Gerry Anderson Gerry Anderson Gerry Anderson (born Gerald Alexander Abrahams; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s productions filmed with "Supermarionation" (marionette puppets containing electric moving parts). Anderson's first television production was the 1957 Roberta Leigh children's series "The Adventures of Twizzle". "Supercar" (1961–62) and "Fireball XL5" (1962) followed later, both series breaking into the US television market in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s Anderson produced his most successful series, "Thunderbirds". Other television productions of the 1960s
Space Patrol (1962 TV series) sometimes the shadow of a puppet could be seen behind a "TV Screen" before the communication device was supposedly turned on —the show rated strongly with young audiences in many regions (including New York City) and garnered a huge following. "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski said that it was his favourite TV show as a child. Leigh had previously worked with Gerry Anderson on children's puppet series, and there are some obvious similarities between "Space Patrol" and Anderson's "Fireball XL5", although "Space Patrol" was made on a lower budget. Arthur Provis, Anderson's former business partner in AP Films was