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Century 21 Merchandising
Century 21 Merchandising and Century 21 Toys were merchandising companies associated with Gerry Anderson's Century 21 Productions. There was also a publishing line, Century 21 Publications which (in partnership with City Magazines) created the comic book titles ''TV Century 21'' and '' Lady Penelope'' (among others); and a music department, Century 21 Music which marketed audiobooks and soundtracks from the series. Most of the companies' activities were marketing products produced by Century 21 Productions — in particular '' Thunderbirds'', ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' and ''Joe 90'', although some of the various spin-off media were based on characters and machines from other media franchises, often connected to Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. History The various "Century 21" brands predate Century 21 Productions — immediately following completion and the first TV screening of '' Thunderbirds'' in 1964, AP Films was renamed Century 21 Productions to align it with it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectrum Saloon Car (SSC)
The Spectrum Patrol Car (SPC) or Spectrum Saloon Car (SSC) is a fictional vehicle that appears in Gerry Anderson's science-fiction television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967) and in revamped form in the remake ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet'' (2005). Depiction ''Captain Scarlet'' Accessible only to Spectrum personnel, the SPC is long and equipped with four-wheel drive. It can seat up to four people, has a maximum speed of , and is powered by a gas turbine located under the rear roof. The car is specially equipped with quartz headlights that permit the driver to see long distances in the dark. The vehicle also features transverse gearing, independent suspension and magnetic drums that provide powerful control braking by means of electromagnetically-generated opposing magnetic fields. The road-tyre friction heat at high speeds is countered by wing intakes, while a central housing and rear-mounted fin maintain the vehicle's stability at speed. The original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Lawrence
Donald Southam Lawrence (17 November 1928 – 29 December 2003) was a British comic book artist and author. Lawrence is best known for his comic strips '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies ''Ranger'' and ''Look and Learn'', and the ''Storm'' series, first published in the Dutch weekly '' Eppo'' (later relaunched as '' Sjors & Sjimmie'') and subsequently in album form. Famous for his realistic and detailed style, he was an inspiration for later UK comic-book artists such as Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons and Chris Weston (indeed, Weston was taught by Lawrence), and influenced Indonesian artist Apri Kusbiantoro. Early life Born in East Sheen, a suburb of London, Lawrence was educated at St. Paul's School, Hammersmith. After joining the Army for his National Service, Lawrence used his gratuity to study art at Borough Polytechnic Institute (now the London South Bank University) but failed his final exams. Shortly before, a former student had visited th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Maxwell
Paul Maxwell (born Maxim Popovich; November 12, 1921December 19, 1991) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British cinema and television, in which he was usually cast as American characters. In terms of audience, his most notable role was probably that of Steve Tanner, the ex- GI husband of Elsie Tanner in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 1967. Life and career During World War II, Maxwell served in the Royal Canadian Artillery. He studied at Yale University, and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts. Maxwell started as an actor in the U.S., appearing in series such as Dragnet and Alfred Hitchcock Presents before emigrating to Britain in 1960. In the next decade, Maxwell appeared in many TV series produced by ITC Entertainment, such as ''Danger Man'' and '' The Baron''. He also voiced North American characters in series filmed by Gerry Anderson's production company Century 21, most prominently the leading character of Colonel Steve Zodiac in ''Fireball XL5'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Graham (actor)
David Graham (born 11 July 1925) is an English retired actor. He is best known for voicing the Daleks in ''Doctor Who'', Gordon Tracy, Brains, Aloysius Parker and Kyrano in '' Thunderbirds'' and Grandpa Pig in ''Peppa Pig''. He played the role of Big Brother in the "1984" television Super Bowl advert to introduce the Apple Macintosh computer. Life and career Graham was born in London in July 1925 and trained as an actor in New York City following service in the Royal Air Force as a radar mechanic. He played several characters in the science-fiction TV series ''Doctor Who'' during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably Dalek voices in the serials ''The Daleks'' (1963–1964), ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' (1964), '' The Chase'' (1965; in which he also provided Mechanoid voices) and ''The Daleks' Master Plan'' (1965–1966). He performed in person as barman Charlie in ''The Gunfighters'' (1966) and as time-travel scientist Professor Kerensky in ''City of Death'' (1979). In 2017, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Bluthal
John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his career during the Golden Age of British Television, where he was best known for his comedy work in the UK with Spike Milligan, and for his role as Manny Cohen in the television series ''Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width''. In later years, he was known to television audiences as the bumbling Frank Pickle in ''The Vicar of Dibley''. At 85 he played Professor Herbert Marcuse in the Coen brothers' film ''Hail, Caesar!'' (2016). Early life Bluthal was born to a Jewish family in Jezierzany, Galicia, Poland (now in Ukraine). Due to anti-Semitism in Poland, his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1938, when he was aged nine. He was educated at Princes Hill Central School in Carlton North and University High School in Parkville. He be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In addition to serving as co-creator and co-writer on their TV series during the 1960s and early 1970s, Anderson's primary contribution was character development and costume design. She regularly directed the fortnightly voice recording sessions, and provided the voices of many female and child characters. She also helped develop the shows and characters, in particular creating the iconic characters of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, Lady Penelope and Aloysius Parker, Parker in ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds''. Early life Anderson was born in Camberwell, London, England on 25 March 1927. Her father, Sidney Thomas, was a champion boxer, and her mother, Beatrice (), a dressmaker. After graduating from the London School of Economics wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fireball XL5
''Fireball XL5'' is a 1960s British children's science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of ''Fireball XL5'', a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, ''XL5'' defends Earth from interstellar threats while encountering a wide variety of alien civilisations. Inspired by the Space Race, ''Fireball XL5'' was created by the husband-and-wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. It was APF's final black-and-white series and the third to be made in what the Andersons dubbed " Supermarionation": a style of production in which the characters were played by electronic marionettes whose mouth movements were synchronised with the voice actors' pre-recorded dialogue. Zodiac was voiced by Paul Maxwell while two of his companions – ''XL5'' co-pilot Robert the Robot and "space doctor" Venus – were voiced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martspress
Leonard James Matthews (10 October 1914 – 9 November 1997) was a British editor, publisher, writer and illustrator of comics and children's magazines, best known as the founder of the educational magazine ''Look and Learn''. Early life Born in Islington, London,Alan Clark, ''Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors'', The British Library, 1998, pp. 107-108 on 10 October 1914, he joined the Amalgamated Press (AP) as an editorial assistantGeorge BealObituary: Leonard Matthews ''The Independent'', 5 December 1997 in 1939, starting as a sub-editor on the weekly comic ''Knockout'' under editor Percy Clarke. Matthews persuaded cartoonist Hugh McNeill, then working for rival DC Thomson's comics ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'', to go freelance and work for AP. McNeill contributed ''Deed-a-Day Danny'' and ''Simon the Simple Sleuth'' to ''Knockout'''s initial lineup, and remained a mainstay of AP's comics for the rest of his life;Wright and Ashford, pp. 89-102. he and Mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was named. The street has been an important through route since Roman times. During the Middle Ages, businesses were established and senior clergy lived there; several churches remain from this time including Temple Church and St Bride's. The street became known for printing and publishing at the start of the 16th century, and it became the dominant trade so that by the 20th century most British national newspapers operated from here. Much of that industry moved out in the 1980s after News International set up cheaper manufacturing premises in Wapping, but some former newspaper buildings are listed and have been preserved. The term ''Fleet Street'' remains a metonym for the British national press, and pubs on the street once frequented by jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Comics
Power Comics was an imprint (trade name), imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press (itself a division of IPC Magazines) that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly during the years 1967 and 1968, the Power Comics line consisted of five weekly titles: ''Wham! (comics), Wham!'', ''Smash! (comics), Smash!'', ''Pow! (comics), Pow!'', ''Fantastic (comics), Fantastic'' and ''Terrific (comics), Terrific''. The first three of these titles were essentially traditional ''The Beano''-style British comics papers, supplemented by a small amount of Marvel and DC Comics material, while ''Fantastic'' and ''Terrific'' were more magazine-like in style and were dominated by their Marvel superhero content. History The Power Comics imprint was part of Odhams, headquartered at 64 Long Acre, London. Odhams was owned by IPC Media, International Publishing Corporation, a company formed in 1963 by Cecil Harmsworth King, chairma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odhams Press
Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and then IPC Magazines in 1963. In its final incarnation, Odhams was known for its Power Comics line of titles, notable for publishing reprints of American Marvel Comics superheroes. History William Odhams; Odhams Bros. In 1834 William Odhams left Sherborne, Dorset, for London, where he initially worked for ''The Morning Post''. In 1847, he went into partnership with William Biggar in Beaufort Buildings, Savoy, London; and in the 1870s he started the business known as William Odhams. Originally a jobbing printer and newspaper publisher, William Odhams sold the business to his two sons, John Lynch Odhams and William James Baird Odhams, in 1892. The business, then a small printing firm in Hart Street employing about twenty people, became known a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle (British Comics)
''Eagle'' was a British children's comics periodical, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a Southport parish magazine called ''The Anvil'', but felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively. Simultaneously disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, he and ''Anvil'' artist Frank Hampson created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris proposed the idea to several Fleet Street publishers, with little success, until Hulton Press took it on. Following a huge publicity campaign, the first issue of ''Eagle'' was released in April 1950. Revolutionary in its presentation and content, it was enormously successful; the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was its most recognisable story, '' Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'', created by Hampson with meticulous attention to detail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
