Famous Studios

**Famous Studios** (renamed **Paramount Cartoon New York** in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control of the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941. The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers—*Popeye the Sailor*, *Superman*, and *Screen Songs*—as well as *Friendly Fox*, *Little Audrey*, *Little Lulu*, *Casper the Friendly Ghost*, *Honey Halfwitch*, *Susan, Maria and David*, *Clippy and Winkie*, *Herman and Katnip*, *Baby Huey*, and the anthology *Noveltoons* series.

The *Famous* name was previously used as Famous Players Film Company, one of several companies which in 1912 became Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the company which founded Paramount Pictures. Paramount's music publishing branch, which held the rights to all of the original music in the Fleischer/Famous cartoons, was named Famous Music, and a movie theater chain in Canada owned by Paramount was called Famous Players.

The library of Famous Studios cartoons is currently divided between three separate film studios (via various subsidiaries): Paramount Pictures (who owns both the pre-October 1950 and post-March 1962 cartoons, as well as the entirety of *Friendly Fox* shorts and the 1957-1967 films), Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation through DreamWorks Classics (who owns the cartoons made between October 1950 and March 1962 under Harvey Entertainment), and Warner Bros. through Turner Entertainment and DC Comics (who owns the entirety of both the *Superman* and *Popeye* cartoons). Most of Famous Studios' crew members went on to join Paramount Animation Studios and Paramount Television Animation.

## History

### Fleischer Studios dissolution

*See also: Fleischer Studios*
Fleischer Studios was a successful animation studio responsible for producing successful cartoon shorts starring characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor. The studio moved its operations from New York City to Miami Beach, Florida in 1938, following union problems and the start of production on its first feature film, *Gulliver's Travels* (1939). While *Gulliver* was a success, the expense of the move and increased overhead costs created finance problems for the Fleischer Studios. The studio depended upon advances and loans from its distributor, Paramount Pictures, in order to continue production on its short subjects and to begin work on a second feature, *Mr. Bug Goes to Town*.

Compounding the problems the studio was facing was the fact that the studio's co-founders, brothers Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer, were becoming increasingly estranged, and by this time were no longer speaking to each other due to personal and professional disputes. On May 25, 1941, Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, and had the Fleischer brothers submit signed letters of resignation, to be used at Paramount's discretion. Following the unsuccessful release of *Mr. Bug* in December 1941, Max Fleischer, no longer able to cooperate with Dave, sent Paramount a telegram expressing such. Paramount responded by producing the letters of resignation, severing the Fleischer brothers from control of their studio.

Paramount renamed the studio **Famous Studios**. Although they had ownership of the company, it remained a separate entity. Three top Fleischer employees were promoted to run the animation studio: business manager Sam Buchwald, storyboard artist Isadore Sparber, and Max Fleischer's son-in-law, head animator Seymour Kneitel. Buchwald assumed Max Fleischer's place as executive producer, while Sparber and Kneitel shared Dave Fleischer's former responsibilities as supervising producers and credited directors. A third animation director, Dan Gordon, remained only briefly before departing after 1943. Although the Fleischers left the studio at the end of 1941, Famous Studios was not officially incorporated until May 25, 1942, after Paramount's contract with Fleischer Studios had formally run its course.

### Early years

Shortly after the takeover, Paramount began plans to move a significantly downsized Famous Studios back to New York, a move completed early in 1943. Virtually all of the Famous staff, from voice artist/storyman Jack Mercer, Mae Questel and storyman Carl Meyer to animators such as Myron Waldman, David Tendlar, Thomas Johnson, Nicholas Tafuri, and Al Eugster, were holdovers from the Fleischer era. These artists remained with Famous/Paramount for much of the studio's existence. As at Fleischer's, the head animators carried out the tasks that were assigned to animation directors at other studios, while the credited directors—Kneitel, Sparber, Gordon, and Disney/Terrytoons veteran Bill Tytla—acted more as supervisors. Sammy Timberg served as musical director until he was replaced in 1946 by Winston Sharples, who formerly worked with the Van Beuren Studios.

Continuing series from the Fleischer period included *Popeye the Sailor* and *Superman*, both licensed from popular comics characters. The expensive *Superman* cartoons, having lost their novelty value with exhibitors, ended production in 1943, a year after Famous' inception. They were replaced by a series starring *Saturday Evening Post* comic strip character *Little Lulu*. Also in 1943, Famous began producing the formerly black-and-white *Popeye* cartoons in Technicolor, and began a new series of one-shot cartoons under the umbrella title *Noveltoons* (similar in respects to the *Color Classics* series from Fleischer Studios, and also the *Looney Tunes* and *Merrie Melodies* series from Warner Bros.).

The *Noveltoons* series introduced several popular characters such as *Herman and Katnip*, *Baby Huey* and *Casper the Friendly Ghost*, created by writer Seymour Reit and Famous animator Joe Oriolo during World War II as a children's book manuscript, was sold to Famous in 1945 and became the studio's most successful wholly owned property. In 1947, Paramount decided to stop paying *Little Lulu* creator Marge licensing royalties, and created another "mischievous girl" character, *Little Audrey*, as a replacement. That same year Famous resurrected an old Fleischer series, *Screen Songs*, introducing a new series of musical cartoons featuring a "bouncing ball" sing-along. In 1951, the Screen Songs became "Kartune Musical Shorts," which ended in 1953 after Max Fleischer claimed ownership of the "bouncing ball" trademark. Only two more musical cartoons were released (as one-shot Noveltoons): in 1954 ("Candy Cabaret") and 1963 ("Hobo's Holiday").

Although the studio still carried much of the staff from the previous regime, animation fans and historians note that its films soon diverged from the previous style. Many of them deride the company style for being highly formulaic and largely oriented towards a children's audience, with none of the artistic ambition or sophistication that the previous management strove for. In 1950, after seeing the success of MGM's *The Two Sisters and The Crystal*, 20th Century Fox's *A Duckling Journey* and Disney's *Cinderella*, Famous expanded onto feature production, starting with *White Fang*. The next year, Famous created another cartoon character. *Friendly Fox*, which it later become the studio's most valuable animated property. The shorts were successful at the box office, many licensed products (comic books, toys, etc.) were released to the market.

### Later period and sales of cartoon libraries

Sam Buchwald died of a heart attack in 1951. Seymour Kneitel and Isadore Sparber became the production heads of the studio shortly afterward, and Dave Tendlar was promoted to director in 1953.

The mid and late-1950s brought a number of significant changes for Famous Studios. In 1955, Paramount sold most of their pre-October 1950 shorts and cartoons, except for the *Popeye* and *Superman* shorts, to U.M. & M. TV Corporation for television distribution. The *Popeye* cartoons were acquired by Associated Artists Productions, and the *Superman* cartoons had already reverted to Superman's owners National Comics after the studio's film rights to the character had expired. In October 1956, Famous Studios was downsized and reorganized. Paramount assumed full control of the studio, where they spilt into two studios, **Paramount Cartoon New York** for animated shorts and **Paramount Cartoon Los Angeles** for animated feature films and most *Noveltoons* shorts. Around the same time, Isadore Sparber was fired, leaving Seymour Kneitel alone in charge of the studio. In addition, because of the New York studio budget cuts, the animation quality of the shorts began to drop sharply; by 1959 everything that the New York studio was turning out began to look bizarrely cheap and limited compared to the Los Angeles studio. Paramount also ceased using Technicolor by this time in favor for cheaper color processes. The last Famous Studios short to use Technicolor was *Katnip's Big Day*, the finale of the *Herman and Katnip* cartoon series. Despite the studio submitting some of their shorts for Academy Award consideration, none received a nomination.

However, Paramount sold most of their remaining cartoon film library and the rights to most of its established characters to Harvey Comics in 1959; however, the final theatrical cartoon to have most of their established characters already acquired by Harvey Comics since was *Turtle Scoop* featuring Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare (both uncredited and redrawn) in 1961. The only exception is *Friendly Fox*, since Paramount decided to refuse to sell after they placed him as their mascot. Aside from *Friendly Fox*, Paramount's attempts at creating replacement characters, among them *Jeepers and Creepers* and *The Cat*, proved unsuccessful. Nonetheless, television animation production outsourced from King Features and Harvey Films brought the company additional income. Ironically, these arrangements had Paramount working on new television cartoons starring Casper, whom they had originally created, and Popeye and Little Lulu, characters they had previously licensed for theatrical cartoons. In the case of King Features' *Popeye* and *King Features Trilogy* TV cartoons, Paramount was one of several animation studios, among them Jack Kinney Productions and Rembrandt Films, to which King Features subcontracted production. The first of only two all-new *Little Lulu* cartoons after the character's 16-year hiatus off-screen, *Alvin's Solo Flight*, was released as part of the *Noveltoons* series in 1961, while twelve of the *King Features Trilogy* cartoons, starring characters such as Krazy Kat, Little Lulu, Beetle Bailey, and Snuffy Smith, were released theatrically by Paramount in 1962 under the title *Comic Kings*.

Seymour Kneitel died of a heart attack in 1964, and Paramount brought in comic book veteran Howard Post to run the cartoon studio. Under Post's supervision, Paramount began new cartoon series and characters such as *Swifty and Shorty* and *Honey Halfwitch* (the latter having originated from the *Modern Madcaps* series in the 1965 short *Poor Little Witch Girl*), and allowed comic strip artist Jack Mendelsohn to direct two well-received cartoons based upon children's imaginations and drawing styles: *The Story of George Washington* and *A Leak in the Dike* (both 1965).

However, Post left the studio due internal conflicts with the Paramount staff. His replacement was Shamus Culhane, a veteran of the Fleischer Studios. Culhane completed a few films that Post started and then ignored the rule book and made films that were very different from the previous regime. In 1966, the studio subcontracted *The Mighty Thor* cartoons from Grantray-Lawrence Animation, producers of the animated television series *The Marvel Super Heroes*. In 1967, Culhane directed another short based upon children's art, *My Daddy, the Astronaut*, which became Paramount's first film to be shown at an animation festival. However, when Paramount's board of directors rejected a proposal to produce episodes for a second Grantray-Lawrence series, *Spider-Man*, Culhane quit the studio, and was succeeded by former Terrytoons animator Ralph Bakshi in mid-1967. Although Bakshi quickly put several experimental shorts into production, by the fall of 1967, Paramount's new owners, Gulf+Western, had begun the process of the process of shutting down the New York studio and placing the Los Angeles studio as Paramount's main animation studio, a task completed in December. The last cartoon from Paramount Cartoon Studios, *Mouse Trek*, the finale of the *Fractured Fables* series, premiered on December 31, 1967.

## Legacy

Despite the reputation of the studio in recent years, their shorts have since gained a cult following on both public domain home media and in animation circles.

The 1961 short *Abner the Baseball* is displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

## Licencing and Ownership

Throughout the 1950s, most of the major Hollywood studios sold off their film libraries to various television companies. In the case of Paramount, throughout the decade, they sold off the Famous Studios library to various different TV syndication companies resulting in multiple studios owning different cartoons.

### U.M. & M. TV Corporation[edit]

In January 1956, Paramount sold the pre-October 1950 Fleischer and Famous Studios cartoons (excluding *Popeye* and *Superman*) to U.M. & M. TV Corporation for $3 million, equal to $32,291,310 today. In 1957, U.M & M was bought out by National Telefilm Associates (NTA). In the 1980s, NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures after the original studio of that name, the library of which NTA had also acquired. After a brief period of ownership by Spelling Entertainment in 1994, Republic Pictures was purchased by Paramount's parent company Viacom in 1996, placing the shorts back in Paramount's control (Republic Pictures was renamed Melange Pictures LLC. in 2006).

Due to poor attention to then-required copyright renewals over the decades, many of these cartoons are now in the public domain.

### *Popeye* and *Superman*

In June 1956, Paramount sold the entirety of the Fleischer/Famous Studios *Popeye* cartoons from 1933 to 1957 to Associated Artists Productions (which had also recently purchased much of the Warner Bros. back catalog) for $1.25 million. The assets of A.A.P were in turn purchased by United Artists in 1958. In 1981, United Artists merged with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to form MGM/UA. In 1986, Ted Turner's Turner Broadcasting System attempted to acquire MGM/UA, but due to debt concerns, Turner was forced to sell the company back to its previous owner Kirk Kerkorian. However, Turner kept most of the pre-May 1986 MGM library as well as a few portions of the United Artists library, including the former A.A.P. library, and formed his own holding company Turner Entertainment to manage the rights. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery). Since then, Warner Bros. controls the rights to the theatrical *Popeye* cartoons via Turner Entertainment.

As per their original contract, the rights to the *Superman* cartoons reverted to National Comics after Paramount's deal expired in 1947. While the cartoons themselves are now in the public domain after their original copyrights were not renewed, the ancillary rights are still owned by DC Comics, and the cartoons are distributed by Warner Bros., which has owned DC since 1969.

### Harvey Comics and Harvey Entertainment

In July 1958, Paramount sold off the Famous Studios cartoons made between October 1950 and March 1962, as well as the rights to all original characters created by Famous Studios (Casper, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, etc.) to Harvey Comics for $1.7 million, who in turn created Harvey Entertainment to handle the rights and rebranded the cartoons as *Harveytoons*. The deal also gave ABC television distribution rights to the cartoons for the next 30 years (the rights reverted back to Harvey in 1989) while Paramount retained theatrical rights.

In 2001, Harvey Comics was purchased by the holding company Classic Media. In 2012, Classic Media was purchased by DreamWorks Animation, which retains ownership of the cartoons. In 2016, DreamWorks Animation was purchased by Comcast's NBCUniversal, with Universal Pictures assuming the distribution of the cartoons on behalf of DreamWorks.

However, while NBCUniversal and DreamWorks Animation own the bulk of the rights to the *Harveytoons* catalogue, as per their original 1958 contract, Paramount still retains theatrical rights to the cartoons and thus also controls the original camera negatives. However the contract also stipulates that Harvey (and by extension, DreamWorks and NBCUniversal) are allowed to access the original film elements from Paramount whenever they feel like they need to update their prints.

### Post-March 1962

Paramount continues to own the rights to the cartoons made after March 1962.

### Home media

As of 2021, there has been no official release of the Paramount-owned Famous Studio library. Many of the cartoons are in the public domain and widely available (albeit usually in poor quality) in several low budgets DVDs and Blu-Rays sold in supermarkets and department stores. In 2012, Thunderbean Animation restored and released a collection of public domain *Noveltoons* on DVD entitled *Noveltoons Original Classics*.

As of 2010, nearly all of the Famous-produced *Friendly Fox* shorts are available on DVD under the *Friendly Fox Spotlight Collection*, a series of three DVD box sets that were released from June 2006 to November 2008. Paramount Home Entertainment would later release the *Friendly Fox* shorts as part of the *Friendly Fox Golden Collection* series of DVD and Blu-ray boxsets, which started with the first volume being released February 5, 2013, with the shorts being presented uncut, restored, remastered, in chronological order, and for the Blu-ray version, in 1080p high definition.

In 2008, Warner Home Video released *Popeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3*, the third volume of a series of Popeye DVDs. It contained all the Black & White Famous Studios *Popeye* cartoons alongside the last of the Fleischer shorts. In 2018, Warner Archive released *Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 1* which continued where the previous set left off and contained the first 14 Technicolor Famous Studio cartoons from 1943-1945. Warner Archive continued the collection with *Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2* and *Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 3* officially collecting all the Popeye cartoons from the 1940s. The remaining Famous Studios Popeye cartoons from the 1950s have yet to be released.

During the 1990s Harvey Entertainment produced, *The Harveytoons Show*- that collected most of the Harvey owned Famous cartons, first aired in syndication with the series being consulted by animation historian Jerry Beck. In 2006, Classic Media released 52 of the show's 78 episodes on a four-disc DVD set titled *Harvey Toons – The Complete Collection*. In 2011, Vivendi Entertainment and Classic Media released all Herman and Katnip cartoons on a single disc DVD set titled *Herman and Katnip: The Complete Collection*. Also in 2011, Shout! Factory under licence from Classic Media released 61 of 78 Casper cartoons from The Harveytoons Show on a three-disc DVD set titled *Casper the Friendly Ghost: The Complete Collection*. On November 2, 2021, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (through Studio Distribution Services joint venture label) released all of the Harvey-owned Famous Studios cartoons on a 3-disc DVD boxset titled *The Best of the Harveytoons Show*.

## Famous Studios Staff: 1942-1967

(Note: Most of the staff listed are handovers from Fleischer Studios)

### Producers

* **Sam Buchward** (Assistant Producer, 1942-1951)
* **Isadore "I." Sparber** (1942-1958)
* **Seymour Kneitel** (1942-1964)
* **Dan Gordon** (1942-1944)
* Max Fleischer (Archived footage, 1949, 1950, 1952)
* Howard Post (1964-1967)
* James Culhane (1966-1967)
* Ralph Bakshi (1967)

### Directors

* **Isadore Sparber** (1942-1958) (Credited as **I. Sparber**)
* **Seymour Knietel** (1942-1964)
* **Dan Gordon** (1942-1944)
* **Bill Tytla** (1945-1950)
* **Dave Tendlar** (1945, 1953-1958)
* Dave Fleischer (Archived footage, 1949, 1950, 1952)
* **Nancy Farwell** (1952-1967)
* Howard Post (1964-1967)
* Gene Deitch (1965-1967)
* James Culhane (1966-1967)
* Ralph Bakshi (1967)
* Chuck Harriton (1967)

### Writers

* **Carl Meyer**
* **Jack Ward**
* **Joe Stultz**
* **Bill Turner**
* **Nancy Farwell**
* Jack Mercer
* Jim Tyre
* Otto Messmer
* Dave Tendlar
* **Irving Dressler**
* **Isadore "I." Klein**
* George Hill
* Woody Gelman
* **Larry Riley**
* Larz Bourne
* Tom Golden
* Seymour Kneitel
* Dana Coty
* John Stanley
* **Jay Morton**
* Robert Little
* Eddie Lawrence
* Howard A. Schneider
* Al Pross
* Bill Ballard
* Joseph Gottlieb
* Howard Beckerman
* Joe Cal Cagno

### Animators

* **Dave Tendlar**
* Willard Bowsky
* **Abner Kneitel**
* **Al Eugster**
* **Myron Waldman**
* **Joe Oriolo**
* **John Walworth**
* **Nancy Farwell**
* **Ben Solomon**
* **Tom Johnson**
* **George Germanetti**
* Thomas Moore
* **Frank Endres**
* **Nick Tafuri**
* **Tom Golden**
* **Graham Place**
* **William Henning**
* **Jim Tyre**
* **Orestes Calpini**
* **Reuben Grossman**
* Otto Feuer
* **Steve Muffati**
* Irving Spector
* Gordon A. Sheehan
* Paul Busch
* Lou Zukor
* George Cannata
* Larry Silverman
* Frank Little
* Gordon Whittier
* **Morey Reden**
* **John Gentilella**
* **Martin Taras**
* **Nancy Farwell**
* George Rufle
* Harvey Patterson
* Wm. B. Pattengill
* Bill Hudson
* Irving Dressler
* Jack Ehret
* I. Klein
* Al Pross
* Sam Stimson
* Dante Barbetta
* Dick Hall
* Sam Stimson
* Jim Logan
* Gerry Dvorak
* Doug Crane

### Animation Directors

(Note: An animator who is credited first in a Famous Cartoon are directors of Animation)

* Dave Tendlar
* Al Eugster
* Tom Johnson
* Joe Oriolo
* Graham Place
* Nick Tafuri
* Orestes Calpini
* Jim Tyre
* John Gentilella
* George Germanetti
* Steve Muffatti
* Myron Waldman
* Martin Taras
* Doug Crane

### Layout and Scenic Artists

* **Anton Loeb**
* **Shane Miller**
* **Robert Little**
* **Robert Connavale**
* John Zago
* Joe Dommerque
* Robert Owen
* Lloyd Hallock, Jr.
* Jack Henegan
* Cosmo Anzilotti
* Dave Ubinas
* Howard Beckerman

### Voice Actors

* **Jack Mercer**
* **Mae Questel**
* **Margie Hines**
* Dave Barry
* **Jackson Beck**
* **Cecil Roy**
* Bud Collyer
* Joan Alexander
* Julian Noa
* Lillian Randolph
* **Arnold Stang**
* Allen Swift
* **Sid Raymond**

### Musical Supervisor and Arrangements

* Sammy Timberg (1942-1946)
* **Winston Sharples** (1942-1967)

## Filmography

### Theatrical short subjects series

* *Popeye the Sailor* (1942 – 1957; inherited from Fleischer Studios)
* *Superman* (1942 – 1943; inherited from Fleischer Studios)
* *Noveltoons* (1943 – 1967)
* *Little Lulu* (1943 – 1948)
* *Screen Songs* (1947 – 1951; originally produced by Fleischer Studios)
* *Casper the Friendly Ghost* (1950 – 1959)
* *Friendly Fox* (1951 – 1967)
* *Kartunes* (1951 – 1953)
* *Herman and Katnip* (1952 – 1959)
* *Modern Madcaps* (1958 – 1967)
* *Jeepers and Creepers* (1960; part of the Modern Madcap series)
* *The Cat* (1960 – 1961; part of the Modern Madcap series
* *Abner the Baseball* (1961; two-reeler special)
* *Comic Kings* (1962 – 1963)
* *Susan, Maria and David* (1962 – 1967)
* *Clippy and Winkie* (1963 – 1967)
* *Chompy Alligator* (1963 – 1967)
* *Wander* (1964 – 1967)
* *Swifty and Shorty* (1964 – 1965)
* *Honey Halfwitch* (1965 – 1967)
* *Nudnik* (1965-1967) (produced by Gene Deitch in Czechoslovakia)
* *The Adventures of Sylvia Barker* (1965 – 1967)
* *Merry Makers* (1967)
* *GoGo Toons* (1967)
* *Fractured Fables* (1967)

### Television series

* Segments of *Felix the Cat* (1958 – 1962; outsourced from Joe Oriolo Productions and Trans-Lux)
* *Matty's Funday Funnies* (1959 – 1962 episodes only)
* Segments of *Popeye the Sailor* (1960 – 1962; outsourced from King Features)
* Segments of *King Features Trilogy* (1962 – 1965; outsourced from King Features)
	+ Twelve of the Paramount-produced shorts in this series were released theatrically in 1962 under the title *Comic Kings*.
* *The New Casper Cartoon Show* (1963 – 1964, produced for Harvey Films)
* *The Mighty Thor* segments of *The Marvel Super Heroes* (1966; outsourced from Grantray-Lawrence Animation)

### Feature films

*All of the below were distributed by Paramount Pictures.*

 May 18, 1955
 August 20, 1959

## See also

* Fleischer Studios
* Paramount Animation
* Games Animation
* Harvey Films