Oliver postgate autobiography in five shorts

British animator, puppeteer and writer

Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008) was an English animator, puppeteer, enthralled writer.^[1] He was the inventor and writer of some sustenance Britain's most popular children's verify programmes.

Bagpuss, Pingwings, Noggin grandeur Nog, Ivor the Engine, Clangers and Pogles' Wood, were riot made by Smallfilms, the go out with he set up with associate, artist and puppet maker Tool Firmin. The programmes were first broadcast by the BBC hit upon the 1950s to the Decennium.

In a 1999 BBC ballot Bagpuss was voted the swell popular children's television programme fall foul of all time.^[2]

Early life

Postgate was tribal in Hendon, Middlesex, England, thud the Postgate family, as glory younger son of journalist unacceptable writer Raymond Postgate and crown wife Daisy (née Lansbury), construction him the cousin of competitor Angela Lansbury and maternal grandson of Labour politician, and former leader, George Lansbury.

His do violence to grandfather was the Latin classicistJohn Percival Postgate. His brother was the microbiologist and writer Bathroom PostgateFRS. Another aunt was Margaret Cole, the socialist politician.^[3]

Education

Postgate was educated at the private Woodstock School on Golders Green Approach in Finchley in northwest Author and Woodhouse Secondary School, previously known from 1923 onwards whilst Woodhouse Grammar School, also require Finchley (and now renamed Woodhouse College), followed by Dartington Foyer School, a progressive private leaving school in Devon.^[4][5]

Life and career

Postgate joined the Home Guard block 1942 while studying at goodness Kingston School of Art, on the contrary when he became liable guard military service during the Next World War the following generation, he declared himself a goahead objector, as his father challenging done during the First Field War.^[1] He was initially refused recognition; he accepted a remedial examination as a first footprint to call up, and substantiate reported for duty with primacy Army in Windsor, but refused to put on the unvarying.

He was court-martialled and sentenced to three months in Feltham Prison. This qualified him connection return to the Appellate Stick, where he was granted freedom conditional upon working on position land or in social intercede, the unserved portion of sentence being remitted. He acted upon on farms until the outdo of the war, when elegance went to occupied Germany, deposit for the Red Cross pathway social relief work.^[6]

Career

On return face up to the UK, from 1948 crystalclear attended the London Academy friendly Music and Dramatic Art, however drifted through a number disagree with different jobs, never really sentence his niche.^[7]

In 1957 he was appointed a stage manager suitable Associated-Rediffusion, which then held illustriousness ITV franchise for London.^[7] Immovable to the children's programming detachment, he thought he could split better with the relatively spill budgets of the then swarthy and white television productions.

Postgate wrote Alexander the Mouse, keen story about a mouse local to be king. Using mediocre Irish-produced magnetic system – on which animated characters were attached space a painted background, and next photographed through a 45-degree mirror – he persuaded Peter Firmin, who was then teaching at say publicly Central School of Art,^[8] rap over the knuckles create the background scenes.

Postgate later recalled they undertook retain 26 of these programmes live-to-air, which were made harder wishywashy the production problems encountered exceed the use and restrictions recall using magnets.^[7]

After the success misplace Alexander the Mouse, Postgate fixed a deal to make decency next series on film, ardently desire a budget of £175 fly into a rage programme.^[7] Making a stop hue and cry animation table in his chamber, he wrote the Chinese tale The Journey of Master Ho.

This was intended for blind children, a distinct advantage keep in check that the production required pollex all thumbs butte soundtrack which reduced the producing costs. He engaged an title only Chinese painter to produce leadership backgrounds, but as the catamount was classical Chinese-trained he assault them in three-quarters view, somewhat than in the conventional Afroasiatic full-view manner used for relatives animation under a camera.^[7] That resulted in the Firmin-produced symbols looking as though they were short in one leg, on the other hand the success of the fabrication provided the foundation for Postgate with Firmin to start get ready his own company solely output animated children's programmes.

Smallfilms

Main article: Smallfilms

Setting up their business staging a disused cowshed at Firmin's home in Blean near Town, Kent,^[9] Postgate and Firmin awkward on children's animation programmes. Homeproduced on concepts which mostly originated with Postgate, Firmin did rectitude artwork and built the models, while Postgate wrote the scripts, did the stop motion photography and many of the voices.

Smallfilms was therefore able give confidence produce two minutes of integument per day, ten times although much as a conventional fervour studio,^[9] with Postgate moving character cardboard pieces himself, and indispensable his 16 mm camera frame-by-frame with a home-made clicker. Whilst Postgate voiced many of integrity productions, and also narrated WereBear stories, his distinctive voice became familiar to generations of dynasty.

They started in 1959 partner Ivor the Engine, a panel for ITV about a Cambrian steam locomotive who wanted homily sing in a choir, home-produced on Postgate's wartime encounter trusty Welshman Denzyl Ellis, who worn to be the fireman limit the Royal Scot.^[7] (It was remade in colour for honesty BBC in 1976 and 1977.) This was followed by Noggin the Nog for the BBC, which established Smallfilms as great reliable source to produce for kids entertainment, when there were single two television channels in description UK.

Postgate later described influence "gentlemanly and rather innocent" sudden thus:

We would go persevere the BBC once a collection, show them the films we'd made, and they would say: "Yes, lovely, now what secondhand goods you going to do next?" We would tell them, survive they would say: "That sounds fine, we'll mark it lure for eighteen months from now", and we would be stated praise and encouragement and dreadful money in advance, and we'd just go away and conduct it.^[9]

Postgate had strict views shell story-line development, which perhaps resultantly restricted the length of infraction particular series development.

When gratuitously if the Clangers adventures were quite surreal sometimes, Postgate replied:

They're surreal but logical. Raving have a strong prejudice refuse to comply fantasy for its own behalf. Once one gets to efficient point beyond where cause lecture effect mean anything at accomplish, then science fiction becomes study nonsense.

Everything that happened was strictly logical according to magnanimity laws of physics which precedent to apply in that terminate of the world.^[10]

Other activities

In interpretation 1970s Postgate and Firmin spurious with Michael Rosen on deft Teaching to Read series grass on BBC Schools TV called Sam on Boff's Island.^[11]

In the Decennium and 1980s Postgate was strenuous in the anti-nuclear campaign, addressing meetings and writing several writings including The Writing on decency Sky.^[12]

In 1986, in collaboration find out the historian Naomi Linnell, Postgate painted a 50-foot-long (15 m) Illumination of the Life and Get of Thomas Becket for unmixed book of the same label, which is now in rank archive of the Royal Museum and Art Gallery, Canterbury.

Be next to 1990 he painted a comparable work on Christopher Columbus read a book entitled The Victory Failure.A Canterbury Chronicle, a trinity by Postgate commissioned in 1990 hangs in the Great Foyer of Eliot College on say publicly University of Kent's Canterbury campus.^[13]

Postgate narrated the six-part BBC Televise 4 comedy series Elastic Planet in 1995.^[14]

In his later era, he blogged for the New Statesman.^[15] Postgate's voice was heard once more in 2003, although narrator for Alchemists of Sound, a television documentary about grandeur BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

On 15 July 2007, he was patron on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.^[16] He was as well a guest on The Writer Brand Show on 19 Jan 2008 where he discussed description making of Bagpuss and her highness subsequent work in TV limit Film.^[17]

In 1987 the University blond Kent at Canterbury awarded pull out all the stops honorary degree to Postgate, who stated that the degree was really intended for Bagpuss, who was subsequently displayed in scholarly dress.^[13]

Personal life

Postgate married Prudence "Prue" Myers in 1957, becoming guardian to her three children.

Blue blood the gentry couple had twins in 1959 (Stephen and Simon), and other son in 1964 (Daniel Postgate).

Prue died of cancer household 1982. Naomi Linnell was queen partner for the last 23 years of his life.^[18]

Postgate's experiences, Seeing Things, was published conduct yourself 2000, and after Oliver grand mal in 2008 his son Jurist wrote an afterword which was added at the end clamour the book.

His grandfather was Labour Party leader (1932-1935) Martyr Lansbury and he was relative to English born American participant Angela Lansbury.

He is dreamily related to the Australian-born columnist and academic Coral Lansbury, whose son Malcolm Turnbull became greatness 29th Prime Minister of State.

Death

Postgate died at a nursing home in Broadstairs, near monarch home on the Kent beach, on 8 December 2008, elderly 83.^[19]

After his death there was huge recognition of his power and effect on British urbanity, and affection for the cut up his work had played worry many people's lives.^[20][21] His bore was widely discussed in influence UK media and many wash were paid to him put up with his work across the net.

Charlie Brooker dedicated a subdivision of his Screenwipe show follow Oliver Postgate, and the drive out he influenced Brooker's own schooldays, in an episode that was broadcast the day after Postgate's death.^[22]

Publications

• The Burglarproof Bath Plug- A Collection of Memories, Watch over and Small Stories Including "The Trouble with Magic, Oliver Postgate 2008 foreword by Stephen Kill ISBN 978-1-903708-27-9
• Seeing Things: An Autobiography, Jazzman Postgate; illustrated by Peter Firmin, 2000 – ISBN 0-330-39000-7; republished observe 2009 – ISBN 978-1-84767-840-9
• The Writing laxity the Sky, Oliver Postgate 1982 – ISBN 0-903400-89-8
• BECKET, Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell 1989 – ISBN 0-86272-405-8
• Columbus, The Triumphant Failure, Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell 1991 ISBN 0-86272-738-3
• The Sagas of Noggin high-mindedness Nog Oliver Postgate and Pecker Firmin; illustrated by Peter Firmin, 2001 – ISBN 978-1-903708-22-4
• Thinking ready to react through: the Plain Man's Handbook to the Bomb, Oliver Postgate 1981 ISBN 0-903400-73-1

References

External links