Personal Info

Birth date

1909-08-25 (116 Years)

Day of death

1971-06-10

Gender

Male

Known for

Acting

Place of birth

Bradford, Yorkshire, England

Also known as

Eric Alexander Rennie

Michael Rennie

Biography

Michael Rennie (born August 1909 – June 10, 1971) was an English actor best known for his role as Klaatu in the science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He enjoyed a successful career spanning film, television, and theater, gaining fame for his dignified and often authoritative roles.

Michael Rennie was born Eric Alexander Rennie in Ilford, Essex, England. His early interest in acting led him to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he trained and developed his skills as a performer. He worked initially in British theater before transitioning to film.

Rennie’s early career included several roles in British films, but it was his move to Hollywood in the 1940s that helped him gain more widespread recognition. He appeared in a series of films, often portraying dignified or authoritative characters, with his tall stature, smooth voice, and good looks making him a natural fit for leading roles.

His breakthrough came with the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), where he portrayed the alien visitor Klaatu. The film is considered one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time, and Rennie’s portrayal of the calm and rational Klaatu became iconic. The film's message of peace, tolerance, and warning against militarism resonated with audiences, and Rennie’s performance as the alien ambassador remains one of his most famous and enduring roles.

Following The Day the Earth Stood Still, Rennie continued to appear in a variety of films, often in roles of authority or leadership. Some notable films he starred in include The Lost World (1960), The 27th Day (1957), and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), where he appeared alongside actors like James Mason and Pat Boone.

Rennie also appeared in numerous television series, including The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and The Invaders. In the 1960s, he had roles in various TV shows, further establishing his presence in the science fiction and adventure genres.

Rennie was married twice. His first marriage was to actress Dorothy Dandridge in 1959, but they eventually divorced. Later, he married Shirley Sutherland, with whom he remained until his death.

Despite his fame, Rennie led a relatively private life and was known to be a gentleman both on and off screen. He had a reputation for being reserved and professional, a trait that made him well-suited to the types of roles he was often cast in.

Michael Rennie passed away on June 10, 1971, at the age of 61, from a heart attack while vacationing in Spain. His death marked the end of a distinguished career in film and television.

Rennie’s most enduring legacy is his portrayal of Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still, which remains a staple of science fiction cinema. His calm, authoritative presence in the film and his portrayal of an alien visitor with a message of peace continue to resonate with audiences and are considered a high point in 1950s science fiction. Throughout his career, he brought dignity and depth to the roles he played, earning him a place in cinematic history, particularly within the science fiction genre.

Filmography

Perry Mason

7.7

Overview:

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

Bonanza

7.524

Overview:

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

Batman

7.285

Overview:

Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.

Climax!

3.3

Overview:

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

The Virginian

6.344

Overview:

The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.

Daniel Boone

6.9

Overview:

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.

The F.B.I.

5.391

Overview:

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa was co-sponsor of Season One only.

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

7.8

Overview:

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of suspense and featuring thrillers and mysteries.

Route 66

6.3

Overview:

After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

5.7

Overview:

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

5.5

Overview:

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Lost in Space

7.102

Overview:

The space family Robinson is sent on a five-year mission to find a new planet to colonise. The voyage is sabotaged time and again by an inept stowaway, Dr. Zachary Smith. The family's spaceship, Jupiter II, also carries a friendly robot who endures an endless stream of abuse from Dr. Smith, but is a trusted companion of young Will Robinson

The Invaders

6.8

Overview:

The Invaders, alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: the Earth. Their purpose: to make it their world. David Vincent has seen them, for him it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form. Somehow he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun.

Kraft Suspense Theatre

5.3

Overview:

The Time Tunnel

7.6

Overview:

The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series, written around a theme of time travel adventure. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science fiction television series, released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran for one season of 30 episodes. Reruns are viewable on cable and by internet streaming. A pilot for a new series was produced in 2002, although it was not picked up.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

7.8

Overview:

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

The 20th Century Fox Hour

5.4

Overview:

The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars. The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.2

Overview:

Agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin work for a secret intelligence service working under the auspices of the U.N. Their immediate superior is Mr. Waverly. Together they operate out of a secret base beneath the streets of New York City, and accesses through several cover business such as Del Floria's Tailor Shop and the Masque Club. This secret intelligence service is called U.N.C.L.E. United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Branded

6.4

Overview:

Branded is an American Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in its Sunday night 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time period, and starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army Cavalry captain who had been drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice.

The Great Adventure

NYR

Overview:

The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, narrated each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented a weekly one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important historical events in American History.

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

6.7

Overview:

The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.

The Lost World

5.726

Overview:

Professor Challenger leads an expedition of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep in the Amazonian jungle to verify his claim that dinosaurs still live there.

12 O'Clock High

7.2

Overview:

This series chronicles the adventures--in the air and on the ground--of the men of the 918th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force. First commanded by irascible General Frank Savage--and later by Colonel Joe Gallagher, the son of a Pentagon General--the Group is stationed in England, and flies long-range bombing missions into German-held Europe.

Stoney

3.2

Overview:

Barbara Bouchet (Casino Royale) and Mike Preston (Metalstorm, Road Warrior) are caught in an international mishmash of espionage and double crosses in the Philippines. Michael Rennie (The Day The Earth Stood Still), Richard Jaeckel (Grizzly) and Filipino heartthrob Vic Diaz also star!

Tower of Terror

5.4

Overview:

Wartime Germany: Marie, a concentration camp escapee on the run from the Nazis, narrowly escapes drowing when she is rescued by Wolfe Kristan a half-mad lighthouse keeper. Brought aboard the lighthouse itself, she begins to fall in love with the assistant keeper who, unknown to her, is a British spy. As the couple become more intimate, Kristan's jealously finally pushes him over the brink and into full-blown madness...

Suspicion

5.9

Overview:

Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1959. The executive producer of Suspicion was film director Alfred Hitchcock.

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

6.2

Overview:

The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from September 1960 to September 1961. Barbara Stanwyck served hostess, and starred in all but four of the half-hour productions. The four she did not star in were actually pilot episodes of potential series programs which never materialized. Stanwyck won the Emmy Award in 1961 for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series. Three of the shows in which Stanwyck starred were an attempt at spinning off a dramatic series of her own, in which she appeared as "Josephine Little", an American woman running an import-export shop in Hong Kong. The show was canceled for having offensive jokes about race, gender roles and cows.

The Rains of Ranchipur

5.154

Overview:

India. The spoilt and stubborn Edwina Esketh, comes to a small town with her husband. She falls in love with an indian doctor, Dr. Safti. She also meets an old friend of hers, the alcoholic Tom Ransome. An awful earthquake is followed by days of rain.

Shirley Temple's Storybook

6.2

Overview:

Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose".

Dangerous Moonlight

6.4

Overview:

Stefan Radetzky, a Polish pilot and famous concert pianist, is hospitalised in England from injuries sustained while in combat, and having lost his memory. As Radetzky plays the piano in a trance-like state, the story moves back in time to war-torn Warsaw. During an air-raid, Radetzky meets American journalist Carole, and there is a mutual attraction. Following the fall of Poland, Radetzky and Irish pilot, Mike, escape to Rumania and then on to America. Radetzky continues his musical career in America and meets up again with Carole.

Acting

1998Lost In Space Forever as The Keeper (archive footage)

1995Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey as Klaatu (archive footage) (uncredited)

1979The Horror Show as (archive footage)

1970Assignment Terror as Dr. Odo Warnoff

1969The Battle of El Alamein as Bernard Law Montgomery

1969Stoney as Harvey Ward

1968Subterfuge as Goldsmith

1968The Last Chance as George McConnell

1968Seven Into Hell as Blynn

1968The Devil's Brigade as Lt. Gen. Mark Clark

1968The Power as Arthur Nordlund

1968Naked You Die as Inspector Durand

1967Death on the Run as Major Worthington Clark

1967The Danny Thomas Hour (1 Episode) as Paul Heaton

1967Hondo and the Apaches as Tribolet

1967Hondo (2 Episodes) as Unknown

1967Hotel as Geoffrey - Duke of Lanbourne

1967The Invaders (1, 2 Episode) as Magnus, Vice Chancellor Pierre Alquist

1966Cyborg 2087 as Garth A7

1966Jericho (1 Episode) as Unknown

1966ABC Stage 67 (1 Episode) as Unknown

1966The Time Tunnel (1 Episode) as Capt. Malcolm Smith

1966Batman (2 Episodes) as Sandman

1966Ride Beyond Vengeance as Brooks Durham

1965The F.B.I. (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Conrad Letterman, Albert Robinson / Major John Anka, Eric Reverson

1965Lost in Space (2 Episodes) as The Keeper

1965Branded (1 Episode) as Unknown

1964Daniel Boone (1, 1 Episode) as Maj. Peter Wellington, Edgar Newton

1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1 Episode) as Barnaby Partridge

196412 O'Clock High (1 Episode) as Gen. St. John Keighley

1963Mary, Mary as Dirk Winston

1963Kraft Suspense Theatre (1 Episode) as Robert Thurston

1963Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1, 1 Episode) as Edward Parker Greene, Inspector Kauslake

1963The Great Adventure (1 Episode) as President Jefferson Davis

1962The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1 Episode) as Ralph Manson

1962The Virginian (1 Episode) as Michael O'Rourke

1961The Dick Powell Show (1, 1 Episode) as Inspector Marshall, General Conrad Munday

1960Route 66 (2 Episodes) as Unknown

1960The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1 Episode) as Julius

1960The Lost World as Lord John Roxton

1959Third Man on the Mountain as Captain John Winter

1959Perilous Assignment as Self

1959The Third Man (77 Episodes) as Unknown

1959Bonanza (1 Episode) as Prof. Poppy / Dr. P.A. Mundy

1958Shirley Temple's Storybook (1 Episode) as Captain Creighton

1958Battle of the V-1 as Stefan

1957Suspicion (1 Episode) as Angus Martin

1957DuPont Show of the Month (1 Episode) as Unknown

1957Perry Mason (1 Episode) as Prof. Edward Lindley

1957Omar Khayyam as Hasani Sabah

1957Island in the Sun as Hilary Carson

1957Circle of the Day as Eric Millet

1956Teenage Rebel as Jay Fallon

1956Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Matthew Birch, Grant Coburn, Marshal Locke Gardner

1955The Rains of Ranchipur as Lord Albert Esketh

1955Seven Cities of Gold as Father Junipero Serra

1955The 20th Century Fox Hour (1 Episode) as Narrator

1955Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1, 1 Episode) as Allen Bliss, Sir Humphrey J. Orford

1955Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

1955Soldier of Fortune as Inspector Merryweather, Hong Kong Marine Police

1954Désirée as Bernadotte

1954The Wonderful World of Disney (1 Episode) as Self

1954Climax! (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Lord Edward Dominey / Major General Von Raggenstein, Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde, Charles Martin Westling, 'Irish' Sean Dillon, James MacLennan, Dr. Fitzroy, Lorenzo

1954Mambo as Enrico Marisoni

1954Princess of the Nile as Rama Khan

1954Demetrius and the Gladiators as Peter

1953King of the Khyber Rifles as Brig. Gen. J. R. Maitland

1953The Robe as Peter

1953Dangerous Crossing as Dr. Paul Manning

1953Sailor of the King as Lt. Richard Saville

1953The Desert Rats as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1953Titanic as End Narrator (Voice)

1952Les Miserables as Jean Valjean

19525 Fingers as Colin Travers

1952Phone Call from a Stranger as Dr. Robert Fortness