Sylvia Anderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles.
| Sylvia Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sylvia Thamm March 25, 1937 London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Voice artist, producer, screenwriter, Costume Designer |
| Years active | 1957 – present |
| Spouse(s) | Gerry Anderson (m. 1962–1975) |
Sylvia Anderson (née Thamm), born 25 March 1937 , is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with her ex-husband Gerry Anderson.
Though co-creator of some of their productions through the 1960s, and co-writer of some episodes, Sylvia's main contribution was the development of realistic characters that viewers could identify with and become involved with. She usually directed the bi-weekly voice recording sessions, and provided the voices of many female characters, most memorably Lady Penelope in the Thunderbirds television series and subsequent films. She and Gerry Anderson married in 1960 and were divorced in 1980 following a 5-year separation.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Following graduation from the London School of Economics, Sylvia Thamm joined Polytechnic Films as a secretary, where she met editor/director Gerry Anderson. When Anderson and his colleague Arthur Provis created AP Films following the collapse of Polytechnic in 1957, Sylvia joined them along with colleagues John Read and Reg Hill. She became Anderson's second wife shortly after, in 1960, and became more involved in production duties.
The creative partnership with Gerry Anderson concluded when their marriage broke down during the production of the first series of Space: 1999 in 1975; Gerry announced his intention to separate on the evening of the wrap party,[1][2] following which Sylvia severed her ties with the production company.
It is widely believed (and erroneously reported on other websites, including the IMDB) that Sylvia was involved in the production of the cult mid-1970s television series Star Maidens. This is, in large part, due to the striking design of the programme, reminiscent of UFO and Space: 1999. However, as was the case with these Anderson productions, the look of Star Maidens was actually due to production designer Keith Wilson. A large number of the AP Films/Century 21 alumni worked on Star Maidens, but Sylvia Anderson was not amongst them.
In 1994 Sylvia reprised her role as Lady Penelope on one episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Indeed, nowadays Sylvia is widely recognised as Lady Penelope's alter-ego in lieu of virtually any of her other achievements. Whilst Gerry Anderson has continued developing and producing since their separation Sylvia has, until recently, acted as the UK representative for HBO, scouting for new talent. Her autobiography Yes M'Lady[1] was published in 1996, and republished as My Fab Years in 2007, with new material bringing it up to date with the latest development in her life, including her role as a consultant on Universal's almost universally (sic) panned Thunderbirds (2004) movie. Speaking of the film, Anderson wrote, "I’m personally thrilled that the production team have paid us the great compliment of bringing to life our original concept for the big screen. If we had made it ourselves (and we have had over 30 years to do it!) we could not have improved on this new version. It is a great tribute to the original creative team who inspired the movie all those years ago. It was a personal thrill for me to see my characters come to life on the big screen." [3]
[edit] AP Films productions
- The Adventures of Twizzle (1957-1959) - production assistant
- Torchy the Battery Boy (first season only) (1960) - production assistant
- Four Feather Falls (1960) - Production Assistant
- Supercar (1961-1962) - Dialogue Director, Voice Artist
- Fireball XL5 (1962-1963) - Voice Artist
- Stingray (1964-1965) - Production Assistant
- Thunderbirds (1965-1966) - Character Visualisation, Voice Artist
[edit] Century 21 Productions
- Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-1968) - Character Creator, Voice Artist
- Joe 90 (1968-1969) - Character Creator, Voice Artist
- The Secret Service (1969) - Character Creator, Voice Artist
- UFO (1970-1971) - Century 21 Fashions
[edit] Group Three Productions
- The Protectors (1972-1974) - Production Assistant
- Space: 1999 (1975-1977) - Producer (Year One)
[edit] Feature films
- Crossroads to Crime (1960) - Production Assistant
- Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) - Producer, Voice Artist
- Thunderbird 6 (1968) - Producer, Voice Artist
- Doppelgänger (1969) aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (US title) - Co-Producer
- Thunderbirds (2004) - Consultant
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sylvia Anderson (1991). Yes M'Lady. Smith Gryphon. ISBN 1-85685-011-0.
- ^ Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. Legend Books. 1996. pp. 171. ISBN 0-09-978141-7.
- ^ http://www.sylviaanderson.org.uk/html/movie.html
