Peter Arthur Firmin was an English artist and puppet maker.
16 Facts About Peter Firmin
1.
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Peter Firmin was the founder of Smallfilms, along with Oliver Postgate.
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Peter Firmin worked in a stained glass studio, as an illustrator and as a lecturer.
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Peter Firmin was best known as half of the Smallfilms production company, active from 1958 to the late 1980s.
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Peter Firmin made the sets, puppets and backdrops for the programmes, often contributing to making sound and visual effects during filming.
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Peter Firmin appeared on Smalltime, and was joined in 1962 by Fred Barker and in 1963 by Whiffles, an otter puppet, and Penelope, another owl.
7.
Peter Firmin made the first puppet for The Three Scampies, using a real fox brush, lending the correct name for a fox's tail to the puppet character.
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Peter Firmin, having retired from TV production, produced engravings and linocuts.
9.
In 1994, Peter Firmin provided an illustration for a British postage stamp, SG1804, featuring characters from Noggin the Nog.
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Peter Firmin produced further illustrations for the advertising campaign to publicise the stamps.
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Peter Firmin was awarded an honorary MA by the University of Kent on 17 July 1987 and an Honorary degree from the University of Essex in 2012.
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In 2011 Peter Firmin was awarded the Freedom of the City of Canterbury in recognition of his "outstanding work".
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Peter Firmin received the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
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Peter Firmin was married to Joan, who knitted the Clangers from vibrant pink wool.
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Peter Firmin died on 1 July 2018 at his home in Kent after a short illness at the age of 89.
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All the new episodes of Clangers made after this date were dedicated to his memory - the epitaph "In loving memory of Peter Firmin" can be seen at the end of the credits of these episodes.