David Graham, the actor who brought us the voices of Parker, Brains, and countless other Supermarionation characters, has died at the age of 99.
Grandpa Twink, Fernando, Red Scalp, Big Ben, Dr. Beaker, Mitch the Monkey, Zarin, Bill Gibson, Professor Matic, Zoonie, Lt. Ninety, Boris Spacespy, Oink, Aloysius Parker, Brains, Kyrano, and Gordon Tracy… Those are just the regular characters that David Graham played in Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, and Thunderbirds. Add to that list the hundreds of guest characters he voiced in those shows (plus a return for The Secret Service, Space Precinct and a live-action role in Crossroads to Crime) and it becomes clear pretty quickly that David Graham was the most significant contributor of acting performances to the Gerry Anderson canon.
Now, add on his role as one of the original voices of the Daleks in Doctor Who from 1963, Big Brother in the classic “1984” Apple Macintosh commercial, the beloved Grandpa Pig in Peppa Pig, and returning to his most famous Thunderbirds role in 2015 to play Parker for the Thunderbirds Are Go remake, and you get a real sense that David Graham is quietly but confidently embedded into some of the most significant cultural icons of the past 60 years.
David Graham was an unbelievably hard worker and kept on practising his extraordinary talent for voice work for as long as he possibly could until he passed away, aged 99. A kind and gentle figure, he was always generous with his time and attended countless events and promotional activities for the Anderson shows. He seemingly never tired of telling the story of how he found Parker’s voice at the Kings Arms pub in Cookham – a tale which most fans can probably recite word-for-word but always loved to hear. If Brains or Parker needed to turn up in a TV advert or documentary, David would do the job and always give it his best. Without David’s dedication to his characters, Parker wouldn’t have become the cultural icon that he is today.
With David Graham’s passing, we have lost an important link to the team that brought us Thunderbirds and so many beloved characters. But I think David Graham’s legacy is also to be found in the fact that he was totally committed to the acting profession for an entire lifetime. His love of the work and the craft of voice artistry has gone on to touch generations of viewers and listeners. People can only hope to gain that kind of reputation by showing up consistently and doing the job over and over again. I hope that David Graham’s understated professionalism and dedication to his work and his characters continues to inspire actors to create performances that last for years to come.
Security Hazard 
A sad day. ‘appy trails old chap!
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A truly great actor, he’ll sorely missed by everyone.
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One nice thing to think of is all the thunderbirds voice artists are working together again in the sky, along with a lot of the production crew!
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This is very sad news. I grew up watching all the Supermarionation programs. While all of Mr. Graham’s voiced characters are deeply loved, and Parker appears to be Mr. Graham’s most famously liked character, in my case, it is Dr. Beaker who generates my fondest thoughts for Mr. Graham. As a youngster, I loved Dr. Beaker and continue to love him to this day.
In a two DVD set titled: “Full Boost Vertical – The Supercar Story” there is a very poignant scene where Canadian Graydon Gould and David Graham read together from a “Supercar” script – Mr. Gould voicing Mike and Mr. Graham voicing both Dr. Beaker and Mitch.
And in the DVD titled: “Filmed in Supermarionation: The Story of the Pioneering Team that Launched Thunderbirds”, there is a seriously tear-jerking scene where Mr. Graham speaks to an inert Parker puppet and “in his lingo” thanks Parker for the wonderful work and times he brought to Mr. Graham. I cry every time I see this. Mr. Graham was a gem and we are all the richer for having been able to witness and enjoy his craft.
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