Paddington creator Michael Bond has died

Michael Bond, the creator of the anorak wearing, marmalade loving bear from Peru, dies aged 91

Movies4Kids is very sad to hear that Michael Bond, the creator of adorable Paddington Bear, has died at the age of 91.

The first book to feature the marmalade-loving bear, A Bear Called Paddington (see the clip of Hugh Bonneville reading the story, below), was published in 1958. Michael Bond got the idea for the character after staring at a teddy bear on his bookshelf, as he told The Independent on the 50th anniversary of Paddington back in 2008. “I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956. I saw it left on the shelf in a London store and felt sorry for it. I took it home as a present for my wife london Brenda and named it Paddington as we were living near Paddington Station at the time. I wrote some stories about the bear… and after 10 days I found that I had a book on my hands.”

In the years since then, Michael wrote more than 20 Paddington books, and there have been three TV series – the classic 1975 series narrated by Michael Hordern, a Hanna-Barbera series in 1989 and 1997’s The Adventures Of Paddington Bear and, of course, the adorable 2014 movie Paddington (Paddington 2 will be released in November this year).

Here are some Paddington moments to celebrate Michael Bond and his wonderful creation: