LONDON: Gerry Anderson, the British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series “Thunderbirds”, died yesterday aged 83, his son said.
Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, Jamie Anderson said on his personal website. The animator also created “Joe 90” and “Stingray” but he was best known for “Thunderbirds”, which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed “Supermarionation”
The series, first shown in 1965, followed the adventures of International Rescue, a secretive organisation whose mission was to help those in peril using spacecraft and a range of high-tech vehicles operating from a Pacific Island. “I’m very sad to announce the death of my father, ‘Thunderbirds’ creator, Gerry Anderson,” his son said.
“He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years.” 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”.
The low-key start allowed Anderson 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 moved in total synchronicity with the soundtrack, which after being perfected in “Fireball XL5” and “Stingray” was ready for the launch of “Thunderbirds”. AFP
