R.I.P. Oliver Postgate

[faustus]

I knew that Postgate has been ill for some time, and he was 83 or so, but it's still a shock to hear that he has died. His father was a prominent historian of the working classes and he was related to politicians - but Postgate made an indelible mark on several generations of British children. Certainly the earliest sf I saw (excluding Dougal and the Blue Cat, which I heard until I was twenty) was Clangers, and just hearing the voice took me back. Even allowing for nostalgia, there is a magic to the simplicity of the animation that all but the best CGI and stop motion cannot match - Nick Park would have been unthinkable without him.

Seeing the original script for one of his programmes (I think Noggin the Nog) was a bigger tingle factor than any painting I can recall. The British animation exhibition on Postgate, Firmin and Godfrey at the Sydney Cooper gallery closes this week. I nearly went yesterday - I shall certainly go tomorrow.


http://www.dragons-friendly-society.co.uk/



And let us not forget that his film-making partner, Peter Firmin, is still with us - invisble despite having drawn the pictures.

Comments

[pigeonhed.livejournal.com]

Bugger! That's sad. Noggin The Nog was a huge favourite of mine as a child.

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

What's striking - and should not be surprising - is how many people are dated by their favourite Small Films film.

[pennski.livejournal.com]

I was shocked to find out a friend at work was too young to know any of them!