Jeff Tracy
Encyclopedia
Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry
and Sylvia Anderson
's Supermarionation
television show Thunderbirds
and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO
and Thunderbird 6
. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley
. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds
. In the latter he was played by actor Bill Paxton
.
The series was first shown in 1965 and was set a hundred years in the then future in 2065, when Jeff was (or will be) 56. According to his backstory "bio", Jeff was born 2 January 2009 the son of a combine harvester driver on a Kansas wheat farm.
As the Tracy family patriarch
, he spends most of his time on Tracy Island
, situated somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
, from where he co-ordinates rescue missions.
It has been suggested that the Tracy family are based on the Cartwrights from the TV series Bonanza
, and that the Jeff Tracy puppet is based on the actor who played Ben Cartwright, Lorne Greene
.
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
's Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
television show Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
and Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science-fiction and adventure film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, directed by David Lane and produced by Century 21 Cinema...
. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley
Peter Dyneley
Peter Dyneley was a British actor, born in Hastings, East Sussex, England.Although appearing in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for his performance as the voice of Jeff Tracy in the Gerry Anderson 1960s TV series Thunderbirds and the subsequent movies...
. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
. In the latter he was played by actor Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
.
The series was first shown in 1965 and was set a hundred years in the then future in 2065, when Jeff was (or will be) 56. According to his backstory "bio", Jeff was born 2 January 2009 the son of a combine harvester driver on a Kansas wheat farm.
Biography
- Military service in the U.S. Air Force achieving rank of colonel
- Transfer to Space Agency to become an early lunar astronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
- Jeff married and became the father of five sons; ScottScott TracyScott Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
, JohnJohn Tracy (Thunderbirds)John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6...
, VirgilVirgil TracyVirgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
, GordonGordon TracyGordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
and AlanAlan TracyAlan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
born in rapid succession in the period 2039-2044. - His wife died prematurely, commonly accepted to have been due to complications with the birth on 12 March 2044 of her youngest son, Alan. A non-canonical 1993 comic strip has a different explanation
- Jeff raised his five sons, while building up a civil and construction engineering business that made him one of the richest men in the world.
- He became a philanthropist and instigated and financed International RescueInternational RescueInternational Rescue can refer to*International Rescue Corps, the UK rescue organisation*A fictional rescue organization seen in Thunderbirds *The original name of UK indie band The June Brides*A hit 1989 song by Fuzzbox...
As the Tracy family patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
, he spends most of his time on Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
, situated somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, from where he co-ordinates rescue missions.
It has been suggested that the Tracy family are based on the Cartwrights from the TV series Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, and that the Jeff Tracy puppet is based on the actor who played Ben Cartwright, Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
.