Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson dies
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-27/thunderbirds-creator-gerry-anderson-dies/4444400
The British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series Thunderbirds, Gerry Anderson, has died aged 83.
Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, causing him to be moved into a care home in October.
The animator created Joe 90, Stingray and Captain Scarlet, but he was best known for Thunderbirds, which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed Supermarionation.
The series, first shown in Britain in 1965, followed the adventures of a highly secretive organisation whose mission was to help those in peril using spacecraft and a range of high-tech vehicles operating from a Pacific island.
The characters' catchphrases, most famously "Thunderbirds are go", were incorporated into the vocabularies of a generation of young fans.
"I'm very sad to announce the death of my father, Thunderbirds creator, Gerry Anderson," his son Jamie announced on his personal website.
"He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years."
Earlier this year Anderson himself described how he became aware of his illness in an interview with the BBC.
"I don't think I realised at all. It was my wife Mary who began to notice that I would do something quite daft like putting the kettle in the sink and waiting for it to boil," he said.
Anderson began his career studying fibrous plastering, the technique used to make mouldings, but he suffered from dermatitis and had to switch to work as a photographer.
He also briefly earned a living as an air traffic controller before setting up a film company with friends.
His first commission was a children's puppet series called The Adventures of Twizzle, which allowed him to perfect the technique of Supermarionation.
It first involved recording the soundtrack for the voices.
Then when the puppets were being filmed, the electric signal from the taped dialogue was transmitted to sensors in the puppets' heads.
That meant that the marionettes' lips were synchronised with the soundtrack, which after being perfected in Fireball XL5 and Stingray was ready for the launch of Thunderbirds.
Anderson came up with the idea for Thunderbirds in 1963 while listening to a radio report about a revolutionary machine being transported across Germany to rescue miners trapped deep in a mine.
This is the Thunderbirds Are Go theme that many of you will remember.
[youtube]BfIAKj3Gl1E[/youtube]
Personally, my favourite was Stingray, with the lead character Troy Tempest resembling Hollywood actor James Garner.
[youtube]E06cNv55jTs[/youtube]
My first Anderson experience was Fireball XL5.
The theme song, after the intro, was sung by Don Spencer of later Playschool fame , and the father in law of Russell Crow.
[youtube]6ifS2nP53Zs[/youtube]
For me, the 1960s was a great time for boyhood TV.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-27/thunderbirds-creator-gerry-anderson-dies/4444400
The British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series Thunderbirds, Gerry Anderson, has died aged 83.
Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, causing him to be moved into a care home in October.
The animator created Joe 90, Stingray and Captain Scarlet, but he was best known for Thunderbirds, which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed Supermarionation.
The series, first shown in Britain in 1965, followed the adventures of a highly secretive organisation whose mission was to help those in peril using spacecraft and a range of high-tech vehicles operating from a Pacific island.
The characters' catchphrases, most famously "Thunderbirds are go", were incorporated into the vocabularies of a generation of young fans.
"I'm very sad to announce the death of my father, Thunderbirds creator, Gerry Anderson," his son Jamie announced on his personal website.
"He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years."
Earlier this year Anderson himself described how he became aware of his illness in an interview with the BBC.
"I don't think I realised at all. It was my wife Mary who began to notice that I would do something quite daft like putting the kettle in the sink and waiting for it to boil," he said.
Anderson began his career studying fibrous plastering, the technique used to make mouldings, but he suffered from dermatitis and had to switch to work as a photographer.
He also briefly earned a living as an air traffic controller before setting up a film company with friends.
His first commission was a children's puppet series called The Adventures of Twizzle, which allowed him to perfect the technique of Supermarionation.
It first involved recording the soundtrack for the voices.
Then when the puppets were being filmed, the electric signal from the taped dialogue was transmitted to sensors in the puppets' heads.
That meant that the marionettes' lips were synchronised with the soundtrack, which after being perfected in Fireball XL5 and Stingray was ready for the launch of Thunderbirds.
Anderson came up with the idea for Thunderbirds in 1963 while listening to a radio report about a revolutionary machine being transported across Germany to rescue miners trapped deep in a mine.
This is the Thunderbirds Are Go theme that many of you will remember.
[youtube]BfIAKj3Gl1E[/youtube]
Personally, my favourite was Stingray, with the lead character Troy Tempest resembling Hollywood actor James Garner.
[youtube]E06cNv55jTs[/youtube]
My first Anderson experience was Fireball XL5.
The theme song, after the intro, was sung by Don Spencer of later Playschool fame , and the father in law of Russell Crow.
[youtube]6ifS2nP53Zs[/youtube]
For me, the 1960s was a great time for boyhood TV.
