Gerry Anderson, MBE (born Gerald Alexander Abrahams; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He was known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s productions filmed in "Supermarionation" (a process involving the use of modified marionette puppets).Anderson's first television production was the 1957 Roberta Leigh children's series The Adventures of Twizzle. Supercar (1961–62) and Fireball XL5 (1962) followed later, both series breaking into the US television market in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s Anderson produced his most successful series, Thunderbirds. Other television productions of the 1960s include Stingray and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.Anderson also wrote and produced several feature films whose box office performance was unexceptional. Following a shift towards live action productions in the 1970s, he had a long and successful association with media impresario Lew Grade and Grade's company ITC, continuing until the second series of Space: 1999.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 Britain and Australia) led to new Anderson productions being commissioned. Later projects include a 2005 CGI remake of Captain Scarlet entitled Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet.
April 14, 1929, Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom
Died
December 26, 2012, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Place Of Birth
West Hampstead, London, England, UK
Profession
Writer, Producer, Miscellaneous Crew
Spouse
Mary Robins (m. 1981–2012), Sylvia Anderson (m. 1960–1980), Betty Wrightman (m. 1952–1960)
Star Sign
Aries
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Trademark
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Famous for his shows which employ "Supermarionation" - marionettes with control wires connected to interior mechanisms that control facial features and other functions of the puppets. However, since this kind of puppetry makes it difficult to depict them walking realistically, his shows are usually science fiction series that emphasize the characters operating futuristic vehicles.
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Quote
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When we made 'Fireball XL5', I'd never heard of NBC, and I didn't even know what American networks were. I knew that it would be wonderful if the show was successful in America, but I knew nothing about the American networks.
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I've always been interested in the idea of space exploration. When I was younger it was just a dream, but the theory of rockets being able to travel through space was very much alive. I found it very exciting.
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I was shattered when I learnt the programmes had to be made with puppets as I'd illusions of making great pictures like Ben Hur. But there we were with no money, and an offer on the table. We had to take it. [on his reluctance to make his first puppet program, The Adventures of Twizzle (1957)]
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[on his famous puppet programs] I always used to think that they were terrible. I didn't see much on screen but the faults. I couldn't get a puppet to pick something up, or to walk. Their mouths were like letterboxes flapping open and shut. But I got to the point where I thought I'd better stop running down these pictures, because everybody in the world except me seems to like them.
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The real tragedy of my life is that my son, Jamie, is a Doctor Who (1963) fan.
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Fact
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Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England [July 2008]
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Died in a nursing home, on December 26, 2012, near Oxfordshire, England. Had suffered from Alzheimer's since 2010.
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His early work experience prior to becoming the master of "supermarionation" included being a fibrous plasterer (which he had to give up, because the lime gave him dermatitis), portrait photography and a job in air traffic control. He then joined the Ministry of Information as a film trainee and subsequently became a cutter at Gainsborough.
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Came from an impoverished family and spent his early childhood living with his parents and older brother in a one-room flat with no running water.
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"The Thunderbirds" were named after Thunderbird Field, an Arizona airfield, where his elder brother first trained as a Mosquito pilot.
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At one stage, Anderson employed a staff of 250 people, including designers and special effects artists. His company was bought out by Lew Grade in 1962, but he managed to retain creative control and received 10% of overall profits.
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His film career started as a teenager under George Pearson at the Colonial Film Unit.
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Anderson's ancestral (from the Russian-Polish border) name was Bieloglovski. This was changed to "Abrahams" by a British immigration official in 1895. His mother, Deborah, changed it to "Anderson" because she liked the sound of it.
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He was awarded the M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's 2001 Birthday Honours List for his services to Animation.
$950,000
