The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius - 129 Welcome To The Clearing: Peter Lord (Lord Morph!) Co-Founder of Aardman Animations & Creator of MORPH!

129 Welcome To The Clearing: Peter Lord (Lord Morph!) Co-Founder of Aardman Animations & Creator of MORPH!

11/12/22 • 71 min

The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

Ladies n Genminminmin (er, min...), yes it's a 'cracking day' (see what I'm doing there?!) in 'The Clearing' as I have the great pleasure of welcoming the warm and wonderful Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations to the show!

Aardman Animations is (as I'm sure you know!) the globally renowned 4 times Academy Award Winning Clay Animated & Short Films company based in Bristol.

"Nice Cheese Gromit!"

4 Academy awards, The Freedom of the City of Bristol and a GOLD Blue Peter Badge to his name, in the bag and in the Clearing!
Peter Lord also created and gifted "Morph" to the world; Morph being the wonderful plasticine comedy sidekick to Tony Hart and the iconic children's TV programme "Vision On" back in the day, that formed part of the fabric of my (and our) childhoods!
Peter also Directed one of my very very favourite Aardman Films "Chicken Run", with "Chicken Run 2" being in production as we speak.

Hurrah!
More about Peter Lord:
Born in Bristol, if Peter Lord had taken the Van Gogh advice, which he quotes, he might now be playing cricket. Or the piano. Instead he followed his father’s suggestion and made the most of whatever came his way. Aged 12, on his first day at school in Woking, he took the only desk left. This placed him next to a lad known there as ‘Sproxton D A.' (none other than Aardman Animations co-founder Dave Sproxton!)
45+ years later these two are still working together. What started as a ‘hobby for a dreary afternoon’ is now creating career opportunities for literally hundreds of others at Aardman Animations.
‘Pete and Dave’ were the co-founders of this extraordinarily successful creative enterprise, which now belongs to its staff - a bit like the John Lewis model but Aardman’s models are much more famous on a worldwide basis. They include the amazing Morph, Chas and many others, like "Shaun the Sheep"; "Wallace and Gromit"; "Chicken Run"; "Flushed Away" to name but some of an absolutely extraordinary canon of work on which we've all brought our children up (and ourselves!)
It all started with ordinary plasticine and Peter still remembers his artist mother making a plasticine loaf for him when he was aged around 4. Then cutting it into slices!
At age 10, he credits his teacher in his School for Gifted Children in Australia in sharing his enthusiasm for Ogden Nash, Ray Bradbury and Marcel Marceau. That enthusiasm inspired him, more than the poetry or the prose or the mime. It kept him going through the ‘long days and long nights’ of building an international business in animation. Good decisions, good timing, good luck and hard work - simple as that, apparently!
Peter is clear: “There are no secrets. Stop-motion is magic!” The work-side of Peter Lord’s career is already well documented. As a del

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

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Aardman Animations is (as I'm sure you know!) the globally renowned 4 times Academy Award Winning Clay Animated & Short Films company based in Bristol.

"Nice Cheese Gromit!"

Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
You can email me about the Show: [email protected]
Twitter thatchrisgrimes
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!

Previous Episode

128 Welcome To The Clearing: Michael Warburton, the Artful Dodger & 'Twitter Lord'! Actor, Cinephile & Drummer with a Twitter Feed to Die For!

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Ladies n' Genminminminmin (er, min...) look who I've gawn n' snagged in my "Good Listening To" Clearing and Zoom Hole!

The Artful Dodger & 'Twitter Lord' himself, actor Michael Warburton to 'give us our daily bread' (see what I'm doing there?! Even though he's no relation!) on all things Twitter, through his extraordinary depth of knowledge on all things film.
Check out Michael's amazing Twitter feed @MichaelWarbur17
(Recorded as a Facebook LIVE too in The Good Listening To Facebook Group)
A fellow Bristol Old Vic Theatre School alumni, Michael Warburton is an accomplished actor, self-confessed cinephile & drummer, all set to 'bang-out' a story or two in the storyscape of "The Good Listening To Show". Absolutely delighted to have him here!

More about Michael "The Twitter Lord" (as I call him!) Warburton:
Despite having over 90,000 followers on Twitter, Michael Warburton is quite a private person. He reveals himself indirectly by what he chooses to Tweet. He does not wear his heart on his sleeve. He is certainly not an open book. He found fame early, being cast as the Artful Dodger in Oliver after being talent-spotted in a Gang Show singing an Al Jolson song.
Michael has worked as an actor since he was just 11 years old - apart from all those times he wasn’t working. According to Michael Warburton, 90% of all actors are not working at any one time! The euphemism they used to use was ‘resting’.
Even though Michael is old enough to remember Black Forest Gateau, ‘resting’ is not a word that he would choose to use. It does not describe being out of work with any authenticity. Michael is not a lovey, he is a worker. When Lockdown strangled almost everyone in show business almost overnight, Michael reverted to type as the Artful Dodger and openly used Twitter to ‘pick a pocket or two.‘
Like a street performer of old. he adapted to the era of Social Media to ask for modest financial acknowledgment from strangers for the gems he was sharing with them. It is humble work but honest work. Michael shares anything and everything that genuinely appeals to him from over half a century of colourful life experience. In today’s jargon, Michael has found a way to ‘monetise’ his individual experience and life-cultivated tastes.
In his own words, he refuses to ‘pander’ to anyone. Michael takes pride in staying true to himself. He is not ashamed of starting life in Hounslow - just like Jack Wild before him and Phil Collins, too. All three were Artful Dodgers in their time. All three came from Hounslow! Michael Warburton is proud to be a genuinely self-made man. He is most inspired by working class heroes like Charlie Chaplin, Mel Brooks and Maya Angelou. Michael keeps his own private life private. He keeps his personal cards very close to his chest -

Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
You can email me about the Show: [email protected]
Twitter thatchrisgrimes
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!

Next Episode

130 Welcome to The Clearing: Peter Duncan - Actor, Presenter, Ex Chief Scout, Blue Peter Presenter & Online Panto King!

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Ladies n Genminminminmin (er, min...) please welcome Blue Peter, Scouting & Online Panto Legend Peter Duncan to The Good Listening To Show!
Peter Duncan is a quintessential family entertainer, a veritable prolific-pants of creativity and versatility. He is an Actor, Presenter, Adventurer, former Chief Scout, Pantomime King & Blue Peter Alumni.
My first ever Theatre job was understudying Peter in David Wood’s Whirligig Theatre show, “Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish” way back when, circa 1988!
A wonderfully rich and textured conversation indeed. One of the things I was intrigued to find out more about was a recent blog post in which Peter said: "Just after dying on a cross and ascending to heaven on a wet pensioner's matinee (whilst appearing in "The Mystery Plays") I sat in my car and was overwhelmed. I felt as if I had walked through an ethereal portal where nothing was inexplicable. ‘I was a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars, I had a right to be here’ I always long to feel again that deep flash of knowing calm.
More about Peter:
Peter Duncan is a dreamer. And a thinker. And a daredevil. His life has never, ever been dull. His parents were in show business!They took him on their travels, all year long, from summer seasons to winter pantomimes.
Peter Duncan himself made his first public appearance as a teenager on stage at the Mermaid in London, playing Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island". Then, at 16, he joined the Olivier Company at The National. It sounds as though he has either been working or travelling every day, ever since.
On TV, in film on one side of the camera or the other, or on stage, in a play or in Panto. Or on the road with family or with a documentary camera in Russia, USA, India or China.
If Blue Peter made Peter Duncan famous, he has found more anonymous popular fame with new generations of children as a Pantomime Dame. The characters Peter Duncan has created himself include Dame Trott, Billie Eyelash and most recently, Dame Dolly Donut! The anarchic humour of the Dame disguises the more serious side of Peter Duncan, who turns to Dahl for command of language, to Jung for a different view of dreams, to Gibran for poetic inspiration, to Goethe for a guide to bolder living, to Shakespeare for a gloomy summary of human existence, to Desiderata for a graceful exit.
This is a man of mystery, yet who is distracted by the physicality of football or the presence of women. Who had a spiritual experience after playing Jesus in a matinee, on a wet afternoon in a car park in the provinces. Who, in his spare time, is a dystopian conceptual artist, with a dark view of the further future - yet a bright view of today! Someone who writes a blog - on an annual basis!
A former wannabe hippie - who visits hi