Gerry Anderson
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Gerry Anderson, MBE (born Gerald Alexander Abrahams; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving supermarionation, working with modified marionettes.
Anderson's first television production was the 1957 Roberta Leigh children's series The Adventures of Twizzle and in the mid-1960s he produced his most famous and successful production, Thunderbirds. Other television productions of the 1960s include Stingray and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. His production company, originally known as AP Films and later renamed Century 21 Productions, was originally formed with partners Arthur Provis, Reg Hill and John Read.
Anderson also wrote 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. 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. Later projects include a 2005 CGI remake of Captain Scarlet entitled Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet.
Anderson had no involvement in the 2004 film Thunderbirds, a live-action adaptation of the TV series, although his ex-wife Sylvia served as a consultant on the project. Over the years, various British comics have featured strips based on Anderson's creations. 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. In the 1970s there was Countdown (later renamed TV Action). There were also tie-in annuals that were produced each year featuring Anderson's TV productions.
