|
Author
|
Topic: 'Thunderbirds' creator Gerry Anderson (1929-2012)
|
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 1998
From: Toms River, NJ,USA
Registered: Aug 2000
|
posted 12-26-2012 12:59 PM
   
Associated Press reports Gerry Anderson has died. Gerry Anderson, puppetry pioneer and British creator of the sci-fi hit “Thunderbirds” TV show, has died. He was 83.Anderson’s son Jamie said his father died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday at a nursing home near Oxfordshire, England, after being diagnosed with mixed dementia two years ago. His condition had worsened dramatically over the past six months, his son said. Anderson’s television career launched in the 1950s. Once “Thunderbirds” aired in the 1960s, “Thunderbirds are go!” became a catchphrase for generations. It also introduced the use of “supermarionation” — a puppetry technique using thin wires to control marionettes — and made sci-fi mainstream, according to Jamie Anderson. The Thunderbirds depicted astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons, all named after Mercury astronauts: Scott; Virgil (after Grissom); Alan; Gordon; and John. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2180
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
|
posted 12-26-2012 01:16 PM
Gerry Anderson was the creator of many very popular (super)marionette puppet shows such as Supercar, Fireball XL-5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. But he and his Century 21 studio also made the jump to live action actors with the movie "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" (aka Doppelganger) and used it to springboard the creation of the live action SF shows UFO and Space:1999.While he has undoubtedly influenced a whole generation of Brits, such was the popularity of his production company's products that it also inspired many around the world (including several people who work in the space program today). In my own case, Space 1999 was the first show of his that I saw as a child and it struck a major chord with me in wanting to explore space (I saw the other shows when my family got cable in the early 1980s). The creations from Anderson's model guys (such as Meddings and Johnston) also influenced my push into doing science fiction and real space models. Thank you Gerry for the visual trips you took us on. Maybe they were short on stories sometimes (made up for by A LOT of explosions), but they provided some excellent inspirational eye candy. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 1340
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
|
posted 12-26-2012 01:53 PM
I must have fashioned dozens of Fireball XL5 spacecraft out of paper tubes and cardboard fins as a child. Fireball XL5 was as much a part of my development into an Aerospace Engineer as the real space program was. . |
NavySpaceFan
Member Posts: 625
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007
|
posted 12-26-2012 02:18 PM
I was a big fan of his live action shows. I had a U.F.O. lunch box when I was 6, and the Mattel Space:1999 Eagle. RIP, sir. |
minipci
Member Posts: 195
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009
|
posted 12-26-2012 02:25 PM
UFO was always my favorite Anderson show. Just loved that the Colonel Alec Freeman character (George Sewell) was a hard drinker.RIP Gerry. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 2377
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
|
posted 12-26-2012 02:35 PM
Thunderbirds did it for me!. RIP Gerry. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 1972
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
|
posted 12-26-2012 05:34 PM
This is sad news to end a year of sad news. Another part of my childhood has passed away. Like other space enthusiasts, I grew up with amazing TV shows like "Fireball XL5" and "Thunderbirds" while real astronauts and cosmonauts were beginning the exploration of space. They were exciting times. Almost 48 years after "Thunderbirds" first burst onto our TV screens, it remains a much-loved TV icon. Now, the creation has outlived the creator. Thank you, Gerry, for exciting and entertaining generations of children of all ages. Thunderbirds are STILL go! |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 140
From: Albany, Oregon USA
Registered: Jul 2006
|
posted 12-26-2012 06:12 PM
Fireball XL5, Supercar and Thunderbirds are the ones I grew up with. Fantastic! R.I.P. |
cspg
Member Posts: 3892
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
|
posted 12-27-2012 01:27 AM
I remember some episodes of Thunderbirds but TV was not as "watchable" as it is today ("go play outside!" was the motto back then!) But it was an impressive show.R.I.P. . |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
|
posted 12-27-2012 01:56 AM
. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 1441
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
|
posted 12-27-2012 06:15 AM
Now we'll never know for certain what 'FAB' stood for. Perhaps "Funderbirds Are Best".RIP Gerry. |
rjb1elec
Member Posts: 130
From: St Helens, Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004
|
posted 12-27-2012 10:02 AM
. |
Kite
Member Posts: 220
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
|
posted 12-27-2012 11:31 AM
. |
bwhite1976
Member Posts: 134
From: belleville, IL USA
Registered: Jun 2011
|
posted 12-27-2012 02:43 PM
. |
Lunar_module_5
Member Posts: 173
From: Wales, UK
Registered: Dec 2004
|
posted 12-27-2012 03:44 PM
How many times as a kid did I think I was indestructable like Captain Scarlett!! SIG Gerry - RIP |
space4u
Member Posts: 295
From: Cleveland, OH USA
Registered: Aug 2006
|
posted 12-27-2012 08:13 PM
Wish I still had my Fireball XL-5 lunch box. I loved that show and Col. Steve Zodiac.
|
Rob Joyner
Member Posts: 1283
From: GA, USA
Registered: Jan 2004
|
posted 12-27-2012 11:30 PM
One of the best theme songs ever! Supercar! Supercar! Supercar!
With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be,
watch it flying through the air.
It travels in space
or under the sea,
and it can journey anywhere. Supercar! Supercar!
It travels on land
or roams the skies
through a heavens stormy rage.
It's Mercury-manned
and everyone cries,
"It's the marvel of the age!" Supercar! Supercar! Supercar!! |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 1972
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
|
posted 12-28-2012 04:57 AM
Anyone wanting to hear a link between the science fiction future of Gerry Anderson and the real world of space exploration in the 1960s should play the "Spider" episode of "From the Earth to the Moon." The catchy opening song ("I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest guy alive....") was the end-title song in "Fireball XL5", the puppet show that gave us the orbiting mothership/separate landing vehicle concept before Apollo did it for real. |
advertisement