HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Collection: Virginia Mahoney

Here’s another special occasion card made by a Famous Studios artist for my parents 25th wedding anniversary… which would date this from December 1956. My parents met while both were working at Fleischer Studios and they became one of the many studio romances that led to marriage. 


The signatures on this card are a good survey of some well known people working for Famous Studios in the 1950’s...


Al Eugster, Dave Tendlar, Nick Tafuri, Tom Johnson, and William Henning were long time animators—all had worked for both Fleischer and Famous Studios—as well as other studios. Bob Little and Liesel Howson, also long time employees, painted the animation backgrounds. Leonard McCormick was responsible for camera work and Win Sharples scored music for the cartoons. Jack Mercer was best known as the gravelly voice of Popeye….. Ellsworth Barthen and Mike Myer were story writers……and Mina Morrisey was Head of cel painting. Just to mention a few……

Bachelor Dinner for Seymour Kneitel...

December 1931

This photo of Seymour Kneitel’s bachelor party was taken exactly eighty years ago, in New York City at the Blue Ribbon Restaurant, December, 1931. Seymour (front row center) met his future wife, Ruth Fleischer, while both were working at Fleischer Studios. Max Fleischer, Seymour’s soon to be father-in-law is in the front row, far left.

The staff at Fleischer Studios during the late 1920’s and 1930’s often celebrated occasions like this together. Staff also joined the studio sports teams (bowling, baseball etc), played cards and gambled together, partied together, and the men held these bachelor dinners.

Fleischer Studios was a training ground for animators and other animation specialists.While many worked their entire careers with Fleischer Studios (and it’s successor studio Famous Studios) others went on to work at any number of other emerging animation studios…. sometimes even returning later to work again at Fleischers. Many of the men in this photo went on to become prominent and well known figures in animation.

It’s interesting to note that, as with Seymour, virtually all these men would have begun their careers in the early days of silent black and white film…. worked through the introduction of sound, color, and 3D…..and by the end of their careers where producing animation for Television!

Seated front row left to right are Max Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel, Roland (‘Doc’)Crandall. Standing behind them are Frank Paiker, Willard Bowsky, Al Eugster,Ugo D'Orsi, Reuben Timinsky, and possibly Dave Tendlar (present but not visiblein this copy of the print). Back row: Sam Stimson, Charles Shettler, SamBuchwald, unknown, Izzy Sparber, Tom Bonfiglio (who later changed his name toGoodson), Ralph Sommerville, Myron Waldman. Collection of Ginny Mahoney.