Entry 8 | Research | Animation Pioneer Max Fleisher
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer was born on July 18, 1883, in Krakow, in the province of Galicia under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and arrived in New York City at age five. His father established a successful tailoring shop which catered to wealthy clients. Fleischer attended public school, and after graduating from Evening High School, he attended The Mechanics and Tradesman School, The Art Students League and Cooper Union, where he received a commercial art degree. His career began at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, where he worked his way up from running errands to the positions of photographer and staff cartoonist while still in his teens.
In 1905, while at The Eagle, Fleischer became acquainted with Illustrator, John R. Bray, who recommended him for a technical illustrator job for The Electro- Light Engraving Company in Boston.
Max Fleischer was born on July 18, 1883, in Krakow, in the province of Galicia under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and arrived in New York City at age five. His father established a successful tailoring shop which catered to wealthy clients. Fleischer attended public school, and after graduating from Evening High School, he attended The Mechanics and Tradesman School, The Art Students League and Cooper Union, where he received a commercial art degree. His career began at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, where he worked his way up from running errands to the positions of photographer and staff cartoonist while still in his teens.
In 1905, while at The Eagle, Fleischer became acquainted with Illustrator, John R. Bray, who recommended him for a technical illustrator job for The Electro- Light Engraving Company in Boston.
The first releases (1918-1921) were produced at the pioneering Bray Studios, included in the Bray-Goldwyn Pictograph film magazine series. The series was popular with movie audiences due to its clever combinations of animation with live action, showing Fleischer drawing the clown and interacting with him. The climax of each film would involve the animated character “crossing the fourth wall” and pulling some prank or act of revenge in the real world.
Max Fleischer formed Out of the Inkwell Films, Inc. with his brother, Dave in 1921, and continued with technical advancements, including the Rotograph technique, an early optical process that allowed for the re-photographing of live-action film footage with animation cels. His invention was the precursor to the aerial image process used widely in the 1960s and 70s for compositing titles over live-action background footage. In 1924, Fleischer invented the “bouncing ball” sing-along films, first known as Song Car-tunes, and later Screen Songs. Several of the early Song Car-tunes were released with soundtracks between 1926 and 1927, prior to the official start of the “talkie era” and preceding Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie as the first sound cartoon by two years.
After years of battling with Paramount, Fleischer's health began to deteriorate. During that time, he fought to regain the title to Betty Boop, a battle he eventually won by the time if his death. When Fleischer passed away on September 11, 1972 from arterial sclerosis of the brain
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