as Williams
• Thunderbirds Are Go as Jeff Tracy (voice)
• Thunderbird 6 as Jeff Tracy (voice)
• The Executioner as Balkov
• Chato's Land as Ezra Meade
• Death of a Snowman as Captain

Television appearances

• Fabian of the Yard (1 episode) as Captain Pool
• The Vise (1 episode)
• Portrait of Alison (5 episodes) as Henry Carmichael
• Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents (2 episodes) as Bill Stevens/Mitch
• London Playhouse (1 episode) as John Bell
• Colonel March of Scotland Yard (1 episode) as Red
• The Adventures of Aggie (1 episode) as Mike
• Sailor of Fortune (1 episode) as Darren
• The Adventures of a Jungle Boy (1 episode) as Harold Gayland
• Assignment Foreign Legion (1 episode) as Richard Harding
• The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (2 episodes) as Dr Paul Liggat/John Robey
• ITV Playhouse (1 episode) as Arthur Hayes
• Ivanhoe (1 episode) as Baron Mauray
• The Flying Doctor (1 episode) as Jeff Ferguson
• Dial 999 (1 episode) as Harry Killian
• African Patrol (3 episodes) as Landray/Robert Gibson
• Armchair Theatre (4 episodes) as Lew Myrick
• Interpol Calling (1 episode) as LeRoy
• The Four Just Men (2 episodes) as Dougan/Police Chief
• Golden Girl as Joe Francis
• Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (1 episode) as Hadley
• International Detective (1 episode) as Len Rickman
• Kraft Mystery Theatre (2 episodes) as Dr Morrow/Mark Lemming
• Drama 61-67 (1 episode) as Frank Ellinger
• Out of This World (1 episode) as Inspector Slinn
• Man of the World (1 episode) as Tony Gardner
• Z-Cars (1 episode) as Jackey Simmons
• Sunday-Night Play (1 episode) as Mr Wright
• Ghost Squad (2 episodes) as Arnell/Phil Slade
• Maigret (1 episode)
• Espionage (1 episode) as Parrott
• Sergeant Cork (1 episode) as Field Marshal
• Catch Hand (1 episode) as Mr Niel
• ITV Play of the Week (3 episodes) as Major Ritter/Pyotr Kirpichov/Sir Basil Fleming
• Crane (1 episode) as Peter Garvey
• No Hiding Place (2 episodes) as Cliff Davidson/Mr Brome
• Theatre 625 (1 episode) as Grantley Lewis
• Hereward the Wake
• The Mask of Janus (1 episode) as Commander Charles Hastings
• Thunderbirds (32 episodes) as Jeff Tracy (voice)
• The Spies (1 episode) as Charles Hastings
• The Saint (3 episodes) as Nat Grindel/Paul Verrier/Richard Eade
• The Sweeney (1 episode) as Tarley