Lou Scheimer

Lou Scheimer was an American animation producer, voice actor, and theme score composer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was one of the co-founders of the animation studio Filmation (1962-1989), and was often credited as an executive producer in its television shows. As a voice actor, he is primarily remembered for voicing the benevolent King Randor and the inept magician Orko in the animated series "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". He also voiced several of the series' secondary characters. In 1928, Scheimer was born to a German-Jewish in Pittsburgh. His father was a recent German immigrant. He reportedly decided to move to the United States, after being involved in a fist fight with members of the antisemitic Nazi Party (NSDAP, 1920-1945). Scheimer received his tertiary education at the Carnegie Tech University (later renamed to Carnegie Mellon University), a private research university located in Pittsburgh. The university was originally a technical school, established by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1900. Its name commemorated its founder. Scheimer graduated in 1952, with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Scheimer soon found work in the animation industry. In the mid-1950s, he was appointed to the position of art director for the production company Larry Harmon Pictures. The company was producing television cartoons, primarily featuring Bozo the Clown and Popeye. It was owned by producer Larry Harmon (1925 -2008), who voiced Bozo. While working there, Scheimer former a close working relationship with former Disney animator Hal Sutherland ( 1929-2014). The two later became business partners. In 1961, Larry Harmon Pictures shut down. Scheimer and Sutherland were subsequently hired by the minor production company True Line. While working there, they were contracted by the Japanese-American company SIB Productions to create an animated television series for them. They fulfilled the contract by producing the space-travel-themed series "Rod Rocket" (1963). The contract allowed True Line to hire additional personnel. Scheimer and Sutherland formed a close relationship with their new co-worker Norm Prescott (1927-2005). In 1962, Scheimer started independently working on commercials. He figured that he could form his own company to produce animation. In September 1962, Scheimer and Sutherland formed Filmation. The company's name was a short form of the term "film animation". Prescott joined them soon after the company's formation. The trio were the company's main producers. They immediately started work on the animated feature film "Journey Back to Oz" (1972), loosely based on the Oz novels by L. Frank Baum. Due to financial problems, it took them about a decade to complete the film. For its first few years, Filmation primarily produced animated television commercials. The company's first big break came c. 1966. Scheimer and his partners were hired by DC Comics editor Mort Weisinger (1915-1978) to produce an animated adaptation of the superhero Superman. The result was the animated series "The New Adventures of Superman" (1966-1970), the first animated adaptation of the character since the 1940s short film series which had been produced by the Fleischer Studios. Due to this series' perceived success, DC Comics later assigned further animated projects to Filmation. The company produced animated adaptations of (in order of release): Superboy, Aquaman, and Batman. Filmation had its second big break with another comic book adaptation. Scheimer and his partners signed a contract with Archie Comics to produce an animated adaptation of the teenage humor series "Archie". Filmation created "The Archie Show" (1968-1969), featuring Archie's main characters as a bubblegum pop band. The series' music was highly popular, and the song "Sugar, Sugar" became the No. 1 song of 1969 on the Billboard charts. Filmation went on to create several spin-offs of the series in the 1970s. Among the most successful spin-offs was "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1970-1974). Filmation took a minor fantasy character of Archie Comics, Sabrina, and turned her into a popular series protagonist. By the early 1970s, Filmation had emerged as a leading company in television animation. But it was no longer an independent company, as Scheimer and his partners had sold their ownership rights in 1969. The company functioned as a subsidiary of the TelePrompTer Corporation, which was the largest cable television provider in the United States during the 1970s. Scheimer remained on the company's helm, while some of his partners entered semi-retirement. In 1981, TelePrompTer was acquired by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Filmation had a new corporate parent, but Scheimer continued leading the company. Filmation had another hit in their hands when they produced "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (1983-1985), an animated adaption of a line of Mattel toys. It was among the earliest first-run syndicated cartoons. Due to the lack of supervision by a network, the series had greater artistic freedom than previous projects by Filmation. Scheimer wanted to instill moral values on the young viewers, so the series often focused on moral dilemmas, and questions concerning the priorities of its heroes. The series also had a successful spin-off of its own, "She-Ra: Princess of Power" (1985-1986). In 1989, Westinghouse decided to shut down Filmation and to sell the studio's properties. Scheimer effectively went into retirement after the end of his studio. In the late 1990s, he was hired by the Dutch company Dreamweavers to create an adult animated film. The result was the science fiction film "Robin and the Dreamweavers", where an evil siren seeks power through manipulating "mankind's baser carnal desires". The film had problems in finding a distributor. Scheimer spend the last decades of his life struggling with Parkinson's disease, which would eventually cause his death. In 2012, he was honored with an Inkpot Award for his contributions to animation. He died on October 17, 2013, two days before his 85th birthday. Several of his animated works have maintained a cult following into the 21st century, thanks to their colorful characters and their distinctive designs.