Alan Huchison Pattillo (17 July 1929 – 16 January 2020) was a British writer and director who worked on ''

Supercar A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...

'', ''

Fireball XL5 ''Fireball XL5'' is a 1960s British children's Science fiction on television, science-fiction puppet television series about the missions of ''Fireball XL5'', a vessel of the World Space Patrol that polices the cosmos in the year 2062. Commanded ...

'', ''

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

'', and '' Thunderbirds'' television series. He won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

in 1979 alongside Bill Blunden for his

film editing Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

on ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' () is a semi-autobiographical novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma during the war as well as the detachme ...

''. Pattillo died on 16 January 2020 at the age of 90 from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Early life

Pattillo was born on 17 July 1929 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland. He had an older brother, John (1924 - 2022), who was a medical practitioner.

Career

During the 1960s, Pattillo worked on several

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

projects. He directed episodes of ''

Four Feather Falls ''Four Feather Falls'' is a British children's western television series, the third puppet TV show produced by AP Films (APF) in association with Granada Television. It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The ...

'', ''

'' and ''

''. His work on the latter is regarded as having brought added sophistication to the direction of the series. Pattillo then worked again for Anderson on ''

'' as director, before performing a number of roles on the next series from

AP Films AP Films or APF (renamed Century 21 Productions in 1966) was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette t ...

. For '' Thunderbirds'' Pattillo served as

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and writer. He directed four and wrote seven of the thirty-two episodes (including '' Attack of the Alligators!''). Aside from his work on Gerry Anderson projects, Pattillo had a varied career in the film industry. He provided the story for a 1967

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

era '' The Avengers'' episode '' The Bird Who Knew Too Much'', which ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' television review noted as being "quite striking". Pattillo worked as the sound editor on

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

's ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'' (1970) and again worked with the director as film editor on '' Walkabout'' (1971). He was the sound effects editor on

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...

's '' Pink Floyd: The Wall'' (1979). His work on ''

'' (also 1979), saw him awarded an

for

, an award he shared with Bill Blunden. He later worked as

associate editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

on the film ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

'' (1982) directed by

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

Personal life

Pattillo never married. He also never had children. In January 2024, his former carer Allan Beacham pleaded guilty to stealing over £75,000 from him between 2017 and 2019. In June 2024, Beacham was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9ww9wx81jmo.amp

References

External links

*
Obituary
at

TheGuardian.com ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Obituary
in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pattillo, Alan 1929 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen British film editors British sound editors British television directors British television writers People educated at Robert Gordon's College Primetime Emmy Award winners