Gutted to hear that Shane Rimmer, an actor who - if you grew up in the UK at any time in the 60s, 70s and 80s - has been such a part of all our lives, has passed away at the age of 89.
Canadian born Rimmer's most iconic role was one that only required his vocal talents, namely that of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds, but he was instantly recognisable for several supporting roles in some of cinema's biggest franchises; Star Wars, Superman, Batman, and a total of three James Bond movies, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, and The Spy Who Loved Me. Other film credits included Gandhi, Rollerball (pictured above), Doctor Strangelove, Reds, Out of Africa and Dark Shadows, whilst he appeared in TV dramas like DoctorWho, Coronation Street, Dockers, and the controversial 1977 April's Fools joke (which actually aired in June that year!) Alternative 3, a cod-science documentary about the 'brain drain' which revealed that the elite of society had actually left the soon-to-be-destroyed earth for a new life in space, that continues to resonate among conspiracy theorists to this day. RIP
Bill Paxton, who is perhaps most famous for the role of Hudson in Aliens, has died at the age of 61.
Paxton had reportedly been suffering from complications following surgery. The actor starred in big Hollywood blockbusters such as the aforementioned Aliens (pictured above), The Terminator, Predator 2, Titanic, True Lies, Twister, Apollo 13, Tombstone, and Nightcrawler, as well as the live action version of Thunderbirds. On television, he won the Emmy for his role in Hatfield and McCoys, and three Golden Globe nods for the HBO drama Big Love. RIP
Sylvia Anderson, co-creator of Thunderbirds with her former husband Gerry Anderson, and the voice of Lady Penelope, has died at the age of 88.
Anderson collaborated with her husband Gerry, who passed away in 2012, on evergreen shows such as Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Fireball XL5, Stingray and UFO, which she designed the costumes for. But it's perhaps Thunderbirds that she will forever be associated with thanks to its glamourous agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward whom she provided the voice for and whose appearance was modelled upon her own. Gerry and Sylvia split in 1981 and Sylvia subsequently went on to become a head of programming at HBO as well as an author. RIP
