Gerry Anderson, who created the popular mid-’60s kids puppet series “Thunderbirds,” has died at age 83.
Anderson, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2010, died Christmas Day, according to a post on his son Jamie’s Web site.
“Thunderbirds,” which used a process called “Supermarionation” (a form of marionette puppetry), centered around ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy.
He headed a secret organization that planned and executed rescue operations using high-tech gadgetry.
The British series premiered on England’s ITV in 1965 and later was sold into syndication in the US, where it proved to be very popular.
A live-action “Thunderbirds” movie, directed by “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Jonathan Frakes and starring Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Ben Kingsley and Vanessa Hudgens, premiered in 2004.
After “Thunderbirds,” Anderson also created “Fireball XL5,” which used the same marionette-animation methods employed in “Thunderbirds.”