Dec 26, 2012

Jerry Anderson (1929-2012)

He was a pioneer television puppeteer, not an animator, but he influenced all who grew up watching his unique television work. Gerry Anderson died yesterday at the age of 83.

He was the creator of many hit science fiction puppet shows, including "Supercars," "Thunderbirds," "Stingray," "Captain Scarlett," and the completely live-action "Space 1999" series with Martin Landau.

Anderson began his career as a photographer, but apparently lucked into British children's television production, which was emerging in 1956. His first puppet show was The Adventures of Twizzle in 1957. Twizzle was a little boy puppet that could stretch to any length to save the day. [Starting with "Supercar" in 1961, Anderson's "Supermarionation" science fiction shows continued uninterrupted into the 1980s. Personally, I loved these shows as a kid. The opening titles and jazzy soundtracks were cool. Usually syndicated to local channels in the US, "Fireball XL5" aired on NBC's Saturday Morning from 1963-65. I loved that show.

Anderson's puppets inspired Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America: World Police (2004). Below is a great British documentary (2000) about Anderson's career, with some great clips from his various series: