Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7772620.stm Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed. Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children's TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog. His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin. In a poll earlier this year, Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat, was voted the best TV animal of all-time. Postgate's partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed he died at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on Monday. Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, has been paying tribute to "a creative and eccentric talent". Ms Kerr, the voice of the mice in Bagpuss, said they had so much fun working together, their giggles can be heard on the Bagpuss soundtrack. Asked where his inspiration came from, she said: "Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy. "He and Peter just responded to that part of themselves they had never lost." Conservative leader David Cameron told BBC Radio 5 Live that Ivor the Engine was his favourite of Postgate and Firmin's characters. "I never really got the Clangers," he added. "My wife's a big Clangers fan - I never quite got that in the same way." Postgate's work was popular with generations of children who loved the strangeness of the characters and the warmth of his story-telling. The short animated films, which he would script and narrate, were created by Smallfilms production company, set up with Firmin. The partners worked in a makeshift studio in a disused cowshed in Kent on a tiny budget often using home-made equipment. Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a little Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir, was their first creation. The 1960s BBC series of Noggin the Nog about a baby-faced king of the race of Nogs followed. The pair swiftly established themselves as reliable purveyors of children's entertainment, in the days when there were just two channels and children's television occupied a privileged teatime slot. 'Praise and encouragement' Describing the commissioning process, Postgate said: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?'" "We would tell them, and they would say, 'That sounds fine, we'll mark it in for 18 months from now', and we would be given praise and encouragement and some money in advance, and we'd just go away and do it." Only 13 episodes of Bagpuss were made in 1974, but were regularly repeated until 1987. London-born Postgate made his last film in 1987, complaining that children's television commissioners were no longer interested in what he had to offer. In October this year, the rights to many of his characters were bought by company Coolbai, which said it planned to introduce Bagpuss to a new generation. Don't think I've ever seen Noggin the Nog, but I remember Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and The Clangers well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manc-mag 1 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Woven into the fabric of my childhood them. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawD 48 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Woven into the fabric of my childhood them. RIP. Likewise. Was and remains one of my early faves. And Emily loved him.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 13919 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 R.I.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 133 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Woven into the fabric of my childhood them. RIP. Likewise. Was and remains one of my early faves. And Emily loved him.... Ditto. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6369 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Ivor the Engine was the first thing I remember wanting to watch on the telly... RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill 0 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Bagpuss always scared me a bit. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 39297 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Nogbad the Bad ........ childhood terrors!! RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmag 336 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 The mister has already purchased Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine DVD's so that the fraggle doesn't have to grow up watching shit like the Tweenies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 RIP. Absolutely loved those shows as a bairn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 The mister has already purchased Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine DVD's so that the fraggle doesn't have to grow up watching shit like the Tweenies. They are still utterly wonderful for kids, not sure the same will be said for some/most of today's stuff in 20, 30 or even 40 years time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 39297 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 The mister has already purchased Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine DVD's so that the fraggle doesn't have to grow up watching shit like the Tweenies. Does my nut in!! The Mini me loves it tho Confession; i like the Night Garden- chills me right out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonatine 10187 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Loved Bagpuss as a kid, got to feel sorry for the kids of today having to watch all that Pokemon shite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6369 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Confession; i like the Night Garden- chills me right out If that program isn't the creation of some fucker high on acid, I don't know what the hell is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 39297 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Confession; i like the Night Garden- chills me right out If that program isn't the creation of some fucker high on acid, I don't know what the hell is... the Hah Boos man, they get inside your head Maaaaan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 "hark!! While I tell you a tale as it was told by the Men of the North as they sat by their great log fires and the waves crashed on the shore below...." Now THAT is storytelling RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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