Alan Pattillo (July 17th, 1929[1] - January 16th, 2020) was an Emmy Award-winning director, writer, and editor. He was a director and writer on Thunderbirds as well as several of the other AP Films Supermarionation series.
An interview with him, conducted by Simon Archer, was published in issue 14 of the Century 21 magazine.
Pattillo gave invaluable help with research for 21st Century Visions and answered Marcus Hearn's queries for when the latter wrote Gerry Anderson's second biography - What Made Thunderbirds Go!. Additionally, he was interviewed for Filmed in Supermarionation - both the book and documentary.
Pattillo passed away on 16 January 2020 following a battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was 90.
Gallery[]
Alan Pattillo (in background on far left) on the set of Move - And You're Dead
Alan Pattillo (wearing a green shirt and yellow tie in centre of picture) on the set of The Cham-Cham
Alan Pattillo at bottom on far left
Alan Pattillo at bottom on far left
In The Brains Behind Thunderbirds
Writer[]
Director[]
Trivia[]
- In January 2024, Pattillo's former carer Allan Beacham pleaded guilty to one count of theft. He stole £115,104.61p[2] from Pattillo whilst he was entrusted to care for him. On his original sentencing day, Beacham filed an application to withdraw his guilty plea, however he subsequently scrapped the application. On 21 June 2024, he was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison.
- In May 2019, Beacham's employment contract was terminated. He subsequently brought a claim of unfair dismissal against Pattillo. Beacham did not actively pursue his claim, which was ultimately struck out by the Employment Tribunal in August 2020.
- In 1972, Pattillo was charged with wearing articles of police uniform that could be deceptive and having an offensive weapon (specifically a truncheon) in Fulham, London. At court, he pleaded guilty to wearing articles of police uniform in circumstances giving him an appearance nearly resembling a member of a police force. However, the prosecution offered no evidence for the offensive weapon charge, which was dropped. Pattillo was sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £10 in costs.[3]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ Dignity Funerals
- ↑ Freedom of Information request to the Crown Prosecution Service
- ↑ Fulham Chronicle and Kensington Post newspaper articles from 1972.