Max Fleischer

Max Fleischer
Fleischer in 1919
Born
Majer Fleischer

(1883-07-19)July 19, 1883
Kraków, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Poland)
DiedSeptember 11, 1972(1972-09-11) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Animator
  • inventor
  • film director
  • film producer
Years active1918–1962
Spouse
Ethel "Essie" Goldstein
(m. 1905)
Children2, including Richard Fleischer
RelativesDave Fleischer (brother)
Lou Fleischer (brother)
Seymour Kneitel (son-in-law)

Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer /ˈflʃər/; July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was a Polish-American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios, which he co-founded with his younger brother Dave. He brought such comic characters as Koko the Clown, Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen, and was responsible for several technological innovations, including the rotoscope, the "follow the bouncing ball" technique pioneered in the Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes films, and the "stereoptical process". Film director Richard Fleischer was his son.