Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883–September 11, 1972) was an important pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon. He brought such characters as Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen, and was responsible for a number of technological innovations.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Fleischer was the second oldest of six children. His family immigrated to the USA in 1887 and settled in New York City.
Fleischer had the idea of using frames of a live action film as the basis for drawing animation, his patent for the rotoscope was granted in 1917, although Max and Dave Fleischer made their first cartoon using the device in 1915.
In 1919 he established Fleischer Studios for producing animated cartoons and short subjects. At one point all of his siblings (as well as his son Richard Fleischer) worked there.
Fleischer invented the rotograph, the first technique for adding animated characters to live backgrounds. Extensive use of this technique was made in Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series, one of the highlights being a boxing match between the cartoon Koko the Clown and a live kitten.
Fleischer was also responsible for the "follow the bouncing ball" sing along cartoons.
Fleischer produced the first sound animated cartoons in 1924 using the Lee DeForest sound-on-film synchronization process (years before Steamboat Willie, which The Walt Disney Company likes to imply was the first sound cartoon).
On May 24, 1941, Fleischer Studios was taken over by Paramount Pictures and was renamed Famous Studios. He & Dave ran the company for another year before resigning. He later took a job of producting & directing the Handy Corporation's rare cartoon shorts. One of which was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Fleischer left Handy in 1954 & went to Bray Studios (which he worked for in 1916). He later tried unsuccessfully to sue Parmount & get money back from them selling his cartoons to television.
In his late years, Fleischer was poor & ended up living at the Motion Picture Country House, where he died in 1972. Ironically, he died eleven days after signing a contract with King Features which plan to reintroduce Betty Boop to the world & would have made him millions.
References
Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleisher and the Animation Revloution, Richard Fleisher, University Press of Kentucky, 2005, ISBN 0813123550