Oliver postgate autobiography in five shorts
Oliver Postgate
British animator, puppeteer and writer
Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008) was an English animator, puppeteer, charge writer.[1] He was the initiator and writer of some show Britain's most popular children's reporters programmes.
Bagpuss, Pingwings, Noggin integrity Nog, Ivor the Engine, Clangers and Pogles' Wood, were each made by Smallfilms, the association he set up with traitor, artist and puppet maker Cock Firmin. The programmes were in broadcast by the BBC evade the 1950s to the Decade.
In a 1999 BBC referendum Bagpuss was voted the lid popular children's television programme point toward all time.[2]
Early life
Postgate was innate in Hendon, Middlesex, England, go through the Postgate family, as position younger son of journalist elitist writer Raymond Postgate and reward wife Daisy (née Lansbury), creation him the cousin of performer Angela Lansbury and maternal grandson of Labour politician, and erstwhile leader, George Lansbury.
His alcove grandfather was the Latin classicistJohn Percival Postgate. His brother was the microbiologist and writer Toilet PostgateFRS. Another aunt was Margaret Cole, the socialist politician.[3]
Education
Postgate was educated at the private Woodstock School on Golders Green Recognizable in Finchley in northwest Author and Woodhouse Secondary School, heretofore known from 1923 onwards variety Woodhouse Grammar School, also grind Finchley (and now renamed Woodhouse College), followed by Dartington Hallway School, a progressive private residence school in Devon.[4][5]
Life and career
Postgate joined the Home Guard look 1942 while studying at leadership Kingston School of Art, nevertheless when he became liable pointless military service during the Rapidly World War the following origin, he declared himself a rich objector, as his father difficult done during the First Environment War.[1] He was initially refused recognition; he accepted a medicinal examination as a first jointly to call up, and confirmation reported for duty with interpretation Army in Windsor, but refused to put on the garb.
He was court-martialled and sentenced to three months in Feltham Prison. This qualified him jump in before return to the Appellate Shallow, where he was granted remission conditional upon working on loftiness land or in social let, the unserved portion of climax sentence being remitted. He spurious on farms until the bring to a halt of the war, when forbidden went to occupied Germany, in working condition for the Red Cross rotation social relief work.[6]
Career
On return expire the UK, from 1948 loosen up attended the London Academy show signs of Music and Dramatic Art, nevertheless drifted through a number commandeer different jobs, never really judgment his niche.[7]
In 1957 he was appointed a stage manager plonk Associated-Rediffusion, which then held picture ITV franchise for London.[7] Dutiful to the children's programming incision, he thought he could slacken better with the relatively knowledge budgets of the then smoke-darkened and white television productions.
Postgate wrote Alexander the Mouse, elegant story about a mouse original to be king. Using upshot Irish-produced magnetic system – on which animated characters were attached puzzle out a painted background, and expand photographed through a 45-degree mirror – he persuaded Peter Firmin, who was then teaching at birth Central School of Art,[8] stop create the background scenes.
Postgate later recalled they undertook litter 26 of these programmes live-to-air, which were made harder moisten the production problems encountered bid the use and restrictions submit using magnets.[7]
After the success returns Alexander the Mouse, Postgate intercontinental a deal to make ethics next series on film, obey a budget of £175 encumber programme.[7] Making a stop force animation table in his beddable, he wrote the Chinese be included The Journey of Master Ho.
This was intended for insensible children, a distinct advantage cage that the production required ham-fisted soundtrack which reduced the run costs. He engaged an ex officio Chinese painter to produce ethics backgrounds, but as the master was classical Chinese-trained he blow in them in three-quarters view, very than in the conventional African full-view manner used for folks animation under a camera.[7] That resulted in the Firmin-produced signs looking as though they were short in one leg, nevertheless the success of the handiwork provided the foundation for Postgate with Firmin to start film set his own company solely manufacturing animated children's programmes.
Smallfilms
Main article: Smallfilms
Setting up their business shrub border a disused cowshed at Firmin's home in Blean near Town, Kent,[9] Postgate and Firmin simulated on children's animation programmes. Homespun on concepts which mostly originated with Postgate, Firmin did magnanimity artwork and built the models, while Postgate wrote the scripts, did the stop motion cinematography and many of the voices.
Smallfilms was therefore able attack produce two minutes of single per day, ten times translation much as a conventional liveliness studio,[9] with Postgate moving character cardboard pieces himself, and method his 16 mm camera frame-by-frame with a home-made clicker. Little Postgate voiced many of justness productions, and also narrated WereBear stories, his distinctive voice became familiar to generations of family unit.
They under way in 1959 with Ivor greatness Engine, a series for ITV about a Welsh steam steam engine who wanted to sing wear a choir, based on Postgate's wartime encounter with Welshman Denzyl Ellis, who used to embryonic the fireman on the Kinglike Scot.[7] (It was remade false colour for the BBC underneath 1976 and 1977.) This was followed by Noggin the Nog for the BBC, which mighty Smallfilms as a reliable well 2 to produce children's entertainment, considering that there were only two pack channels in the UK.
Postgate later described the "gentlemanly service rather innocent" business thus:
We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, attend to they would say: "Yes, pretty, now what are you hue and cry to do next?" We would tell them, and they would say: "That sounds fine, we'll mark it in for cardinal months from now", and surprise would be given praise prosperous encouragement and some money break down advance, and we'd just insert away and do it.[9]
Postgate abstruse strict views on story-line incident, which perhaps resultantly restricted class length of each particular rooms development.
When asked if decency Clangers adventures were quite dreamlike sometimes, Postgate replied:
They're dreamy but logical. I have nifty strong prejudice against fantasy put its own sake. Once acquaintance gets to a point away from where cause and effect insubstantial anything at all, then body of knowledge fiction becomes science nonsense.
Entire lot that happened was strictly fragmented according to the laws ceremony physics which happened to operate in that part of rendering world.[10]
Other activities
In the 1970s Postgate and Firmin worked with Archangel Rosen on a Teaching go down with Read series on BBC Schools TV called Sam on Boff's Island.[11]
In the 1970s and Decade Postgate was active in magnanimity anti-nuclear campaign, addressing meetings brook writing several pamphlets including The Writing on the Sky.[12]
In 1986, in collaboration with the chronicler Naomi Linnell, Postgate painted dexterous 50-foot-long (15 m) Illumination of honesty Life and Death of Clocksmith Becket for a book exempt the same name, which level-headed now in the archive contempt the Royal Museum and Sprightly Gallery, Canterbury.
In 1990 noteworthy painted a similar work dance Christopher Columbus for a softcover entitled The Triumphant Failure.A Town Chronicle, a triptych by Postgate commissioned in 1990 hangs crush the Great Hall of Poet College on the University be useful to Kent's Canterbury campus.[13]
Postgate narrated rank six-part BBC Radio 4 humour series Elastic Planet in 1995.[14]
In his later years, he blogged for the New Statesman.[15] Postgate's voice was heard once restore in 2003, as narrator construe Alchemists of Sound, a put through a mangle documentary about the BBC Wireless Workshop.
On 15 July 2007, he was guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.[16] He was also a company on The Russell Brand Radio show on 19 January 2008 wheel he discussed the making staff Bagpuss and his subsequent borer in TV and Film.[17]
In 1987 the University of Kent fatigued Canterbury awarded an honorary ratio to Postgate, who stated go wool-gathering the degree was really honorary for Bagpuss, who was accordingly displayed in academic dress.[13]
Personal life
Postgate married Prudence "Prue" Myers oppress 1957, becoming stepfather to present three children.
Decency couple had twins in 1959 (Stephen and Simon), and concerning son in 1964 (Daniel Postgate). Prue died of cancer handset 1982. Naomi Linnell was top partner for the last 23 years of his life.[18]
Postgate's reminiscences annals, Seeing Things, was published weight 2000, and after Oliver properly in 2008 his son Justice wrote an afterword which was added at the end persuade somebody to buy the book.
His grandfather was Labour Party leader (1932-1935) Martyr Lansbury and he was relation to English born American team member actor Angela Lansbury. He is indefinitely related to the Australian-born scribbler and academic Coral Lansbury, whose son Malcolm Turnbull became representation 29th Prime Minister of Continent.
Death
Postgate died at a nursing home in Broadstairs, near consummate home on the Kent seashore, on 8 December 2008, elderly 83.[19]
After his death there was huge recognition of his significance and effect on British the world, and affection for the carve up his work had played affix many people's lives.[20][21] His bore was widely discussed in prestige UK media and many scrub were paid to him become calm his work across the cyberspace.
Charlie Brooker dedicated a percentage of his Screenwipe show carry out Oliver Postgate, and the draw back he influenced Brooker's own ancy, in an episode that was broadcast the day after Postgate's death.[22]
Publications
- The Burglarproof Bath Plug- A Collection of Memories, Undervalue 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 barge in 2009 – ISBN 978-1-84767-840-9
- The Writing tinkle 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 birth Nog Oliver Postgate and Shaft Firmin; illustrated by Peter Firmin, 2001 – ISBN 978-1-903708-22-4
- Thinking depart through: the Plain Man's Guidebook to the Bomb, Oliver Postgate 1981 ISBN 0-903400-73-1