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For other persons named Gerry Anderson, see Gerry Anderson (disambiguation). Gerry Anderson (b1929 is a British TV programme producer famed for his work with marionettes

Gerry Anderson MBE, born April 14, 1929 (1929-04-14) (age 79), is a British producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation". The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A marionette is a Puppet controlled from above using strings a marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Supermarionation (a Blend of "super" "marionette" and "animation" is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production

His first television production was the 1957 Roberta Leigh children's series The Adventures of Twizzle. Janey Scott (b London England) well-known as Roberta Leigh was a British artist The Adventures of Twizzle (or simply Twizzle as it was known in some territories was the very first television show produced by AP Films and specifically His most famous and successful production in this genre came later: Thunderbirds, which was made in 1965. Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry His production company, originally known as AP Films and later renamed Century 21 Productions, was in collaboration with partners Reg Hill, John Read and his then-wife Sylvia Anderson. Reg Hill was a British Television producer commonly associated with the works of Gerry Anderson. John Meredith Read ( July 21, 1797 – November 29, 1874) an American lawyer For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles

He has also written and produced several feature films, although these did not perform as well as expected at the box office. Following a successful move towards live action productions in the 1970s, his long and highly successful association with Lew Grade's ITC (Incorporated Television Company) ended with the second series of Space 1999. Lew Grade Baron Grade (25 December 1906&ndash13 December 1998 born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Showbusiness Impresario and Television The Incorporated Television Company (ITC is a British television company largely involved in production and distribution Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series After a career lull when a number of new series concepts failed to get off the ground, his career began a new phase in the early 1980s when audience nostalgia for his earlier Supermarionation series (prompted by Saturday morning re-runs in the UK) led to new Anderson productions being commissioned. A number of new projects have resulted including a recent CGI remake of Captain Scarlet entitled Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet. Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as simply Captain Scarlet, is a Science fiction Television series produced Gerry Andersons New Captain Scarlet (more commonly New Captain Scarlet or NCS is a United Kingdom -produced Computer-generated imagery

Contents

Biography

Early life

Gerald Alexander Abrahams was born in Kilburn, North London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. [1] The family's name was changed by deed poll in 1939. For the legal document of the same name see Deed poll. Deed Poll is a German -made Film, 2004 When World War II broke out, Anderson's older brother Lionel volunteered for the RAF and was posted to the United States for training. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He often wrote to his family and one of these letters described a USAF airbase called Thunderbird Field, a name that stuck in his brother's memory.

Gerry Anderson began his career in photography and after the war he secured a traineeship with the British Colonial Film Unit. He developed an interest in film editing and moved on to Gainsborough Pictures, where he gained further experience. Gainsborough Pictures was a Film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney

In 1947, he was conscripted for national service with the RAF. National service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs (most often focusing on military service After completing his military service, he returned to Gainsborough and remained there until the studio folded in 1950. He then worked freelance on a succession of feature films. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening During this time he married Betty Wrightman and they had two children.

Start of television career

In the mid-1950s Anderson joined independent television production company Polytechnic Studios, as a director, where he met cameraman Arthur Provis. After Polytechnic collapsed, Anderson, Provis, Reg Hill and John Read formed Pentagon Films in 1957; secretary Sylvia Thamm later became Anderson's second wife. Reg Hill was a British Television producer commonly associated with the works of Gerry Anderson. John Meredith Read ( July 21, 1797 – November 29, 1874) an American lawyer For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles Pentagon was wound up soon after and Anderson and Provis formed a new company, AP Films, with Hill and Read as partners. Anderson continued his freelance directing work to keep money coming in.

AP Films' first television venture was produced for Granada Television. Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. Created by Roberta Leigh, The Adventures of Twizzle (1957-1958) was a series for young children about a doll with the ability to 'twizzle' his arms and legs to greater lengths. Janey Scott (b London England) well-known as Roberta Leigh was a British artist The Adventures of Twizzle (or simply Twizzle as it was known in some territories was the very first television show produced by AP Films and specifically It was Anderson's first work with puppets, and the start of his long and successful collaborations with puppeteer Christine Glanville, special effects technician Derek Meddings and composer/arranger Barry Gray. Christine Glanville ( 24 October 1924 - 28 February 1999 was a professional puppeteer and spent most of her working life involved to some degree with Derek Meddings ( 15 January 1931 &ndash 10 September 1995) was a British Television and cinema Special effects Barry Gray ( July 18, 1908 in Lancashire England - April 26, 1984 in Guernsey, Channel Islands) was a British

During production of Twizzle, Anderson began an affair with Sylvia Thamm and eventually left his wife and children. Following his divorce, Anderson and Thamm married in November 1960. The Adventures of Twizzle was followed by another low budget puppet series with Leigh, Torchy the Battery Boy (1958-1959). Torchy the Battery Boy was the second television series produced by AP Films and Gerry Anderson. Although the APF puppet productions made the Andersons world famous, Gerry Anderson was always unhappy about working with puppets, and made them primarily as a means of getting a foot in the door with TV networks, hoped to use them as a stepping stone to his desired goal making live action film and TV drama.

AP Films' third series was the children's western fantasy-adventure series Four Feather Falls (1959-1960). Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television from an idea by Barry Gray. During production Provis left the partnership (partly due to personal differences with Anderson) but the company retained the name 'AP Films' for several more years. Four Feather Falls was the first Anderson series to use an early version of the Supermarionation process, though the name hadn't yet been coined. Supermarionation (a Blend of "super" "marionette" and "animation" is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production

Despite APF's success with Four Feather Falls, Granada did not commission another series from them, so Anderson took up the offer to direct a film for Anglo-Amalgamated Studios. Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy that operated from the 1940s Crossroads to Crime was a low-budget B-grade crime thriller and although Anderson hoped that its success might enable him to move into mainstream film-making, it failed at the box office. Crossroads to Crime is a British Crime film released in 1960.

By this time, APF was in financial trouble and the company was struggling to find a buyer for their new puppet series. They were rescued by a fortuitous meeting with ATV boss Lew Grade who offered to buy the show. Associated TeleVision Limited, best known simply as ATV, was a British ITV company from 1955 until 1981 Lew Grade Baron Grade (25 December 1906&ndash13 December 1998 born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Showbusiness Impresario and Television This began a long friendship and a very successful professional association between the two men, during which Anderson and his collaborators created some of their best work.

Sylvia's increased role

The new series, Supercar, (1960-1961) was created by Anderson and Reg Hill and marked several important advances for APF. Supercar was a children's TV show produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis's AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment. Sylvia Anderson took on a larger role and became a partner in the company. For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles The series was also the official debut of Supermarionation, the electronic system that made the marionettes more lifelike and convincing on screen. The system used the audio signal from the pre-recorded tapes of the actors' voices to trigger solenoids installed in the puppets' heads, enabling the puppets' lips to move in exact synchronisation with the voices of the actors. A solenoid is a three-dimensional Coil. In Physics, the term solenoid refers to a loop of wire often wrapped around a Metallic core which

One of Anderson's most successful ventures was inaugurated during the production of Supercar —the establishment of AP Films (Merchandising) Ltd, a separate company set up to handle the licensing of merchandising rights for APF properties; it was headed by Keith Shackleton (not the wildlife artist and TV presenter of the same name) an old friend of Anderson's from their National Service days. Supercar was a children's TV show produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis's AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment.

APF's innovative merchandising made them a world leader in the field and they licensed a huge range of toys, books, magazines and related items. The worldwide popularity of their TV shows was coupled with astute marketing, and the combination made APF one of the most successful merchandising ventures of the decade. The die-cast metal toys from series such as Thunderbirds were hugely popular at the time and they now number among the most collectible toys of their kind. Models from almost all their series have been produced ever since by companies throughout the world, notably in Japan, where the Anderson series have a dedicated following.

APF's next series was the futuristic space adventure Fireball XL5 (1962) and it was the company's biggest success yet, becoming the first Anderson series sold to a US TV network (NBC) — a rarity for British TV programmes at that time. Fireball XL5 was a Science fiction -themed children's television show produced in Slough, Berkshire, UK in 1962 by the husband and The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's After the completion of the series, Lew Grade offered to buy AP Films. Although Anderson was initially reluctant, the deal eventually went ahead, with Grade becoming managing director, and the Andersons, Hill and Read becoming directors of the company.

Shortly after the buy-out, APF began production on a new puppet series, Stingray (1964), the first British children's TV series to be filmed in colour. Stingray is a children's Marionette Television show created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films For the new production APF moved to new studios in Slough. Slough ( ˈslaʊ is a Borough and Unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. The new and bigger facilities allowed them to make major improvements in special effects, notably in the underwater sequences, as well as advances in puppetry, with the use of a variety of interchangeable heads for each character to convey different expressions.

Thunderbirds

Main article: Thunderbirds (TV series)

APF's next project for ATV was based on a mining disaster that occurred in West Germany in October 1963. Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry On November 7, 1963, 11 West German miners were rescued from a collapsed mine after surviving for 14 days an event that became subsequently known as the Wunder This real-life drama inspired Anderson to create a new programme format about a rescue organisation, which eventually became his most famous and popular series, Thunderbirds (1964-1966). Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry The dramatic title was inspired by the letter Anderson's older brother Lionel had written to his family during World War II.

Grade was very enthusiastic about the concept and agreed to back a series of 25-minute episodes (the same length as Stingray), so the Andersons scripted a pilot episode, "Trapped in the Sky", and began production. This is an episode guide for the Gerry Anderson television series Thunderbirds made between 1965 and 1966 (although production began in 1964 Gerry initially wanted actress Fenella Fielding to perform the voice of Lady Penelope, but Sylvia convinced her husband to let her play the role. Fenella Fielding (born 17 November 1934 is an English actress Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry Thunderbirds also marked the start of a long professional association with actor Shane Rimmer, who voiced Scott Tracy. Shane Rimmer (born 1932) is a Canadian Actor and Voice actor. Scott Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson 's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds

Production on Thunderbirds had been underway for several months when Grade saw the completed 25-minute version of "Trapped in the Sky". He was so excited by the result that he insisted that the episodes be extended to fifty minutes. With a substantial increase in budget, the production was restructured to expand episodes already filmed or in pre-production, and create new 50-minute scripts for the remainder. Grade and others were so convinced that Thunderbirds would be a success that a feature-film version of the series was proposed even before the pilot episode went to air.

APF—now renamed Century 21 Productions—enjoyed its greatest success with Thunderbirds and the series made the Andersons world-famous. The 32-episode series was not initially successful in the United States because it was only given a limited release, although it later became hugely successful in syndication). In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through But it was a major hit with young audiences in the UK, Australia and other countries and retains a huge and dedicated international following that spans several generations.

During the production of Thunderbirds the Andersons' marriage began to come under increasing strain, and the company also had a setback when the Thunderbirds Are GO feature film flopped. This article is about the 1966 movie For the 2004 song by Busted, see Thunderbirds/3am. According to interviews published since, Anderson has said that he considered divorce, but this was halted when Sylvia announced that she was pregnant. Their son, Gerry Anderson Jr was born in July 1967.

By that time, production had started on a new series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), which saw the advent of more realistic puppet characters which, thanks to improvements in electronics which allowed miniaturisation of the lip-sync mechanisms, could now be built closer to normal human proportions. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as simply Captain Scarlet, is a Science fiction Television series produced

Century 21's second feature film, Thunderbird 6, was an even bigger failure than the first, and the problems were compounded by their next (and penultimate) Supermarionation series, Joe 90 (1968). Thunderbird 6 is a British Science fiction -adventure motion picture released in 1968 Joe 90 is a 1968 television series concerning the adventures of a nine-year-old boy Joe McClaine set in the years 2012 - 13. This series returned to more 'kid-friendly' territory, depicting the adventures of a young boy who is also a secret agent and whose scientist father uses a supercomputer called 'BIG RAT' which can 'program' Joe with special knowledge and abilities for his missions. Its relatively poor reception made it the last of the classic Anderson marionette shows.

Venturing into live action

Anderson's next project took the special effects expertise built up over previous TV projects and combined it with live action. Century 21's third feature film, Doppelgänger (1969) (aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun) was a dark, Twilight Zone style sci-fi project about an astronaut who travels to a newly discovered planet on the opposite side of the sun, which proves to be an exact mirror-image of Earth. Doppelgänger is a 1969 British science fiction film directed by Robert Parrish. The Twilight Zone is an American Television series created by Rod Serling. It starred American actor Roy Thinnes, famed at the time for his role as the protagonist in the American television series The Invaders. Roy Thinnes (born April 6, 1938) is an American Television Actor. The Invaders a Quinn Martin Production, is an ABC Science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that Although it was not a major commercial success, Doppelganger was nominated for an Academy Award for its superb special effects. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

Century 21's return to television was the abortive series The Secret Service, which this time mixed live action with Supermarionation. This article is about the television series For the form of government policing see Secret service. The series was inspired by Anderson's love of British comedian Stanley Unwin, who was known for his nonsense language, 'Unwinese', which he created and used on radio, in film and most famously on the 1968 Small Faces LP Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. Stanley Unwin ( 7 June 1911 Pretoria, South Africa &ndash 12 January 2002 Danetre Hospital Daventry, Small Faces were an English rock group from East London, heavily influenced by American Rhythm and blues. Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake was a successful Concept album by the English Rock band Small Faces. Despite Anderson's track record and Unwin's popularity, the series was cancelled before its first screening; Lew Grade considered that it would be incomprehensible to American audiences, and thus unsellable. Only 13 episodes were produced, and the series was only shown in a handful of broadcast areas in the UK. Most Anderson fans only got to see it when it was finally released on VHS in the mid-90s. Note Sometimes the ' 90s is used as shorthand for the 1990s, the 1890s, or other such decades in various centuries

In 1969 the Andersons began production of a new TV series, UFO, Century 21's first full live-action television series. SHADO redirects here For other meanings see Shado. UFO is a British Television Science fiction This sci-fi action-adventure series starred American-born actor Ed Bishop (also the voice of Captain Blue in 'Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons') as Commander Straker, head of a secret defence organisation set up to counter an alien invasion. Ed Bishop (born George Victor Bishop on 11 June 1932 in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York, USA and died UFO was decidedly more adult in tone than any of the previous puppet series, and it mixed the classic Century 21 futuristic action-adventure and special effects with some very serious dramatic elements. UFO was moderately successful on first release, but built up a strong cult following over the years, although it too fell short of the global success of Thunderbirds and was the last series made under the Century 21 Productions banner.

The Bond that never was

During production of UFO Gerry Anderson was approached directly by Harry Saltzman (at the time co-producer of the James Bond film series with Albert "Cubby" Broccoli), and invited to write and produce the next film in the series which was to be Moonraker. Harry Saltzman ( October 27 1915 - September 28 1994) was a theatre and Film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE (Hon ( April 5 1909 &ndash June 27 1996) nicknamed "Cubby" was an American Moonraker, released in 1979, is the eleventh film in the James Bond series and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional [2] Collaborating with Tony Barwick to provide the characterisation, whilst he himself focused on the action sequences, Anderson wrote and delivered a treatment to Saltzman. Saltzman was enthusiastic, but then broke the news that he and Broccoli were parting ways. Offered £20,000 for the treatment, Anderson refused, fearing that if he accepted he would not be at the helm when it was made; as it turned out, the next Bond film to be made - some years later - was entitled The Spy Who Loved Me. Anderson started legal proceedings against Broccoli for plagiarism of story elements but withdrew the action shortly after, nervous of the legal might lined up against him. He relinquished the treatment, and received £3,000 in compensation.

Breaking ties

By this time the relationship between the Andersons had deteriorated. Although produced under the aegis of a new company, Group Three Productions (the three being both of the Andersons and Reg Hill), Gerry decided not to work with his wife on his next project, the ITC action series The Protectors. The Incorporated Television Company (ITC is a British television company largely involved in production and distribution This article is about the 1972-1974 ITC series For the 1969-1970 NBC series that was part of " The Bold Ones " please see The Bold Ones It was one of Anderson's few non-original projects. Lew Grade himself was heavily involved in the programme, and cast both the lead actors, Robert Vaughn and Nyree Dawn Porter. Robert Francis Vaughn (born November 22, 1932) is an American Academy Award -nominated actor noted for stage, Film Nyree Dawn Porter, OBE, (born Ngaire Dawn Porter, 22 January 1936 - 10 April 2001) was an actress. The production was difficult for Anderson, who clashed with the famously difficult Vaughn. [3] There were also many logistical problems arising from the Europe-wide filming of the show, but it was very successful in both the UK and America.

Space:1999

Main article: Space:1999

Following The Protectors, Anderson worked on several new projects, none of which he was able to realise. Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series A proposed second series of UFO was shelved, and a return to puppetry, in a television pilot for a series called The Investigator, failed to find a buyer. A television pilot is a test episode of an intended Television series. Elements of the abandoned second series of UFO were eventually turned into what became the most expensive television series ever made at the time, Space:1999. Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series

Another futuristic sci-fi adventure, it was based on the implausible premise that a huge thermonuclear explosion on the Moon's surface (caused by dumping of nuclear waste) projected it out of orbit and into interstellar space. It starred American husband-and-wife actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who had gained international TV fame in Mission: Impossible. Martin Landau (born June 20, 1931) is an Academy Award -winning American Film and television Actor. Barbara Bain (born 13 September 1931) is a American actress. Bain was born Millicent Fogel into a Jewish family in Chicago Mission Impossible (often referred to as Mission Impossible The Original Series) is an American Television series that chronicles They were cast at the insistence of Grade, and against Sylvia Anderson's strenuous objections.

Separation, and moving on

The Andersons' marriage broke down irrevocably during the first series of Space: 1999 in 1975; Gerry announced his intention to separate on the evening of the wrap party. [4][5] Sylvia severed her ties with Group Three, and to alleviate his financial plight, Gerry Anderson sold his share of the profits from the APF/Century 21 shows and their holiday home in Portugal to Lew Grade in return for a one-off payment. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. It was a decision he later bitterly regretted because he could not have then foreseen the huge value the shows would have when eventually released on home video.

Between making the two series of Space: 1999, Anderson produced a one-off television special, The Day After Tomorrow (also known as Into Infinity), about two spacefaring families en route to Alpha Centauri, for an NBC series of programmes illustrating current scientific theory for popular consumption. The Day After Tomorrow (also known as "Into Infinity" which was the tite used for the UK transmission was a 1975 science fiction Television special produced Alpha Centauri (α Centauri / α Cen also known as Rigil Kentaurus, Rigil Kent, or Toliman, is the brightest Star in the southern Constellation The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's While making this project Anderson met Mary Robins, a secretary working at the studios; they began a relationship and were married in April 1981.

A second series of Space: 1999 went into production in 1976 with American producer Fred Freiberger brought in to replace Sylvia Anderson. Fred Freiberger (born on February 19, 1915; died March 2, 2003) was an American Television producer and script writer According to The Space:1999 Documentary, produced by Kindred Productions for Fanderson, the second series was successful enough that a third almost happened; however, the documentary features Martin Landau stating that the idea was killed because Lew Grade needed money to help finance and promote his pet feature film project Raise The Titanic. Fanderson is a UK based Official Gerry Anderson Appreciation Society Consequently, the budget that would have paid for the third series was redirected into that movie project (which subsequently flopped at the box office). This marked the end of Anderson's association with ATV.

By the late 1970s, Anderson's life and career was at a low point - he was in financial difficulty, found it hard to get work, and perhaps most devastatingly, became estranged from his young son after receiving a note written by him stating that he didn't want to see Gerry any more. Anderson suspected that Sylvia was behind this, but there was little he could do, and he would have no contact with his son for over twenty years.

1980s resurgence

In 1981, episodes of many of Anderson's Supermarionation series were combined and edited together as films. These aired under the title Supermarionation Sci-Fi Theatre.

In the early 1980s, Anderson and businessman Christopher Burr formed a new partnership, Anderson Burr Pictures Ltd. The new company's first production was based on an unrealised concept devised by Anderson in the late seventies for a Japanese cartoon series. Terrahawks marked Anderson's return to working with puppets, but rather than marionettes, this series used a new system dubbed 'Supermacromation', which used highly sophisticated glove puppets -- an approach undoubtedly inspired by the great advances in this form of puppetry made by Jim Henson and his colleagues. Terrahawks was a Puppet -based Science fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr For other uses of "Henson" see Henson. James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24 1936 &ndash May 16 1990 was one of

It featured another reuse of the Captain Scarlet/UFO formula of a secret organization defending against aliens. Terrahawks was successful, running from 1983 to 1986 in the UK and only fell short of a four year US syndication deal by one season when the show was cancelled, scrapping attempts at making it more well known. Terrahawks retains a cult following to this day, regarded by some as being at times a "black comedy" version of many of Anderson's older series in addition to being a straight science fiction series. In equal contrast however, it is regarded by some fans as an unwise rehash of many of the visual concepts of Thunderbirds on a fraction of the budget, Anderson has claimed on record he'd rather forget the show.

Anderson hoped to continue his renewed success with a series called Space Police a new show mixing live-action and puppets. Space Precinct is a British television series that aired during the 1994-1995 season on Sky One then BBC Two in Britain and in syndication A pilot film was made with Shane Rimmer, but it took almost ten years to get the concept to the screen. Shane Rimmer (born 1932) is a Canadian Actor and Voice actor. In the meantime, Anderson and Burr produced the cult stop-motion animated series Dick Spanner, which enjoyed many showings on Britain's Channel 4 in the late eighties and early nineties. Dick Spanner PI was a 1986 British stop-motion animated Comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began It was the final project completed by Anderson Burr. Anderson then joined the Moving Picture Company as a commercials director, and provided special effects direction for the hit musical comedy Return to the Forbidden Planet. Return to the Forbidden Planet is a Jukebox musical by director Bob Carlton based on Shakespeare 's The Tempest and the

1990s - a new audience

The cult appeal of Thunderbirds and the other Supermarionation series grew steadily over the years and was celebrated by comedy and stage productions such as the hit two-man stage revue Thunderbirds FAB. In the early nineties, ITC began releasing home video versions of the Supermarionation shows, and the profile of the shows was further enhanced by productions such as the Dire Straits music video for their single Calling Elvis, which was made as an affectionate Thunderbirds pastiche (with Anderson co-producing), and by Lady Penelope and Parker appearing in a successful series of UK advertisements for an insurance company. Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals his brother David Knopfler (guitar Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is the London agent for the secret organization International Rescue in the hit television series Thunderbirds.

In 1991 Gerry asked journalist and author Simon Archer to write his biography, following an interview by the latter for a series of articles for Century 21 magazine. In September that same year in the UK BBC2 began a repeat showing of Thunderbirds, which rivalled the success of its original run a generation before. This was also surprisingly the series' network television premiere, having never been shown nationally by ITV. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent It became so popular in Britain that toy manufacturers Matchbox were unable to keep up with the demand for the Tracy Island playset, leading children's show Blue Peter to broadcast a segment showing children how to construct their own. Matchbox is a Die cast toy brand currently owned by Mattel, Inc Tracy Island was the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s Television series Thunderbirds. Blue Peter is a BBC Television programme for children It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the The fan base for the Anderson shows was now worldwide and growing steadily, and Anderson found himself in demand for personal and media appearances.

In response to this greater demand Anderson performed a successful one-man show in 1992, which Simon Archer had written and constructed. Entitled An Evening with Gerry Anderson, it took the form of an illustrated lecture in which he talked about his career, and his most popular shows. He also made numerous media and personal appearances to tie in with revivals and DVD releases of Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90.

By 1993 the interviews with Archer had generated so much more material than was required for the biography that a book was published of Gerry Anderson trivia "Gerry Anderson's FAB Facts". [6] Archer was killed in a car crash on London's M25 on his way to the publishers to collect one of the first print run to present to Anderson, and the book later had to be withdrawn from sale and thousands of copies destroyed as a result of a copyright dispute with ITC America. To see information about the M25 motorway under construction in Ireland, see N25 road. [7]

The renewed interest enabled Anderson to return to television production, but several projects including GFI (an animated update of Thunderbirds) did not make it into production. Finally, in 1994, Anderson was able to get the long-shelved Space Police project into production as Space Precinct. It was followed by Lavender Castle, a children's sci-fi fantasy series combining stop-motion animation and computer-generated imagery. Lavender Castle is a British Stop motion / CGI television series created by Rodney Matthews and produced by Gerry Anderson Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is an Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics

In the meantime, the biography, which had been set aside since Simon Archer's death had been picked up again and was completed by Stan Nicholls from Archer's original notes and manuscript, finally being published in 1996 shortly before Lavender Castle went into production. Stan Nicholls has been a full-time writer since 1981 He is the author of many novels and short stories but is best known for the internationally acclamied Orcs First Blood [8]

Around this time Gerry was reunited with his elder son, Gerry Jr. , at which time it was suggested that Sylvia had been responsible for the enforced estrangement. This reinforced Anderson's already powerful feelings of animosity towards his ex-wife. [9]

2000 onward

By December 1999, Anderson was working on plans for a computer animated sequel to Captain Scarlet, and test reels were displayed by Gerry at a few fan conventions. Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics A fan convention, or con, is an event in which fans of a particular TV show, Comic book, or Actor, or an entire style of entertainment Some of the test sequences from these reels were later available for a period as elements in publicity reels available on the website of the production company engaged to make them (the Moving Picture Company or MPC in Soho, London,[10] where Gerry had previously worked). This article is about an area of Manhattan, New York City. For the area in London UK see Soho. These early test reels had the visual design and characters looking very much as they had in the original show, although the vehicle designs had been somewhat modernised. Several years after the initial tests the project evolved into the remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, by which time the entire appearance had been very much updated. Gerry Andersons New Captain Scarlet (more commonly New Captain Scarlet or NCS is a United Kingdom -produced Computer-generated imagery Gerry Anderson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2001. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.

Along with his then business partner John Needham, Anderson created another new series entitled Firestorm which was financed by Japanese investors and featured anime style animation. is a Japanese Anime series co-created by two British people Gerry Anderson and his business partner John Needham (anime in Japanese, The project was not a happy one for any of the parties involved, and other planned shows with the Japanese backers, including Eternity failed to come to fruition. Firestorm has yet to be shown on UK television. Anderson and Needham parted company in 2003.

Anderson was originally approached to be involved in a live-action feature film adaptation of Thunderbirds as far back as 1996,[8] but was actually turned away by the producers of the 2004 film Thunderbirds, directed by Jonathan Frakes, after first being invited to meet with them. Thunderbirds is a 2004 Science fiction - Adventure film based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s directed Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American Actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander [11] He distanced himself overtly from the project, later turning down an offer of $750,000 simply to write an endorsement of the film shortly before its release; Sylvia Anderson, however, did become involved and received a "special thanks" credit in the film. For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles The film itself received poor critical reviews and was a box-office failure in America.

Anderson later praised the execution of the puppet-based political satire Team America: World Police, which used many familiar supermarionation style effects familiar to many long time fans of Anderson's work, it was produced by Matt Stone and Trey Parker

After Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet finally premiered in the UK in February 2005. Political satire is a significant part of Satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politicsusing political cartoons politicians and public affairs Team America World Police is a 2004 Comedy film, written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an Academy Award - nominated Emmy Award - winning American Animator Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American Animator, Screenwriter, Film director Gerry Andersons New Captain Scarlet (more commonly New Captain Scarlet or NCS is a United Kingdom -produced Computer-generated imagery The show cost £23,000,000 to produce (the most expensive children's programme ever to be made in the UK) and was warmly received by the fan community. However it was missed by many due to poor scheduling and pre-publicity by ITV. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Although many companies invested in producing toys and merchandise, the lack of exposure given to the series by ITV inevitably failed to produce the excitement that accompanied the original series and disappointing sales followed. The accompanying comic lasted only six editions before being scrapped by its publishers. Followers of the show await with interest on how the show will re-coup its hefty investment while Gerry's displeasure at ITV's handling of the show was widely reported.

2005 also saw the 40th Anniversary of Thunderbirds. A wide range of merchandise was produced to celebrate the landmark, though poor scheduling of the series on the BBC failed to re-ignite the usual following of the show.

In 2006, ITV announced it would re-run the entire series on its fledgling CITV Channel, a digital service available on cable, satellite and the Freeview service. The CITV Channel is a British children's TV station from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. Freeview is an operator of free Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom, using the DVB-T standard With fewer than 50,000 viewers, it seems that, once again, New Captain Scarlet is destined to be seen by very few people.

The series is however filmed in the High Definition format and it is hoped that the show will find a place on the new services.

ITV4, another digital service, also ran repeats of UFO and Space: 1999 attracting a very small, but loyal following. ITV4 is a UK Television station which launched on November 1, 2005, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day SHADO redirects here For other meanings see Shado. UFO is a British Television Science fiction Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series Anderson is currently (end of 2007) believed to be working on a new project entitled Lightspeed, about which very little is publicly known and on a possible new edition of the UFO series. SHADO redirects here For other meanings see Shado. UFO is a British Television Science fiction

Gerry Anderson productions

TV series (and broadcast dates)

Feature films

Miscellanies

Gerry Anderson had no involvement in the 2004 live action film version of Thunderbirds, although Sylvia Anderson served as a consultant on that project. Space Precinct is a British television series that aired during the 1994-1995 season on Sky One then BBC Two in Britain and in syndication Thunderbirds is a 2004 Science fiction - Adventure film based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s directed

In addition, a number of UK comics featured strips that were closely based around Anderson's creations. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative These started with TV Comic during the early 1960s followed by TV Century 21 and its various sister publications Lady Penelope, TV Tornado, Solo and Joe 90. TV Comic was a British Comic book published weekly between November 9 1951 and June 22 1984 for 1696 issues TV Century 21 (known as TV 21 from September 1968 was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s Later there was Countdown (later TV Action) during the 1970s. There were also a number of tie-in annuals that were produced each year featuring Anderson's TV shows.

References

  1. ^ Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books, 3. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  2. ^ Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books, 149-150. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  3. ^ Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books, 154-155. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  4. ^ Anderson, Sylvia (1991). Yes M'Lady. Smith Gryphon. ISBN 1-85685-011-0.  
  5. ^ Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books, 171. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  6. ^ Archer, Simon (1993). Gerry Anderson's FAB Facts. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-638247-9.  
  7. ^ Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). "Afterword: My friend Simon Archer, by Gerry Anderson", Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  8. ^ a b Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.  
  9. ^ Hearn, Marcus; Archer, Simon (2002). What Made Thunderbirds Go. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-53481-8.  
  10. ^ Creation Magazine (http://www.creationmag.com/editorial/features/captain/captain.shtml)
  11. ^ BBCi Berkshire interview, published July 19, 2004 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/features/2004/07/gerry_anderson_iview.shtml) - retrieved May 22, 2006

External links

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