Christine Glanville

Christine Glanville (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.

She was born Nancy Christine Fletcher in Halifax, West Yorkshire but moved with her parents to Ilford, Essex, as an infant. One of her ancestors was Domenico Corri, who in the late 18th century arrived from Rome to teach music in Edinburgh. She became involved in the film industry in war service at Elstree Studios 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.^[1]

Glanville joined AP Films in 1957 and worked on all its series, as well as the later Supermarionation presentations of Anderson's Century 21 Productions. 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, Alan Tracy, and Tin-Tin Kyrano.

The likeness of Mrs Appleby, a supporting character that appeared in The Secret Service (1969), was based on Glanville's mother. Others she created included Masterspy and his sidekick Zarin (Supercar), Venus (Fireball XL5), Titan, Agent X20 and Atlanta Shore (Stingray) Captain Black and the Angels (excluding Destiny) in Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons.^[1]

Death

Glanville worked in puppetry and lived in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, until her death on 1 March 1999 at the age of 74.^[1]

References

1. Felix, Geoff (3 April 1999), Christine Glanville obituary, independent.co.uk, retrieved 23 January 2013