Biography

Gerry Anderson

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Gerry Anderson was born on April 14, 1929 in West Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Joe 90 (1968), UFO (1970) and Invasion: UFO (1980). He was married to Mary Robins, Sylvia Anderson and Betty Wrightman. He died on December 26, 2012 in Henley-on-Thames, England, UK.

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.
Frequently casts David Graham and Shane Rimmer in his productions.
Frequently collaborated with Reg Hill, Derek Meddings, Barry Gray, Tony Barwick, David Lane, Alan Pattillo, David Elliott, Desmond Saunders, Alan Fennell and Dennis Spooner.

His most famous series Thunderbirds (1965) was named after an Arizona airfield "Thunderbird Field", where his elder brother first trained as a Mosquito pilot.
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.
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.
Father of Jamie Anderson. Gerry also has two daughters, Linda (b. 1954) and Joy (b. 1957), from his marriage to Betty Wrightman.
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.

The real tragedy of my life is that my son, Jamie, is a Doctor Who (1963) fan.
[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.
[on his reluctance to make his first puppet program, The Adventures of Twizzle (1957)] I was shattered when I learned 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.
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.
When we made Fireball XL5 (1962), 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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