'Stingray', 'Captain Scarlet', 'UFO', 'Space:1999', 'Jo 90', 'Supercar', 'Fireball XL5' and 'Thunderbirds' were all the brainchildren of Gerry Anderson. A master of the heroic adventure tale, puppeteering technology and futuristic machine designs, he is a legend in his own fantastical universes…
However, if Gerry hadn’t been allergic to the lime in plaster, how different it would have been!
He began his career studying fibrous plastering, but had to give it up when it gave him dermatitis. After a spell with photographic portrait work, a job in Gainsborough films and time spent in air traffic control, he set up AP Films with some friends. Commissions were few however, so he responded eagerly to the opportunity to make a puppet series called ‘The Adventures of Twizzle’. Not for 8 years, however, would the ingredients combine to form the classic ‘Thunderbirds’.
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Carlton Television
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