《天線寶寶》“丁丁”扮演者去世，曾是芭蕾舞者！

It is reported that Simon Shelton, also known as Simon Barnes, died last Wednesday at the age of 52. He played Tinky Winky on the iconic children’s TV show “Teletubbies”.
據報道，演員西蒙·希爾頓（別名西蒙·巴恩斯）於上週三去世，享年52歲。他曾在經典兒童電視節目《天線寶寶》中飾演紫寶寶丁丁。

Shelton was a ballet dancer and choreographer before he was cast on “Teletubbies” as purple, purse-carrying Tinky Winky in 1998. He was the second actor cast in the role; the original actor, Dave Thompson, was canned in 1997.
1998年希爾頓出演了《天線寶寶》中拿着手提包的紫寶寶丁丁，在那之前他曾是一位芭蕾舞者兼編舞。他是第二個飾演該角色的演員，最初的演員戴夫·湯普森在1997年被解僱了。

“I didn't know it would be as big as it was, but I did know as soon as I started working on it, that it had something special,” he said in 2008. “It was like being the Beatles, it was wonderful!”
“我不知道它會那麼受歡迎，但是一接演這個角色，我就知道它很特別，”他在2008年說道。“它就像（兒童節目中的）甲殼蟲樂隊一樣，太不可思議了！”

But like the Beatles, the Teletubbies were occasionally controversial.
不過就像甲殼蟲樂隊一樣，《天線寶寶》偶爾也會引發爭議。

In 1999, conservative televangelist Jerry Falwell accused Tinky Winky of “modeling the gay lifestyle,” because the character carried a purse, was purple and had a triangle-shaped antenna.
1999年，保守主義的電視福音佈道者（定期在電視上宣傳基督教並勸人捐款的人）傑裏·福爾韋爾指責紫寶寶丁丁“模仿同性戀者的生活方式”，因爲該角色拿着一個手提包，穿着紫色的外衣，還有一個三角形的天線。

Although Thompson admitted to playing the character as gay (a claim that got him cut from the show), Shelton dismissed the question as irrelevant.
雖然湯普森承認飾演的這個角色是同性戀者（該聲明使他被劇組開除了），但希爾頓以無關爲由，對該問題避而不談。

“People always ask me if Tinky Winky is gay,” Shelton told reporters. “But the character is supposed to be a 3-year-old, so the question is really quite silly.”
“人們一直問我，丁丁是否是同性戀者，”希爾頓告訴記者。“但是這個角色應該只有3歲，所以這個問題真的很蠢。”

Shelton is survived by three kids. News of his death inspired tributes from co-workers and family members.
希爾頓有三個孩子。他去世的消息傳出後，他的同事和家人都紛紛表示悼念。