Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 18, 2013 21:31:33 GMT -6
I’m sorry to report that Lou Scheimer, co-founder and president of Filmation Studios, has passed away. He was 84.
I have very fond memories of the Filmation forays into live-action SF on Saturday morning. Jason of Star Command.Along with Space Academy and Ark II.Filmation was responsible for the single most faithful adaptations of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan and the Alex Raymond Flash Gordon ever done in either live-action or animation, too.Filmation also gave us the live-action Shazam and The Mighty Isis, two shows that apparently imprinted on the generation after mine as hard as their versions of Superman and Aquaman did on me.And the generation after THAT had He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, along with She-Ra, Princess of Power.Animation house founder that will be missed.
Louis Scheimer (October 19, 1928 - October 17, 2013) was an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning American producer, one of the original founders of Filmation, an animation company, and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons (though only by name due to standardized crediting in most cartoons; Norm Prescott received similar treatment).
Early in Filmation's history, Scheimer also contributed a number of guest or secondary voices for the various productions. Amongst these was the voice of N'kima, Tarzan's monkey companion in Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1981).
Scheimer (pronounced SHY-mer) was most pro-active in the creation of the cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Bravestarr. Aside from being the executive producer, he was also co-credited for the series' musical score under the pseudonym Erika Lane, and became a voice actor for the show (as he had done for many of his company's previous productions), going under the pseudonym Erik Gunden. Scheimer's contribution to the cast was in fact most notable as he voiced several supporting characters, including Orko (and other characters with a similar Smurfs-voice), Stratos, King Randor and others, due to severe budget restrictions. The animated series also pioneered a type of programming known as first-run syndication. Also a first was the storyline being based on an action figure toy; prior to this time, FCC regulations had prohibited any type of children's programming being based on a toy. Scheimer transformed He-Man from a graphically violent version of Conan the Barbarian into a pro-social character, who imparted a life lesson to impressionable viewers in each episode.
Erika Scheimer, Lou's daughter, also did supporting female voices and occasional voice-acting for young boy characters. She would later star in the follow-up series She-Ra, which Scheimer also produced.
In the late 1990s, Scheimer returned to the field of animation. A Dutch investment company, Dreamweavers, NV., approached Lou with a concept based on an off-kilter Dutchman's renderings of characters aimed at young adults. Scheimer went into production on an animated feature film entitled Robin and the Dreamweavers. Robin, the first human ever born in cyberspace, battled the evil siren "Triple XXX" who desired an earthly body and gained power through mankind's baser carnal desires. The film, however, was never distributed.
Shortly thereafter, Scheimer underwent quadruple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Erika Scheimer quickly took control of her father's company, Lou Scheimer Productions, and closed it down.
As of late April of 2012, Scheimer was providing consultation work for Gang of Seven (G7) Animation.
Lou Scheimer voiced characters for other Filmation cartoons besides He-Man. Most notably, he provided the voice to "Dumb Donald" on the long running Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He was also the voice of Legal Eagle and the Brown Hornet's sidekick Stinger. He likewise served as the voice-over narrator during the opening credits of the majority of Filmation shows and cartoons. In Jason of Star Command and Space Academy, he was consistently heard as generic voices over intercoms. In the live action series The Ghost Busters, which starred Forrest Tucker alongside Larry Storch with Bob Burns, his was the voice of "Zero," the unseen boss of the main characters. Lou also provided the voices of Bat-Mite, the Bat-Computer, and Clayface (First Appearance) on The New Adventures of Batman, a Filmation cartoon in 1977.
Scheimer was married to Jay Scheimer (died 2009); they have one daughter, Erika, and one son, Lane. After the death of his first wife, Lou married Maryanne Wucher.
He graduated from Carnegie Tech University (now Carnegie-Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pa. with a bachelors degree in Fine Arts in 1952.
I have very fond memories of the Filmation forays into live-action SF on Saturday morning. Jason of Star Command.Along with Space Academy and Ark II.Filmation was responsible for the single most faithful adaptations of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan and the Alex Raymond Flash Gordon ever done in either live-action or animation, too.Filmation also gave us the live-action Shazam and The Mighty Isis, two shows that apparently imprinted on the generation after mine as hard as their versions of Superman and Aquaman did on me.And the generation after THAT had He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, along with She-Ra, Princess of Power.Animation house founder that will be missed.
Louis Scheimer (October 19, 1928 - October 17, 2013) was an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning American producer, one of the original founders of Filmation, an animation company, and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons (though only by name due to standardized crediting in most cartoons; Norm Prescott received similar treatment).
Early in Filmation's history, Scheimer also contributed a number of guest or secondary voices for the various productions. Amongst these was the voice of N'kima, Tarzan's monkey companion in Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1981).
Scheimer (pronounced SHY-mer) was most pro-active in the creation of the cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Bravestarr. Aside from being the executive producer, he was also co-credited for the series' musical score under the pseudonym Erika Lane, and became a voice actor for the show (as he had done for many of his company's previous productions), going under the pseudonym Erik Gunden. Scheimer's contribution to the cast was in fact most notable as he voiced several supporting characters, including Orko (and other characters with a similar Smurfs-voice), Stratos, King Randor and others, due to severe budget restrictions. The animated series also pioneered a type of programming known as first-run syndication. Also a first was the storyline being based on an action figure toy; prior to this time, FCC regulations had prohibited any type of children's programming being based on a toy. Scheimer transformed He-Man from a graphically violent version of Conan the Barbarian into a pro-social character, who imparted a life lesson to impressionable viewers in each episode.
Erika Scheimer, Lou's daughter, also did supporting female voices and occasional voice-acting for young boy characters. She would later star in the follow-up series She-Ra, which Scheimer also produced.
In the late 1990s, Scheimer returned to the field of animation. A Dutch investment company, Dreamweavers, NV., approached Lou with a concept based on an off-kilter Dutchman's renderings of characters aimed at young adults. Scheimer went into production on an animated feature film entitled Robin and the Dreamweavers. Robin, the first human ever born in cyberspace, battled the evil siren "Triple XXX" who desired an earthly body and gained power through mankind's baser carnal desires. The film, however, was never distributed.
Shortly thereafter, Scheimer underwent quadruple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Erika Scheimer quickly took control of her father's company, Lou Scheimer Productions, and closed it down.
As of late April of 2012, Scheimer was providing consultation work for Gang of Seven (G7) Animation.
Lou Scheimer voiced characters for other Filmation cartoons besides He-Man. Most notably, he provided the voice to "Dumb Donald" on the long running Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He was also the voice of Legal Eagle and the Brown Hornet's sidekick Stinger. He likewise served as the voice-over narrator during the opening credits of the majority of Filmation shows and cartoons. In Jason of Star Command and Space Academy, he was consistently heard as generic voices over intercoms. In the live action series The Ghost Busters, which starred Forrest Tucker alongside Larry Storch with Bob Burns, his was the voice of "Zero," the unseen boss of the main characters. Lou also provided the voices of Bat-Mite, the Bat-Computer, and Clayface (First Appearance) on The New Adventures of Batman, a Filmation cartoon in 1977.
Scheimer was married to Jay Scheimer (died 2009); they have one daughter, Erika, and one son, Lane. After the death of his first wife, Lou married Maryanne Wucher.
He graduated from Carnegie Tech University (now Carnegie-Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pa. with a bachelors degree in Fine Arts in 1952.