Christine Glanville (born Nancy Christine Fletcher; 28 October 1924 – 1 March 1999) was an English puppeteer who spent much of her professional life contributing to television series produced by

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

Career

Glanville became involved in the film industry in war service at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

and studied art during her free time. After the Second World War she joined a puppet theatre company with which her parents were connected, Ebor Marionettes. Glanville joined

AP Films 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 internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

in 1957 and worked on all its series, as well as the later Supermarionation presentations of Anderson's

Century 21 Productions 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 internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

. She worked closely with fellow puppeteer Mary Turner. In addition to her primary role of lead puppet operator, Glanville was often responsible for the design and construction of the puppets themselves ('' Thunderbirds''; 1965–66) and sculpted marionettes of

Scott Tracy Scott Tracy is a fictional character in Gerry Anderson's 1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', the subsequent films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and '' Thunderbird 6'' (1968) and the TV remake ''Thunderbirds Are Go!''. ...

, Alan Tracy, and

Tin-Tin Kyrano Tin-Tin Kyrano is a fictional character introduced in the 1960s British Supermarionation puppet television series '' Thunderbirds''. In the original TV series and its film sequels, the voice of Tin-Tin was provided by actress Christine Finn. I ...

. The likeness of Mrs Appleby, a supporting character that appeared in ''

The Secret Service ''The Secret Service'' is a 1969 British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of Father Stanley Unwin, a pup ...

'' (1969), was based on Glanville's mother. Others she created included Masterspy and his sidekick Zarin (''

Supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

''), Venus (''

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' ...

''), Titan, Agent X20 and Atlanta Shore ('' Stingray'') Captain Black and the Angels (excluding Destiny) in

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor ...

Family

Glanville was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, to James Fletcher and Phyllis Blatchford ''(maiden;'' 1890–1976), who were married July 1923 in Halifax, England. She moved with her parents to Ilford, Essex, as an infant. One of her 3rd great-grandparents was

Domenico Corri Domenico Corri (4 October 1746 – 22 May 1825) was an Italian composer, impresario, Music publisher (popular music), music publisher, and voice teacher. Career Corri was born in Rome and studied voice with Nicola Porpora in Naples. The son o ...

(1746–1825), an Italian musician and publisher who, in the late 18th century, moved from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

to teach music. She was a grandniece of Robert Peel Glanville Blatchford (1851–1943), English socialist campaigner, journalist, and author.

Death

Glanville worked in puppetry and lived in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, Buckinghamshire, until her death on 1 March 1999 at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glanville, Christine 1924 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English people 20th-century English women English puppeteers People from Halifax, West Yorkshire People from Ilford English people of Italian descent