What's the matter sailor? Never seen a Major take a shower before?
I think most James Bond buffs will recognize that line delivered by Shane Rimmer as Comr. Carter in my favourite Roger Moore Bond film , 'The Spy Who Loved Me'
Playing Comr. Carter, Shane not only got to appear with Bond girl Barbara Bach in that light-hearted shower scene, he also had plenty to do in the final shoot out with Roger Moore. It was Shane's finest hour when it came to Bond films, even though he'd apparently appeared, mainly uncredited in more James Bond films ( with the exception of cast members playing recurring characters) than any other actor.
Replica Scott Tracy at Fanderson
UFO
Aside from Bond, It will be his long running association with Gerry Anderson that Shane will be best remembered. He was a popular guest at conventions. I seem to recall first seeing him at the first Fanderson convention that took place in Leeds in 1981. I should imagine, like the rest of the guests he found the whole thing quite puzzling, nevertheless I got the feeling he genuinely appreciated that fans remembered and enjoyed his work. He was happy to sign autographs, which, I hasten to add was free in those days.
Shane at Andercon 2015
Shane at Andercon 2015
In recent times he appeared on stage along with his Thunderbird pals, Matt Zimmerman and David Graham. They were always entertaining. Watching them I was sometimes reminded of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, as Shane was like the sleepy Dormouse, always emphasizing his forgetfulness and looking into space, while Mad Hatter Matt would playfully take the mickey. David, as the March Hare generally appeared to be above all this.
Shane at Andercon
Shane at Fanderson
One recent happy memory I have of Shane, was at the last Fanderson convention in Maidenhead in 2017. It was at the evening banquet and Shane and his lovely wife, Sheila decided to sit with us for the meal. Needless to say we had a great time. Oddly enough, for the sake of variety I don't think we talked about Thunderbirds, but we did talk movies. Out of the blue Shane asked if I remembered him in a film called Warlords of Atlantis. I did, of course, I even have it on DVD. It was one of those rare films when Shane's character turns out to be the villain We finally all took part in the quiz at the end of the evening, going under the group name of Comr. Carter's Crew. Unfortunately, unlike the fictional Comr. Carter we didn't win in the end!
The last time I saw Shane was at the Anderson event at the Leicester Space Centre last year. I have to admit he did look frail, but in spite of that he was happy to sign, chat and pose for photos.
Shane was booked to appear at Fanderson again this year. He will be greatly missed, but I've no doubt we'll all be marking the special man's passing at the event.
