Gordon Murray (puppeteer) facts for kids

Gordon Murray (born May 3, 1921 – died June 30, 2016) was a British television producer and puppeteer. He is famous for creating and writing some of the most loved children's TV shows in Britain. These include Camberwick Green, Trumpton, and Chigley. These three shows are often called the Trumptonshire Trilogy. Gordon Murray's own company made all of them.

Gordon Murray's Early Life and TV Work

Gordon Murray went to Emanuel School in Battersea, London. He loved puppets from a young age. As a child, he made puppets and put on small shows for his friends and family at home. He once said that seeing a puppet show at the Victoria Palace Theatre when he was about eight years old really made him love puppets even more.

After school, he worked as a journalist. He also joined the Territorial Army in 1939. He served in the Royal Corps of Signals during World War II. He was part of the D-Day landings on Gold Beach.

After the war, he worked in theatre. There, he met a ballet dancer named Enid Martin, and they later got married. They had two daughters. In 1950, Murray started his own puppet company called Murray's Marionettes. A BBC producer saw one of his shows. This led to him working for the BBC. He operated Spotty Dog in the show The Woodentops (TV series).

Murray then became a producer in the BBC's children's department. He produced shows like Sketch Club and Captain Pugwash. At first, these shows were broadcast live. But Murray wanted more control. So, he built his own film studio to make his shows. In 1958, he created A Rubovian Legend. This series ran until 1963. He worked with fellow puppeteers John Hardwick and Bob Bura on this show and for many years after.

Creating the Trumptonshire Trilogy

In 1964, Gordon Murray left the BBC. He started his own company, Gordon Murray Puppets Productions. It was based in a converted church in Crouch End, North London.

Here, he made The Trumptonshire Trilogy. This included Camberwick Green (first shown in 1966), Trumpton (1967), and Chigley (1969). Camberwick Green was the first children's show on the BBC to be broadcast in colour. Murray designed the vehicles, puppets, and wrote the scripts. John Bura and Bob Hardwick then animated them.

Instead of using string puppets, Murray decided to use stop-motion animation. This technique makes objects look like they are moving on their own. Bura and Hardwick made a smart choice. They filmed Camberwick Green in both black-and-white and colour. This meant the shows could be broadcast for many years, even as TV changed to colour.

After Chigley, it was six years before Murray had a new series. This was a stop-motion remake of The Rubovian Legends, simply called Rubovia. His next work was Skip and Fuffy in 1978. His last series, The Gublins, was shown in 1979.

Gordon Murray's Later Years

After he stopped making animated shows, Gordon Murray created miniature books. He made over thirty-four different tiny books by hand. They had small watercolour paintings and special covers. A full collection of these books is kept at the University of Iowa library.

In the 1980s, he sadly burned most of his puppets and sets. But one soldier puppet from Camberwick Green survived. His oldest daughter gave it to a friend. This puppet was later put up for auction in 2003.

In 2009, a poll by Channel 4 TV ranked Trumpton as the 22nd most popular children's TV show. Murray's work was also used in TV adverts for porridge and bread. His puppets even appeared in the BBC drama Life on Mars.

In 2012, all 39 original episodes of the Trumptonshire trilogy were digitally restored. Murray found boxes of the original film footage in his attic. He gave them to the BBC to be cleaned up.

Gordon Murray passed away on June 30, 2016, at the age of 95. His wife, Enid, had died before him.

Selected TV Shows and Films

• Captain Pugwash – 1957
• A Rubovian Legend – 1958
• Sketch Club – 1958
• Camberwick Green – 1966
• Trumpton – 1967
• Chigley – 1969
• Rubovia – 1976
• The Gublins – 1979