From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia David Dave Fleischer July 14 1894 June 25 1979 was an American animator film director and film producer best known as a coowner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer He was a native of New York City Sometime around 19131914 Dave began working as a film cutter for the American branch of Pathé the French company that was the worlds largest film production and distribution company and the largest manufacturer of film equipment in the first decades of the 20th Century Dave Fleischer was notable during the brothers early days as the rotoscope model for their first character Koko the Clown He went on to become director and later producer of the studios output Although he is credited as director of every film released by the Fleischer studio from 1921 to 1942 the lead animators actually performed directorial duties and Fleischer mainly served as producer Among the cartoon series Fleischer supervised during this period were Talkartoons Betty Boop Cartoons Popeye the Sailor Color Classics and several others Popeye would go on to be the top rival of Mickey Mouse He also supervised two animated features released through Paramount Pictures Gullivers Travels 1939 and Mr Bug Goes to Town 1941 The debt Fleischer Studios owed to Paramount for the budgets of those features worsened by the lack of success that came from the studios nonPopeye cartoons was called in by Paramount this forced the brothers to give the studio to Paramount on May 24 1941 However both were still able to remain in charge of Fleischer Studios for a time Fleischer was asked by Paramount to put the popular comic book hero Superman into a cartoon series The bigbudget Superman series became the most successful cartoon of the late period of Fleischer Studios However relations between Dave and Max were deteriorating The feud starting simmering after the married Dave began an adulterous affair with his Miami secretary in 1938 and was followed by more personal and professional disputes In April 1942 Fleischer no longer able to cooperate with his brother left the company to become President of Screen Gems at Columbia Pictures although he remained comanager of Fleischer Studios until Paramount reorganized the studio in May 1942 after Max and Daves contracts expired Now owned wholly by Paramount the studio was reorganized as Famous Studios although the name wasnt officially adopted until May 1943 In the late1940s Fleischer moved over to Universal where he became a special effects expert and general problemsolver working on films such as Francis 1950 The Birds 1963 and Thoroughly Modern Millie 1967 Fleischer died of a stroke on June 25 1979 in Woodland Hills California having spent over a decade in retirement
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