Alan Tracy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alan Tracy
Thunderbirds character
The original puppet character
First appearance	"Trapped in the Sky" (30 September 1965)
Created by	Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Designed by	Christine Glanville (puppet sculptor)
Voiced by	Ray Barrett ("Trapped in the Sky") Matt Zimmerman (other episodes)
Information
Occupation	Astronaut and racing driver
Affiliation	International Rescue
Family	Jeff Tracy (father) Scott, Virgil, Gordon and John Tracy (brothers) Grandma Tracy (paternal grandmother)
Nationality	American
Home	Tracy Island

Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its film sequels Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), as well as the TV remake Thunderbirds Are Go. The character also appeared in the 2004 live-action film adaptation, Thunderbirds.

Thunderbirds (1965-1966)

Background

The face of the Alan Tracy puppet was modelled on actor Robert Reed. Matt Zimmerman voiced the character for all but one of his 1960s appearances; since Zimmerman was a late addition to the cast, Ray Barrett provided Alan's voice for his debut appearance in the series opener, "Trapped in the Sky".

Zimmerman was recommended to producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson by David Holliday, the voice of Virgil Tracy. In an interview, Zimmerman remembered of his casting: "They were having great difficulty in casting the part of Alan Tracy as they wanted a certain sound for him ...As I walked in [Sylvia Anderson] looked at me and said, 'Don't talk! Oh, my god, you've got those big eyes and the cleft in the chin and the cheek bones, and if you were blond you'd look very much like Alan.' She said, 'Now, sit down. What's your name again?' And I said, 'My name is Matt Zimmerman and I'm from Detroit, Michigan,' and she said, 'That's the voice!' And that's how I got the job."

Character biography

The fifth and youngest son of Jeff Tracy (the founder and financier of International Rescue), Alan is named after American astronaut Alan Shepard. Sources differ on the subject of Alan's age and date of birth; in the Thunderbird Fact File, his birthday is stated to be 12 March 2005 or 2044, making him 21 years old during the events of most of the series (he turns 22 in the episode "Attack of the Alligators!"). An accomplished sportsman and former racing driver, he can at times be bad-tempered and reckless. Alan studied at Colorado University, where his natural impetuousness led to a clash with authorities over the launch (and subsequent crash) of an unsanctioned, self-built rocket. His father took charge of the situation, steering the interest toward more constructive ends, ultimately resulting in Alan's role as astronaut and principal pilot of Thunderbird 3.

The episode "Move ~ And You're Dead" reveals that Alan is additionally a skilled racing car driver, but that he gave up this career to assume his responsibilities within International Rescue. In "Atlantic Inferno", Alan pilots Thunderbird 1, assuming his brother Scott's role of flying to the danger zone and co-ordinating the rescue operation. Alan comments on how different it is from operating Thunderbird 3, prompting Scott to remind him to "bring [Thunderbird 1] back in one piece". In the film Thunderbird 6, he shoots three hijackers, becoming one of only three members of IR (with Scott and Gordon) to kill an enemy. The most romantic of all the Tracy brothers, Alan is involved with Tin-Tin, the daughter of Kyrano, caretaker of Tracy Island. However, despite his passion for her, he is seen to be attracted to IR's London agent, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, in the episode "The Perils of Penelope" and the film Thunderbirds Are Go.

Thunderbirds (2004 film)

In the live-action Thunderbirds, Alan is again demonstrated to be attracted to Tin-Tin; he was portrayed by Brady Corbet. In this film, Alan is 14 years old and attends a boarding school in the United States.

Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-2020)

Like previous series, Alan is still the pilot of Thunderbird 3. Similar to his 2004 counterpart, he is once again a teenager and is sometimes treated like a kid by his brothers. On some occasions, he, is joined on board Thunderbird 3 by Scott or Kayo (the series' counterpart of Tin-Tin). Alan's equipment includes an orbital conveyance platform which lets him get closer to things such as the Sat-Mine machine in episode 3 "Space Race".

Alan's immaturity is shown by his near-constant need to play some sort of zombie apocalypse computer game (shown in the episode "Slingshot") in Thunderbird 3, and a constant addiction to sleep. However, he appears younger than Kayo and as such does not show a lot of attraction to her, in fact he sees her more as a sister. It appears as though Scott may have some attraction to her, though this is debatable as Kayo and Alan gave each other looks in the episode "Home on the Range". Over the course of the series he becomes more mature on missions and continue being help for his brothers and allies.

See also

In Spanish: Alan Tracy para niños