Famous Studios logo, as seen during the opening credits of a 1950s Popeye the Sailor cartoon.

Famous Studios, later renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios, was the animation division of the Hollywood film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired Fleischer Studios and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941. ^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Popeye from an opening still from one of his cartoon shorts, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Fleischer Studios, Inc. ... Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883–September 11, 1972) was an important pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon. ... David Fleischer (July 14, 1894 - June 25, 1979) was a German-American animator of Jewish ancestry, film director, and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer as well as uncle to director Richard Fleischer. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

The Famous name was previously used as Famous Players Film Company, one of several companies which in 1912 became Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the company which founded Paramount Pictures. ^[1] Paramount's music publishing branch, which held the rights to all of the original music in the Fleischer/Famous cartoons, is named Famous Music. Toronto ON-based Famous Players is a Canadian company which owns many movie theatres across Canada. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used from 1987 to 1995. ... Famous Music is a music publisher in the United States. ...

History

Fleischer Studios dissolution

See also: Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios was a successful animation studio responsible for producing successful cartoon shorts starring characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor. The studio moved its operations from New York City to Miami Beach in 1938, following union problems and the start of production on its first feature film, Gulliver's Travels (1939). ^[2] While Gulliver was a success, the expense of the move and the expanded staff required to produce the feature created finance problems for the Fleischer Studios. The studio depended upon advances and loans from its distributor, Paramount Pictures, in order to continue production on its short subjects and to begin work on a second feature, Mister Bug Goes to Town. ^[3] Fleischer Studios, Inc. ... Fleischer Studios, Inc. ... Betty Boop from the opening title sequence of the earliest entries in the Betty Boop Cartoons Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character appearing in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures. ... Popeye from an opening still from one of his cartoon shorts, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Miami Beach is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ... Union generally refers to two or more things joined into one, such as an organization of multiple people or organizations, multiple objects combined into one, and so on. ... Gullivers Travels is a 1939 cel-animated Technicolor feature film, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... Mister Bug Goes to Town is an animated feature produced by Fleischer Studios and released to theares by Paramount Pictures on December 4, 1941. ...

Compounding the problems the studio was facing was the fact that the studio's co-founders, brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, were becoming increasingly estranged. ^[4] On May 21, 1941, Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, and had the Fleischer brothers submit signed letters of resignation, to be used at Paramount's discretion. ^[3] Following the unsuccessful release of Mister Bug in December 1941, Dave Fleischer left Miami for California, where he was hired to run Columbia Pictures' Screen Gems animation studio. ^[4] Paramount responded by producing the letters of resignation, severing the Fleischer brothers from control of their studio. ^[3] Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883–September 11, 1972) was an important pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon. ... David Fleischer (July 14, 1894 - June 25, 1979) was a German-American animator of Jewish ancestry, film director, and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer as well as uncle to director Richard Fleischer. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Paramount renamed the studio Famous Studios, and although they had ownership of the company, it remained a separate entity. ^[3] Four top Fleischer employees were promoted to run the animation studio: business manager Sam Buchwald, storyboard artist Isadore Sparber, animator Dan Gordon, and Max Fleischer's son-in-law, head animator Seymour Kneitel. ^[1] Buchwald assumed Max Fleischer's place as executive producer, while Sparber, Kneitel, and Gordon shared Dave Fleischer's former responsibilities as supervising producers and credited directors. ^[3] Gordon remained only briefly before departing after 1943 ^[4] Although the Fleischers left the studio at the end of 1941, Famous Studios was not officially incorporated until May 1942, after Paramount's contract with Fleischer Studios had formally run tis course. ^[3] Isadore Sparber was an American writer, director and producer of animated films. ... Dan Gordon was an American storyboard artist and film director, best known for his work at both Famous Studios and Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... Seymour Kneitel (March 16, 1908 - July 30, 1964) was an American animator. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early years

Shortly after the takeover, Paramount began plans to move a significantly downsized Famous Studios back to New York, a move completed during the winter of 1943. ^[1] Virtually all of the Famous staff, from voice artist/storyman Jack Mercer and storyman Carl Meyer to animators such as Myron Waldman, David Tendlar, Tom Johnson, Nicholas Tafuri, and Al Eugster, were holdovers from the Fleischer era. ^[5] These artists remained with Famous/Paramount for much of the studio's existence. ^[5] As at Fleischer's, the head animators carried out the tasks that were assigned to animation directors at other studios, while the credited directors - Kneitel, Sparber, Gordon, and Disney/Terrytoons veteran Bill Tytla) - acted more as supervisors. ^[5] Jack Mercer (January 13, 1909 – December 4, 1984), began his work in cartoons as an inbetweener, an apprentice animator at Fleicher Studios. ... Sir Carl Ferdinand Meyer, 1st Baronet (December 23, 1851-December 18, 1922) was a British banker and mining magnate. ... Myron Waldman (born 1908) is an animator, perhaps best known for his work on Betty Boop and Popeye. ... David Benjamin Tendlar (August 8, 1909 - September 9, 1993) was an American animator. ... Tom Johnson can refer to different people: Tom Johnson, minimalist composer. ... Alfred Eugster (February 11, 1909 - January 1, 1997) was an American animator and film director, regarded as one of the greatest of all time. ... An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film. ... Vladimir Peter Tytla (October 25, 1904–December 30, 1968) was one of the original Disney animators and is considered by many to be the best character animator working during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ...

Continuing series from the Fleischer period included Popeye the Sailor and Superman, both licensed from popular comics characters. The expensive Superman cartoons, having lost their novelty value with exhibitors, ^[6] ended production in 1943, a year after Famous' inception. They were replaced by a series starring Saturday Evening Post comic strip character Little Lulu. ^[6] Also in 1943, Famous began producing the formerly black-and-white Popeye cartoons in Technicolor, and began a new series of one-shot cartoons under the umbrella title Noveltoons. ^[6] This image of Superman appeared at the beginning of each of the cartoons. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... There have been many publications called the Saturday Evening Post; several were/are local British newspapers. ... A Little Lulu comic book Little Lulu is a comic strip character, created by Marjorie Henderson Buell. ... Logo celebrating Technicolors 90th Anniversary Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc. ... Noveltoons was an anthology series of animated cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures Famous Studios from 1943 to the close of the studio in 1967. ...

The Noveltoons series introduced several popular characters such as Herman and Katnip, Baby Huey, and Casper the Friendly Ghost, some of whom were subsequently given series of their own. ^[5] Casper, created by writer Seymour Riet and Famous animator Joe Oriolo during World War II as a children's book manuscript, was sold to Famous in 1945 and became the studio's most successful wholly owned property. ^[5] In 1947, Paramount decided to stop paying Little Lulu creator Marge licensing royalties, and created a Lulu clone, Little Audrey, as a replacement. ^[6]The same year, the studio resurrected an old Fleischer series, Screen Songs, introducing a new series of musical cartoons featuring a "bouncing ball" sing-along. ^[5] Herman and Katnip are a duo of cartoon characters (Herman the mouse and Katnip the cat), who have appeared both separately and together in Famous Studios cartoons from 1943 to 1959. ... The famous Baby Huey Baby Huey, a gigantic and naïve infant duckling cartoon character, was a creation of Paramount Pictures Famous Studios in the early 1950s. ... Casper the Friendly Ghost is the main character of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. ... Joe was a well noted Animater of Felix the Cat. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marjorie Henderson Buell (1904–1993) was an American cartoonist and the creator of Little Lulu. ... Little Audrey is a fictional character, appearing in Paramount Pictures Famous Studios cartoons from 1947 to 1959. ... A scene from the eleventh Screen Song cartoon, Smiles (1929). ...

Although the studio still carried much of the staff from the previous regime, animation fans and historians note that its films soon diverged from the previous style. ^[1] Many of them deride the company style for being highly formulaic and largely oriented towards a children's audience, with none of the artistic ambition or sophistication that the previous management strove for. ^[1][5] The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ...

Later period and sales of cartoon libraries

Olive Oyl, Popeye, and Bluto in the Famous Studios Popeye the Sailor cartoon Floor Flushers (1953).

Sam Buchwald died in 1951. ^[7] Seymour Kneitel and Isadore Sparber became the production heads of the studio, and Dave Tendlar was promoted to director. ^[7] Image File history File links Popeye-floor-flusher. ... Image File history File links Popeye-floor-flusher. ... Olive Oyl in Little Swee Pea (1936). ... Bluto, in Im in the Army Now (1936) Bluto is a cartoon character created in 1933 by Fleischer Studios for its Popeye the Sailor theatrical animated series. ...

The mid and late-1950s brought a number of significant changes for Famous Studios. In 1955, Paramount sold most of their pre-1950 shorts and cartoons, except for the Popeye and Superman shorts, to U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. for television distribution. The Popeye cartoons were acquired by Associated Artists Productions (A.A.P.), and the Superman library went to Motion Pictures for Television, producers of the Adventures of Superman television series. In October 1956, Famous Studios was downsized and reorganized. Paramount assumed full control of the studio, integrating it into the Paramount Pictures Corporation as a division named Paramount Cartoon Studios. ^[7] Two years after the company's reorganization, Isadore Sparber died, leaving Seymour Kneitel alone in charge of the studio. Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical features and short subjects for television founded in 1953 and headed by Elliott Hyman. ... The cast of Adventures of Superman from 1953 to 1957. ...

Paramount sold their remaining cartoon film library and the rights to their established characters to Harvey Comics in 1959. ^[7] Paramount's attempts at creating replacement characters, among them Jeepers and Creepers and The Cat, proved unsuccessful. Television production outsourced from King Features and Harvey Films brought the company additional income. Ironically, these arrangements had Paramount working on new TV cartoons starring Casper, who they had created, and Popeye and Little Lulu, characters they had previously licensed for theatrical cartoons. ^[7] In the case of King Features' Popeye and King Features Trilogy TV cartoons, Paramount was one of several animation studios, among them Jack Kinney Productions and Rembrandt Films, to which King Features outsourced production. ^[7] Twelve of the King Featurs Trilogy cartoons, starring characters such as Little Lulu, Beetle Bailey, and Snuffy Smith, were released theatrically by Paramount in 1962 under the title Comic Kings. ^[7] Casper the Friendly Ghost in Theres Good Boos To-Night (1948). ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... // The Cat can refer to several different things: The Cat is a trademark for two separate high speed catamaran ferry services operated by subsidiaries of Northumberland Ferries Limited: Bay Ferries in the Gulf of Maine, using HSC INCAT 046 and currently HSC INCAT 059. ... King Features Syndicate is a syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation; it distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to thousands of newspapers around the world. ... Harvey Films was an animation production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. ... Jack Kinney (March 29, 1909 - February 9, 1992) was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A page from the comic book version of Beetle Bailey. ... Snuffy Smith has been for many years the predominant character in the syndicated newspaper comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, created by Billy DeBeck and later drawn by Fred Lasswell from 1942 until 2001 (when Laswell died). ...

Seymour Kneitel died of a heart attack in 1964, and Paramount brought in comic book veteran Howard Post to run the cartoon studio. ^[8] Under Post's supervision, Paramount began new cartoon series such as Swifty and Shorty and Honey Halfwitch, and allowed comic strip artist Jack Mendelsohn to direct two well-received cartoons based upon children's imaginations and drawing styles: The Story of George Washington and A Leak in the Dike (both 1965). ^[8] Born November 2, 1926. ...

Post left the studio amidst internal conflicts in 1965, replaced by Shamus Culhane, a veteran of the Fleischer studio. ^[8] In 1967, Culhane directed another short based upon children's art, My Daddy, the Astronaut, which became Paramount's first film to be shown at the International Animation Festival. ^[9] In 1966, the studio subcontracted The Mighty Thor cartoons from Grantray-Lawrence Animation, producers of The Marvel Superheroes animated TV series. ^[9] However, when Paramount's board of directors rejected a proposal to produce episodes for a second Grantray-Lawrence series, Spider-Man, Culhane quit the studio, and was replaced by former Terrytoons animator Ralph Bakshi in mid-1967. ^[9] Although Bakshi quickly put several experimental shorts into production, by the fall of 1967, Paramount's new owners, Gulf and Western, had begun the process of shutting down the animation studio, a task completed in December. James Shamus Culhane was an Irish-American animator, film director, and film producer, often regarded as one of the greatest animators of all time. ... Thor battles his evil step-brother, Loki. ... Grantray-Lawrence Animation was a Canadian animation studio active from 1954 to 1967 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert Lawrence. ... The Marvel Superheroes[1] is a Canadian-made animated television series first syndicated, on U.S. television, in 1966 and starring five popular comic-book superheroes from Marvel Comics. ... Spider-Man is an animated television series that ran from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970. ... Ralph Bakshi (October 29, 1938) is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films. ... Gulf and Western Industries, for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was a United States conglomerate. ...

Current ownership of Paramount cartoons

Today, several companies own different components of the Paramount animated library. Time Warner owns all of the Paramount Popeye cartoons via their Turner Entertainment division, following several company mergers and purchases involving the A.A.P. film library. In addition, Time Warner (via its DC Comics unit) owns the masters to the Superman cartoons, although all seventeen of the series' entries are in the public domain. Classic Media now owns the Harvey properties, which include the 1950-1962 Paramount cartoons and the original characters created by Famous before 1959. Time Warner Inc. ... Turner Entertainment Company was established August 4, 1986 to oversee Turner Broadcastings film library after its acquisition of MGM/UA. In addition to the studio, Turner got its library, which included all of MGMs films, Warner Bros. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Classic Media, Inc. ...

Viacom, Paramount's current parent company, owns what was once the U.M.&M. library via their Republic Pictures arm. This library includes the rights to all of the Paramount cartoons - Fleischer and Famous - produced before 1950 which do not feature Popeye or Superman. However, a significant number of these cartoons did not have their copyrights renewed, and have fallen into the public domain. Numerous public domain sourced home video collections feature Paramount cartoons which were sold to U.M.&M. Paramount itself continues to hold the theatrical rights to the post-1962 cartoon shorts. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE: VIAb) is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks (MTV Networks and BET), and movie production and distribution (the Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks movie studios). ... Republic Pictures Corporation (aka Republic Entertainment) is an independent film, television, and video distribution company that was originally a movie production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, best known for its specialization in quality B pictures, westerns and movie serials. ... The home video business rents and sells videocassettes and DVDs to the public. ...

CBS Paramount Television (a unit of the current incarnation of CBS Corporation) holds the television rights to the cartoons under Republic Pictures' ownership. Republic has licensed the home video/DVD rights to the former U.M.&M. package to Lionsgate Home Entertainment, although official re-releases have yet to be announced. CBS Paramount Television (formerly Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, among other companies) is an American television production/distribution company. ... CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. ... Lions Gate redirects here, for other meanings see Lions Gate (disambiguation)‎. Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, (usually renderred as Lionsgate), (NYSE: LGF) is an American entertainment company which originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and now is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. ...

Filmography

Theatrical short subjects series

• Popeye the Sailor (inherited from Fleischer Studios, 1942 – 1957)
• Superman (inherited from Fleischer Studios, 1942 – 1943)
• Noveltoons (1943 – 1967)
• Little Lulu (1943 – 1948)
• Screen Songs (1947 – 1951; originally produced by Fleischer Studios 1929 – 1938)
• Little Audrey (1948 – 1959)
• Casper the Friendly Ghost (1950 – 1959)
• Kartunes (1951 – 1953)
• Herman and Katnip (1952 – 1959)
• Modern Madcaps (1958 – 1967)
• Jeepers and Creepers (1960)
• The Cat (1961)
• Swifty and Shorty (1964 – 1965)
• Honey Halfwitch (1965 – 1967)
• Merry Makers (1967)
• GoGo Toons (1967)
• Fractured Fables (1967)

Popeye from an opening still from one of his cartoon shorts, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye. ... This image of Superman appeared at the beginning of each of the cartoons. ... Noveltoons was an anthology series of animated cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures Famous Studios from 1943 to the close of the studio in 1967. ... A Little Lulu comic book Little Lulu is a comic strip character, created by Marjorie Henderson Buell. ... A scene from the eleventh Screen Song cartoon, Smiles (1929). ... Little Audrey is a fictional character, appearing in Paramount Pictures Famous Studios cartoons from 1947 to 1959. ... Casper the Friendly Ghost is the main character of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. ... Herman and Katnip are a duo of cartoon characters (Herman the mouse and Katnip the cat), who have appeared both separately and together in Famous Studios cartoons from 1943 to 1959. ... Modern Madcaps are an animated film series by Paramount Pictures Famous Studios animation division, featuring several assorted characters that later became part of the Harvey Comics library. ... // The Cat can refer to several different things: The Cat is a trademark for two separate high speed catamaran ferry services operated by subsidiaries of Northumberland Ferries Limited: Bay Ferries in the Gulf of Maine, using HSC INCAT 046 and currently HSC INCAT 059. ...

Television series

• Segments of Popeye (1960 – 1962; outsourced from King Features)
• The New Casper Cartoon Show (1962 – 1963, produced for Harvey Films)
• Segments of King Features Trilogy (1963 – 1965; outsourced from King Features)
  • Twelve of the Paramount-produced shorts in this series were released theatrically in 1962 under the title Comic Kings
• The Mighty Thor segments of The Marvel Superheroes (1966; outsourced from Grantray-Lawrence Animation)

For other uses, see Popeye (disambiguation). ... King Features Syndicate is a syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation; it distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to thousands of newspapers around the world. ... Harvey Films was an animation production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. ... Thor battles his evil step-brother, Loki. ... The Marvel Superheroes[1] is a Canadian-made animated television series first syndicated, on U.S. television, in 1966 and starring five popular comic-book superheroes from Marvel Comics. ... Grantray-Lawrence Animation was a Canadian animation studio active from 1954 to 1967 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert Lawrence. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios, Inc. ...

External link

• Paramount and Famous Studios at cartoonresearch.com