Stephen Moore, best known for his roles as the paranoid android Marvin in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” radio series and the Silurian Eldane in “Doctor Who,” has died. He was 81.
“The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” producer Dirk Maggs confirmed Moore’s death Sturday on Twitter, writing, “Our dear friend Stephen Moore has died. A fine actor, a lovely man and the original and most iconic voice of Marvin The Paranoid Android in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Our thoughts are with his family and our memories of him will always make us smile. RIP Stephen.”
Moore got his start on “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” in 1978, voicing Marvin in the franchise’s original radio series where he stayed for four more series, the television show, the records and the audio books. He also voiced several “Hitchhiker” roles outside of Marvin, including Gag Halfrunt, Frankie Mouse, a whale and the ruler of the universe, and his character work is credited with inspiring the title of the 1997 Radiohead hit “Paranoid Android.”
Moore would go on to reach wider audiences in 1997 as Kevin’s dad in the British sketch show “Harry Enfield and Chums” and in 2010 as Eldane, the leader of the Silurian’s in the fifth season of “Doctor Who,” which featured Matt Smith as the titular Doctor.
Off screen, Moore boasted a prolific career on stage, earning the 1983 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for best actor in a revival of “The Doll’s House.” He also starred in “As You Like It,” “Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Twelfth Night.”
He is survived by his five children Robyn, Guy, Hedda, Charlotte and Sophie.