Lou Scheimer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lou Scheimer
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| Born |
Louis Scheimer
October 19, 1928 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Died | October 17, 2013 (aged 84) Tarzana, California, U.S.
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| Other names | Erik Gunden, Erika Lane |
| Alma mater | Carnegie Mellon University |
| Occupation | Animator, voice actor |
| Years active | 1957–2013 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jay Wucher
(died 2009) |
| Children | 2, including Erika |
Louis Scheimer (born October 19, 1928 – died October 17, 2013) was an American producer and voice actor. He was one of the people who started the famous animation studio called Filmation. He was also the main producer for many of their popular cartoons.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Louis Scheimer grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His family had an interesting story: his German Jewish father supposedly left Germany in the early 1920s after a run-in with a young Adolf Hitler. Louis went to Carnegie Tech University (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh and earned a degree in fine arts in 1952.
Animation Career and Filmation
In the mid-1950s, Lou Scheimer worked as an art director at Larry Harmon Pictures. He helped create cartoons for TV like Bozo and Popeye. There, he became good friends with Hal Sutherland, who used to work at Disney. They later became business partners.
After Larry Harmon's studio closed in 1961, Scheimer and Sutherland worked for another company. They got a job to make a cartoon called Rod Rocket. They also worked on a series of short animated films about the life of Christ. During this time, they met Norm Prescott, a former radio disc jockey. The three of them became close friends.
In 1962, Scheimer, Sutherland, and Prescott decided to start their own animation company. They called it Filmation Associates because, as Scheimer said, "We were working on film, but doing animation." They immediately began working on Journey Back to Oz, an animated movie that was a sequel to The Wizard of Oz. Because of money problems, it took them about ten years to finish the movie.
Filmation's TV Success
While Journey Back to Oz was being made, Filmation started focusing on TV shows. They made TV commercials and tried to create their own cartoon series, but it didn't sell. They almost had to close their doors! But then, DC Comics asked them to make a cartoon based on Superman.
Superman first aired on September 10, 1966. This show, and others featuring DC superheroes, made Filmation very popular. In 1968, they created the first Archie Show. Filmation became even more successful in the 1970s with shows like Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and Star Trek: The Animated Series. For Star Trek: The Animated Series, Scheimer even won an Daytime Emmy Award!
Lou Scheimer's Voice Acting Roles
Besides producing, Lou Scheimer also lent his voice to many of Filmation's cartoons. He was the voice of Dumb Donald on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He also voiced Legal Eagle and Stinger, who was the Brown Hornet's sidekick. You could often hear his voice as the narrator at the beginning of most Filmation shows.
He voiced many other characters too, like Snubby the Monkey on The New Adventures of Gilligan, N'kima on Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, and Bat-Mite on The New Adventures of Batman. In He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, he famously voiced Orko, King Randor, and Stratos, among many others. He often voiced many characters because the other voice actors were only allowed to do three voices per episode due to budget rules.
Leading Filmation and New Ideas
Filmation became a top company in TV animation. In 1969, a company called TelePrompTer Corporation bought the studio. Later, in 1981, Westinghouse Electric Corporation bought Filmation. Even with these changes, Lou Scheimer continued to lead the company.
He was very important in creating the popular cartoons He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and BraveStarr. He was the main producer and also helped create the music for these shows. For the music, he used the name "Erika Lane," which combined the names of his daughter Erika and son Lane. When he voiced characters, he sometimes used the name "Erik Gunden." This name came from his father's original last name, "Gundenscheimer," and his own middle name, which his wife gave him.
During the second season of He-Man and all of She-Ra: Princess of Power, his daughter Erika also became a voice actor and helped direct the other actors. She and her father would record their voices later, often changing the pitch of his voice with a special machine.
Filmation also did some new things in TV. They were pioneers in a type of programming called first-run syndication, which meant shows could be sold directly to local TV stations. Another new idea was making a children's show based on a toy, like He-Man. Before this, rules from the FCC didn't allow it. Scheimer changed He-Man from a violent character into a good role model who taught life lessons in each episode.
In 1989, Westinghouse decided to close Filmation. After his studio closed, Scheimer mostly retired. In the late 1990s, he worked on an adult animated movie called Robin and the Dreamweavers, but it was never released. He also worked as a consultant for another animation company.
Today, there's a special place named in his honor: The Lou Scheimer Gallery at the ToonSeum, a museum of comic and cartoon art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Personal Life
Lou Scheimer was married to Joanne "Jay" Wucher (1931–2009) until she passed away. They had two children, a son named Lane (born 1956) and a daughter named Erika (born 1960).
In the late 1990s, Scheimer had heart surgery and was later diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In 2012, he received an Inkpot Award for all his amazing work in animation. He passed away from Parkinson's disease at his home in Tarzana, California, on October 17, 2013, just two days before his 85th birthday.
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Lou Scheimer, a famous animator and producer.
