Biography
David "Dave" Fleischer (July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American animator, film director, and producer, best known as co-owner of Fleischer Studios alongside his older brother Max Fleischer. He was born in New York City.
Around 1913-1914, Dave started working as a film cutter for the American branch of Pathé, a French company that was the world's largest film production and distribution firm and the top manufacturer of film equipment in the early 20th century.
In the early days of the Fleischer brothers, Dave served as the rotoscope model for their first character, Koko the Clown. He later became director and subsequently producer of the studio's projects. While credited as director on all films from 1921 to 1942, the lead animators handled actual directorial work, with Fleischer mainly acting as producer. He oversaw several cartoon series including Talkartoons, Betty Boop Cartoons, Popeye the Sailor, and Color Classics; notably, Popeye became a major competitor to Mickey Mouse. He also supervised two animated features released by Paramount Pictures: Gulliver's Travels (1939) and Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941). Due to debt owed to Paramount for these feature budgets and the poor performance of non-Popeye cartoons, Paramount demanded repayment, forcing the brothers to transfer ownership of Fleischer Studios to Paramount on May 24, 1941. However, both brothers remained in charge of the studio for a period.
Paramount tasked Fleischer with creating a cartoon series based on the popular comic book hero Superman. The high-budget Superman series became the studio's most successful cartoon in its later years. Meanwhile, relations between Dave and Max deteriorated, exacerbated by Dave's extramarital affair with his Miami secretary in 1938 and subsequent personal and professional conflicts.
In April 1942, unable to work with his brother, Fleischer left Fleischer Studios to become President of Screen Gems at Columbia Pictures, though he remained co-manager of Fleischer Studios until Paramount reorganized it in May 1942 after both brothers' contracts ended. The studio, now fully owned by Paramount, was renamed Famous Studios, with the name officially adopted in May 1943.
In the late 1940s, Fleischer joined Universal as a special effects expert and troubleshooter, contributing to films such as Francis (1950), The Birds (1963), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).
Dave Fleischer passed away from a stroke on June 25, 1979, in Woodland Hills, California, after more than a decade of retirement.
