Robert Daniel Cardona (born March 7, 1930) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television writer, producer, director and animator. He co-founded

Clearwater Features Clearwater Features Ltd. was a British film production company (based first in Battersea and then at Shepperton Studios) that produced the first two series of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' from 1984 to 198 ...

, along with

David Mitton David Nelson Godfrey Mitton (27 February 1939 – 16 May 2008) was a British director, producer, writer, model maker and special effects technician. He was best known for producing and directing the children's television programmes ''Thomas ...

, in 1980.

Career

Cardona has been based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for much of his career. His best-known work is with his working partner

; their productions include ''

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'', which Cardona produced until 1986 (the second series), and '' Tugs'', which ran for 13 episodes. Cardona has also worked on other British TV series such as ''

The Flaxton Boys ''The Flaxton Boys'' is a British historical children's television series set in the West Riding of Yorkshire and covering a timespan of almost a century. The series was made by Yorkshire Television and was broadcast on ITV between 1969 and 1 ...

'', ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...

'', '' Thriller'', ''

Fraud Squad A Fraud Squad is a police department which investigates fraud and other economic crimes. *Fraud squad (United Kingdom) *Garda Fraud Squad Fraud squad may also refer to: *Fraud Squad (duo), musical partnership between Daz Sampson and with JJ ...

'', ''

Crime of Passion A crime of passion (French: ''crime passionnel''), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger rather than as a premed ...

'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' and ''

Virgin of the Secret Service ''Virgin of the Secret Service'' is a British television series which ran for one season in 1968, produced by the ITV franchise, Associated Television. The series was created by Ted Willis. The show was a tongue-in-cheek adventure series set in ...

''. In the early 1990s, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he worked on the children's series ''

Theodore Tugboat ''Theodore Tugboat'' is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show originated (and is set) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a co-production between th ...

'', which served as A Continuation of Tugs as a director. He also provided the '' Tugs'' footage for the American children's animated series ''

Salty's Lighthouse ''Salty's Lighthouse'' is an American animated television series for preschoolers. The series was produced by Sunbow Entertainment and aired from October 3, 1997, to June 26, 1998, on TLC. in association with the Bank Street College of Education i ...

''. After ''

'' ended, Cardona went back to the UK and has lived there ever since.

Personal life

Cardona was married to English filmmaker, former actress and television writer Gloria Tors of whom they have worked together on ''

'' and ''

''. They have one son named Tarquin. Tors wrote the very first episode of '' Tugs'' whilst their son also wrote two episodes: "Pirate" and "Quarantine".

References

External links

* 1930 births 20th-century American writers Animators from California American company founders American expatriate writers in Canada American expatriates in the United Kingdom American television directors American television writers American male television writers American animated film directors American animated film producers Living people Television producers from California 20th-century Canadian male writers Screenwriters from California {{US-animator-stub