At the age of 85, Lou Scheimer passed away yesterday. Lou was the founder of Filmation Studios, an American animation studio that created many cartoons in the 70's and 80's. Some of the cartoons they produced include The Lone Ranger, Star Trek, He-Man & The Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Brave Starr, Ghostbusters (not "The Real") and dozens of others. Along with heading the studio Lou was also involved in developing the world and mythology behind the Masters of the Universe. Lou even voiced characters in many of the Filmation shows.
Along with wanting to make quality cartoons and keeping the entire process here in the United States, Lou also wanted his cartoons to have a conscience. Many Filmation cartoons ended with little morals or lessons to give kids something to take away from each episode.
Above is an original animation cel from the He-Man cartoon show. The cel features Orko, the little comic relief side kick to He-Man. Kid friendly characters like Orko were common in each Filmation show. Orko is one of the many characters voiced by Lou Scheimer. His voice was pitch shifted somehow to create Orko's unique voice. If you look at the writing on the cel, you can see it's from Masters of the Universe (MU) and is a Stock cel (STK) meaning that it is part of a common action for a character that was pre-animated and used in several episodes.
I am so sad about this. He was so talented and I was mentioning this to someone else, but I loved watching interviews of him talking about his work. He had such a love and respect for his work and the work of everyone else at Filmation. It's just sorry to hear that he is gone.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he really did take pride in his work. I was supposed to get to meet Lou, but his declining health came causing his trip back to Pennsylvania to be delayed. In the end he never got to make that final trip back to Pittsburgh where he grew up.
DeleteI want to request the classic Filmation cartoons to Tubi TV streaming service and YouTube Channel soon.
DeleteI am to introduce myself my name is Wayne Moises from California USA.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
DeleteAnd I am sure all of us geeks have some of his work in our personal DVD libraries. I personally have Groovie Ghoulies, Heman, Lone Ranger-Zorro, BraveStarr, and Star Trek animated series.
ReplyDeletewaynemoises@gmail.com or rockwaynemoises@gmail.com.
DeleteFilmation Productions the former animation studio was established in 1963 by the late Lou Scheimer Hal Sutherland and company who created animated cartoons and movies until closed in 1989 now acquired by Universal Studios and DreamWorks Media.
DeleteBatman/Superman Hour of Adventure.
DeleteAquaman Show.
DeleteNew Adventures of Batman.
DeleteLet's Go Ghostbusters.
DeleteFantastic Voyage TV series.
DeleteBest of Archie and Friends Show.
DeleteTarzan and the Super Seven.
DeleteMasters of the Universe/He-Man and Shera Adventure Hour.
DeleteI want to request the classic Filmation cartoons to Tubi TV streaming service and YouTube Channel soon.
DeleteSo long Lou and thank you for all of your wonderful work. You will be missed.
ReplyDeleteLou Scheimer (1928-2013) Rest in Peace.
DeleteFilmation Productions the former animation studio is in Reseda California USA.
DeleteHal Sutherland RIP.
Delete