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”.

据报道，演员西蒙·希尔顿（别名西蒙·巴恩斯）于上周三去世，享年52岁。他曾在经典儿童电视节目《天线宝宝》中饰演紫宝宝丁丁。

Shelton was a ballet dancer and choreographer¹ 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年希尔顿出演了《天线宝宝》中拿着手提包的紫宝宝丁丁，在那之前他曾是一位芭蕾舞者兼编舞。他是第二个饰演该角色的演员，最初的演员戴夫·汤普森在1997年被解雇了。

“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!”

“我不知道它会那么受欢迎，但是一接演这个角色，我就知道它很特别，”他在2008年说道。“它就像（儿童节目中的）甲壳虫乐队一样，太不可思议了！”

But like the Beatles, the Teletubbies were occasionally controversial.

不过就像甲壳虫乐队一样，《天线宝宝》偶尔也会引发争议。

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 antenna².

1999年，保守主义的电视福音布道者（定期在电视上宣传基督教并劝人捐款的人）杰里·福尔韦尔指责紫宝宝丁丁“模仿同性恋者的生活方式”，因为该角色拿着一个手提包，穿着紫色的外衣，还有一个三角形的天线。

Although Thompson admitted to playing the character as gay (a claim that got him cut from the show), Shelton dismissed the question as irrelevant³.

虽然汤普森承认饰演的这个角色是同性恋者（该声明使他被剧组开除了），但希尔顿以无关为由，对该问题避而不谈。

“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.”

“人们一直问我，丁丁是否是同性恋者，”希尔顿告诉记者。“但是这个角色应该只有3岁，所以这个问题真的很蠢。”

Shelton is survived by three kids. News of his death inspired tributes from co-workers and family members.

希尔顿有三个孩子。他去世的消息传出后，他的同事和家人都纷纷表示悼念。