occupation derek meddings
Gerry Anderson , MBE ( born Gerald Alexander Abrahams ; 14 April 1929  26 December 2012 ) was an English ___MASK10___ and ___MASK76___ , ___MASK77___ , writer and occasional voice ___MASK8___ . He was known for his futuristic ___MASK10___ programmes , especially his 1960s productions filmed with " Supermarionation " ( marionette puppets containing electric moving parts ). Sylvia Beatrice Anderson ( née Thomas ; 27 March 1927  15 March 2016 ) was an English ___MASK10___ and ___MASK76___ , writer , voice actress and ___MASK21___ , best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson , her husband between 1960 and 1981 . Derek Meddings ( 15 January 1931 -- 10 September 1995 ) was a British film and ___MASK10___ special effects ___MASK82___ , initially noted for his work on the `` Supermarionation '' TV puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson , and later for the 1970s and 1980s James Bond and Superman film series . A portmanteau (; plural " portmanteaus " or " portmanteaux " ) or portmanteau word is a linguistic blend of words , in which parts of multiple words or their phones ( sounds ) are combined into a new word . as in " smog ", coined by blending " smoke " and " fog ", or " popportunity ", from " popping " and " opportunity ", or " motel ", from " motor " and " ___MASK100___ ". In linguistics , a portmanteau is defined as a single morph that represents two or more morphemes . Supermarionation ( a portmanteau of " super ", " marionette " and " animation ") is a ___MASK16___ technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films . It was used extensively in the company ' s numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson - produced action - adventure series , the most famous of which was " Thunderbirds ". The term was coined by Gerry Anderson . A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations . A marionette ' s ___MASK2___ is called a marionettist . Marionettes are operated with the ___MASK2___ hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or ___MASK7___ venues . They have also been used in films and on television . The attachment of the strings varies according to its character or purpose . AP Films or APF , later becoming Century 21 Productions , was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s . The company became world famous with its imaginative children ' s action - adventure marionette ___MASK10___ series  most notably " Thunderbirds "  produced for British independent broadcasting companies Associated - Rediffusion , Granada , ABC Weekend ___MASK10___ and Associated ___MASK10___ . At its height , the company employed more than 200 staff .