Dave Fleischer
1894 - 1979David "Dave" Fleischer (July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American animator film director and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City.
Sometime around 1913-1914, Dave began working as a film cutter for the American branch of Pathé, the French company that was the world's largest film production and distribution company, and the largest manufacturer of film equipment, in the first decades of the 20th Century.
Dave Fleischer was notable during the brothers' early days as the rotoscope model for their first character, Koko the Clown. He went on to become director and later producer of the studio's output. Although he is credited as "director" of every film released by the Fleischer studio from 1921 to 1942, the lead animators actually performed directorial duties, and Fleischer mainly served as producer. Among the cartoon series Fleischer supervised during this period were Talkartoons, Betty Boop Cartoons, Popeye the Sailor, Color Classics and several others; Popeye would go on to be the top rival of Mickey Mouse. He also supervised two animated features released through Paramount Pictures, Gulliver's Travels (1939) and Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941). The debt Fleischer Studios owed to Paramount for the budgets of those features, worsened by the lack of success that came from the studio's non-Popeye cartoons, was called in by Paramount; this forced the brothers to give the studio to Paramount on May 24, 1941. However, both were still able to remain in charge of Fleischer Studios for a time.
Fleischer was asked by Paramount to put the popular comic book hero Superman into a cartoon series. The big-budget Superman series became the most successful cartoon of the late period of Fleischer Studios. However, relations between Dave and Max were deteriorating. The feud starting simmering after the married Dave began an adulterous affair with his Miami secretary in 1938, and was followed by more personal and professional disputes.
In April 1942 Fleischer, no longer able to cooperate with his brother, left the company to become President of Screen Gems at Columbia Pictures, although he remained co-manager of Fleischer Studios until Paramount reorganized the studio in May 1942 after Max and Dave's contracts expired. Now owned wholly by Paramount, the studio was re-organized as Famous Studios, although the name wasn't officially adopted until May 1943.
In the late-1940s, Fleischer moved over to Universal, where he became a special effects expert and general problem-solver, working on films such as Francis (1950), The Birds (1963), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).
Fleischer died of a stroke on June 25, 1979 in Woodland Hills, California, having spent over a decade in retirement.
Ko-Ko's Queen
Dave Fleischer
Ko-Ko convinces the animator to draw him a woman, but she turns out to be scrawny and ugly. He takes her to a beauty parlor and plumps her up, then shaves the back of her head and slaps a mask onto it. She wins a beauty contest, but they're both thrown out when she can't sit on her throne, thus exposing the ruse. Ko-Ko draws himself a new girl, who comes to life.
Ko-Ko's Queen
Swing You Sinners!
Dave Fleischer
Billy Murray
Bimbo is seen late at night trying to steal a chicken. He runs away from a policeman and enters a haunted cemetery. Various ghosts and monsters harass him and tell him that he will be punished for his sin before he is chased into a cave
Swing You Sinners!
Somewhere in Dreamland
Dave Fleischer
Mae Questel, Gus Wickie
A poor boy and girl in rags gather wood in the snow. They pass by a tailor, a butcher and a baker, all of whom pity the children. Later, they arrive home. Their poor mother sets before them the only food she can: Stale bread. The children get ready for bed; In their dreams, visions of ice cream and donuts, candies and cakes fill their sleeping minds-- Will they awake to the same sorry situation?
Somewhere in Dreamland
Goonland
Dave Fleischer
Jack Mercer
Popeye sails to Goon Island in search of his Pappy. He finds the place populated by the imposing, but ugly, goons, and a "no humans" sign. His imprisoned pappy at first ignores him, but when Popeye is caught by the goons and carried off, his can of spinach lands near Pappy and it works just as well on him as it does on Popeye.
Goonland
Hospitaliky
Dave Fleischer
Jack Mercer, Mae Questel
To get at nurse Olive, Popeye and Bluto fake various illnesses. Olive sees through this and tells them they need to be either very sick or hurt real bad, so they try to get hurt, but both have a sudden run of what would normally be very good luck. Out of desperation, Popeye feeds Bluto the spinach when they start fighting.
Hospitaliky
