Gerry Anderson
I just wanted to write a quick note to thank everyone who has been kind enough to get in touch with us over the last 24 hours. We’ve received hundreds of e-mails, read through thousands of tweets, and receives many dozens of phone calls. Dad would have been utterly astonished by the response of the public and the media.
The most overwhelming thing has been the fact that so many people have been so touched by Dad’s work. Not just in terms of entertainment during their childhoods, but into adulthood – altering career paths and generating new interests, that might not have otherwise existed. This depth of influence has been incredibly striking for us, and as a family we truly appreciate the time you have all taken to contact us and share your thoughts, memories, and experiences.
We intend to keep Dad’s memory and legacy going as much as possible, and I will be writing about a number of upcoming projects in the near future.
In the meantime, if you would like to honour his memory then please continue to give donations to the Alzheimer’s Society via our memorial Just Giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/RememberingGerryAnderson
Thank you again for your continuing support and kind messages – they really do mean a huge amount to us.
My sincere condolences to you and Your family. Your Father inspired me to work in Television. I was fortunate to meet Mr Anderson in person at one of the Fanderson HD21 Conventions I personally Thanked him for his lifes work.
I will never forget this brief meeting for the rest of my life.
Take care god Bless
Ian Jacklin
UK
Sorry to hear the news. I just think that the production values of Gerry Anderson series from Stingray onwards are still largely unmatched today and which give them their timeless quality and appeal. I think that a huge part of this was the full orchestra musical scoring by Barry Gray.
Like so many others have commented Jamie, your father made my childhood, and I enjoyed passing on the magic to my two step-sons who became equally enthralled.
Sincerest sympathies to you and your family.
On a different note, should Lady Penelope FINALLY paint FAB 1 black as a suitable memorial?
C
Dear Jamie,
It was with great sadness we learned of Gerry’s passing yesterday. It is the end of an incredible era. We all feel immensely fortunate to be a part of the Thunderbird happening and to have had Gerry’s friendship all the way through. Please give our love to Mary – our thoughts are with you both.
Love from Shane and Sheila
In my House there are poster and pictures of UFO Space 1999 etc. and picture of Gerry everywhere… Your father have real influence my life in positive way, is not childhood remember but good ideas inside a show for child and adult, I think Gerry is simply ARE Go. Sincerly from Rome Italy.
I loved your dad and I loved his shows!
Thanks to him for countless hours of excitement and adventure.
May the Almighty comfort you in the hour of such great loss.
Don
Gerry Anderson was a legend and gave me hours of viewing pleasure – he will be sadly missed, but his work will live on. FAB!!
Gerry’s passing has provoked a huge reaction across the media and rightly so. He was a brilliant creator and innovator whose legacy will live on as long as his timeless shows continue to fire young (and not so young!) imaginations to dream of a better future. Thank you Gerry!
To Mr.Anderson and family,
Thank you for all the great dreams, as you person going up in the US my father did not belive that technology would advance to the state we are in now. I grew up watching the shows that Mr. Anderson and got the chance to fly, in airplands, helicopters ride on ships, submarine and other things. All from one mans dream of the future. He will be greatly missed.
Henry Wilson
Very sad news, Jamie! My condolences!
Love Thunderbirds since I was a kid (am 44 now).
They still show it here in Australia every Saturday morning and I still never miss an episode!
YES it is a sad day and loss.
Thank YOU Jamie for sharing with us all.
Like so many other people; I as a little girl of 6 or 7 saw these shows and already a great fixation with real jets- the flying machines and action was blazoned into my mind permanently! I never forgot that big Green Cargo machine!
What a wonderful experience to have locked in ones heart and mind, especially for a girl in the 60’s in Kansas.
It was in the mid 1990’s when i found postcard images of the Thunderbird machines i so loved. Then I found the VHS tapes of “TB are Go” and “6” what a thrill.
while I did not get to be the Jet pilot, as an artist; his machines and “rockets” are a part of my soul and influence.
THANK YOU GERRY and SON.
Jamie, I just wanted to send my condolences and prayerful thoughts to you and your family at this time.
My childhood, like many others, was made more enjoyable and exciting because of Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the other series your father produced in the 1960s and 70s. His visions of the future fired my young imagination and I looked forward to weekly episodes with much anticipation.
I have recently been reading about Gerry’s life and the talented people who worked with him, and found his biography fascinating. I am also pleased to say I once met the great man at a Fanderson convention, and my interest in how the shows were created technically played a part in leading me into a career in TV production.
I was really saddened to hear of your loss, but we do know that Gerry’s unique vision will live on in some beautifully crafted, instantly recognisable and entertaining television.
Robert Hastings
(N. Ireland)
Condolences to you and your family.
Gerry Anderson’s productions have given me pleasure for over 50 years and fired my imagination. Yesterday I showed ‘Trapped in the Sky’ to my four grandsons aged 4 to 8 years old. They LOVED it and demanded to see more episodes later in the day. The magic lives on.
David Womby
Your dads work was ahead of its time I grew up in the 1990s watching thunderbirds stingray and captain Scarlet would be great if the shows could be put back on television for a new generation of children and adults can enjoy
I always hoped he would make more thunderbirds in the original supermarionation way my thoughts are with your family but just remember the joy and happiness your dads work brought to millions of children and adults all over the world
Ian
I would firstly like to pass on my deepest sympathies to you and your family.
As a child I crew up with the wonderous adventures you father created. I was hooked from the very first episode of Supercars and have been a lifelong fan of everything he created since. Your father started off my love affair with science fiction that still persists today.
I always say “the best way of avoiding a second chidhood is to never leave the first”. Your father is partially responsible for this thought as I still very much enjoy watching old episodes of Thunderbirds even now.
Kindest regards and sympathies Murray Parkinson(New Zealand)
I am truly profoundly saddened to learn of Gerry’s passing – my most sincere condoloences to you and your mother at this very sad time.
As I write this in a romm displaying models of Tracy Island and Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 3, the Space ;1999 Eagle Transporter and Fireball XL-5, I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t thrill to the adventures that Gerry Anderson created.
I wws especially pleased play a small part in making sure that the magic of Thunderbirds ws passed on to a new generation of fans when I helped the producers at Tech TV here in San Francisco with reference materials and advice when they featured Thunderbirds here in the USA in 2002. I remeber being asked what questions to ask Gerry for an interview on their news show when Gerry visted Los Angeles around that time, and I had so many they had to remind me that it was to be brief interview, and that they would be sure to call me when they did a documetary!
I and so many SFX artists that I know were inspired to build, create and learn by what we saw in a Gerry Anderson Production. It is always sad when a true legend passes, but what a wonderful legacy he has left us.
We were shocked and very sad to hear the news that Gerry had passed away. Our sincere condolences to you and Mary and the rest of your family. His shows were a magical part of my childhood and it was a real privilege to have known and worked with him on the remake of Captain Scarlet. He was a very special person and a true gentleman. Our thoughts are with you both at this sad time.
You and your family are not alone Jamie.
So glad to hear you intend to do some projects in line with your father’s work, Brilliant…I can’t wait to see/read about it all. Just ask if you need help there.
And Thank You for allowing me to partake of your sorrow…it means a lot to me.