Directing
Dave Fleischer
Born 1894-07-14 · New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. David "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.
Acting credits
8.0From the A&E "Biography" series, a review of the birth, development and cinematic history of Betty Boop, the flapper cartoon character who has been a popular icon since the 1930s.
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons
1995
9.0Max and Dave Fliescher are eating hot dogs in their animation studio and begin drawing. The hot dog becomes a "real" dog, and it and Ko-Ko the Clown alarmingly end up inside a Gas Chamber.
Ko-Ko's Hot Dog
1928
7.0A documentary about the Fleischer brothers and how they revolutionized animation.
Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story
2008
6.6Max Fleischer draws Koko and a haunted house, while his colleague and the janitor mess around with a Ouija board. When Max goes over to take a look, Koko is haunted by ghosts and inanimate objects, and escapes into the real-world studio.
The Ouija Board
1920
7.0Ko-Ko the Clown thinks being a hero is easy, but his animator tries to prove him otherwise
Ko-Ko's Conquest
1929
Ko-Ko the Clown visits the country.
Noise Annoys Ko-Ko
1929
Behind the camera
7.0Superman battles a criminal mastermind and his robot army.
The Mechanical Monsters
1941
8.0It's just another day at the Granite Hotel.
Granite Hotel
1940
6.6Betty Boop hosts a Hallowe'en party with a few uninvited guests.
Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party
1933
6.3The happy tranquility of Bugville is shattered when the populace learns that a colossal skyscraper is to be built over their tiny town.
Mr. Bug Goes to Town
1941
6.9Popeye and Bluto fight for the love of Olive Oyl in their debut short, featuring Betty Boop.
Popeye the Sailor
1933
6.2Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.
Gulliver's Travels
1939
6.7Koko the Clown and his creator, Max Fleischer, go on a strange journey to Puzzle Town.
The Puzzle
1923
6.5A scientist uses an earthquake machine to threaten the city, and only Superman can stop his extortion plan!
Electric Earthquake
1942
8.0Ko-Ko gathers eggs on a farm while Max works on an incubator.
Koko Gets Egg-Cited
1926
6.0A birthday celebration with Max Fleischer's Inkwell Clown.
Birthday
1922
8.1Gabby is a servant in a castle and is required to do a little housework.
Swing Cleaning
1941
A lady is rescued from a villain by a heroic young man, who then takes her for a spin in his Oldsmobile.
In My Merry Oldsmobile
1931
5.1The rag and bone man passes through Betty Boop's neighborhood.
Any Rags
1932
7.7Popeye's on a battleship, on which he's banished to the boiler room. A Japanese sub comes along. Can Popeye save his ship from the enemy?
Blunder Below
1942
6.2Pudgy the pup takes Betty Boop's advice to heart and befriends various wild animals.
Making Friends
1936
5.3Curious penguins investigate an abandoned cabin, heedless of their mother's warning that "curiosity killed the cat."
Peeping Penguins
1937
Koko fights with his shadow while under hypnosis.
The Hypnotist
1922
8.0In this Christmas season release, Max assembles a toy train track while Ko-Ko the Clown visits a cartoon toyland, playing cops and robbers and rescuing a doll in distress.
Koko in Toyland
1925
7.3Popeye and Bluto are deep sea divers. Popeye has a treasure map; for some reason he cuts Bluto in on the deal, but of course, Bluto's idea of 50-50 isn't exactly fair...
Dizzy Divers
1935
5.6The race is on for the state railroad franchise: It's the Onion Pacific - Popeye - against the Sudden Pacific - Bluto. There's a kiss from Olive for the winner!
Onion Pacific
1940
7.0Robbers target a special train carrying a billion dollars worth of gold, and the only one who can stop them is Superman!
Billion Dollar Limited
1942
A man working in a fish cannery has a guilty conscience and begins to imagine he is a murderer. In his delirium/dream the fish try him for murder in a crazy court-room scene at the bottom of the ocean, which incorporates the 'Information, Please" radio routine, and also has a fish-jury who sing a little ditty called "There's Nothing On the End of the Hook." Re-released to theaters again in 1954, before Columbia sold it to television stations.
The Herring Murder Mystery
1943
9.0Max asks Ko-Ko to act as his alarm clock before going to sleep. While Max sleeps, Ko-Ko goes to work dressing Max for the next day and replacing his surroundings so he'll be ready to go when the alarm clock rings in the morning.
KoKo's Klock
1927
6.5Popeye brings his magical dog, The Jeep, over to see Olive and Swee'pea, just as the tyke has escaped from his crib. The Jeep leads Popeye on a merry chase looking for Swee'pea.
The Jeep
1938