Matt Zimmerman
Place of birth: Born in Canada but brought up in Detroit, Michigan, though I now consider London my home.
Training: Wayne University (Liberal Arts and Theatre); LAMDA (Advanced Professional Course on Canada Council Scholarship); Singing at Toronto Conservatory.
Theatre: West End – Annie (Bert Healey and Rooster) 1978-1982 Victoria Palace and in revival 1999 and tour as Bert Healey and FDR; City Of Angels, Anything Goes (Moonface Martin); Sunday In The Park With George and Once In A Lifetime (National Theatre); Annie Get Your Gun (with Suzi Quatro); Singin’ In The Rain (Tommy Steele London Palladium playing Dexter) and tour with Paul Nicholas, West Side Story (original American company) and Bill Kenwright Production in Dublin and Shaftesbury Theatre as Tony; Gone With The Wind (Drury Lane, understudy to Rhett Butler); Odd Couple, Windy City, High Spirits and has just completed being the alternative Teyve in Fiddler On The Roof at the Savoy Theatre.
National tours: West Side Story, Crazy For You, Singin’ In The Rain, Annie and The Fantasticks (Leicester, Dublin six month run, Canada and Lisbon).
Television: best known for being the voice of Alan Tracy in the cult TV puppet series Thunderbirds Are Go!, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (BBC), Rab C Nesbitt (BBC), Jeeves And Wooster, T.Bag, Mike And Angelo, Spatz, Whoops Apocalypse, Never The Twain, Lexx (american sci-fi series), Quincy’s Quest with Tommy Steele.
Radio: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Tales Of Damon Runyon, The Enormous Radio, Hound Of The Baskervilles, A Study In Scarlet, No More A Rovin, New York Poetry, Caves Of Steel, Notes From The Orchid Farm, Golden Apples Of The Sun, Capricorn, Let ‘Em Eat Cake (musical), Guys And Dolls (musical), Over The Rainbow (about Judy Garland), Now You See Me, The Scholar Gypsy, Canterville Ghost, Politic Of Song and The Cornish Trilogy (Simon Darcourt) all for Radio 4.
Films: Man For All Seasons (Oscar Best Picture); Haunted Honeymoon (with Gene Wilder); Crazy Like A Fox, The Two Mrs Grenvilles (with Claudette Colbert); The Forgotten (wuth Stacey Keach), The American Way, Birth Of The Beatles and Margaret’s Museum.
Personal: After completing course at LAMDA, met future wife Shirley Chapman from Vancouver. She joined Sadler’s Wells Opera and after being married decided to stay in England. Shirley sang with Sadler’s Wells and ENO for twenty years. She passed away in 2002 and Matt now lives alone with his memories.