R.I.P Michael Angelis · 12:47am May 31st, 2020

A shocking and unexpected death has rocked the Thomas community. Michael Angelis, the second U.K. narrator and the longest lasting narrator in the franchise, died suddenly today at the age of 68.

Originally a television actor in the U.K. in the 80's, Angelis became the narrator for Season 3 of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends in the U.K., taking over from the previous narrator Ringo Starr. Ironically, Michael's older brother Paul had voiced Ringo in the 1968 animated movie Yellow Submarine (which the Beatles themselves had little to do with, aside from filing their cameo appearance). Michael remained with the franchise for roughly twenty years, before the role was passed to Mike Morgan after Season 16.

Michael was briefly used as a stand-in narrator for the U.S. when Alec Baldwin quit unexpectedly. While I heard little of his narrations until recent years and grew up with the narrations of George Carlin and Alec Baldwin for the U.S., I did find that his narrations in Season 6 were considerably better than what the U.S. had, and was much better than Michael Brandon during the seasons with HiT Entertainment. Interestingly, Michael was considered to voice James and Percy in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, but test audiences felt he made the characters sound too old (for Percy I would agree, Percy was a character Angelis never seemed to narrate properly, but I think he had the right kind of voice for James).

Michael Angelis now joins George Carlin, both of whom were the last narrators in the classic series to narrate stories based on The Railway Series, on a journey to that Great Island of Sodor in the Sky. And much like George Carlin, his legacy will live on in the hearts of all who have heard his narrations.