The founder of Filmation animation studios and creator of popular Saturday morning entertainment cartoons such as 'Fat Albert,' 'He-Man,' and 'Superman,' Lou Scheimer, passed away at the age of 84.
Cartoons have no age bar, though they are touted as fare for children. Some cartoons stay with you forever and the people behind the making of these legendary comics are to be lauded. The animation industry just lost a legend, who made the Saturday mornings more enjoyable with amazing cartoons such as 'Fat Albert,' 'He-Man,' and 'Superman.'
The founder of the Filmation Studios, Emmy-winner animation legend Lou Scheimer died Thursday. He was 84 and the cause of death is unknown. Scheimer was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in the late 1990s. He passed away at his home in Tarzana, California, just two days before his 85th birthday, Scheimer's wife Mary Ann told TIME on Sunday.
In the1960s, the animation studio started producing cartoons including Superman,' 'Flash Gordon,' and 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,' in addition to its spin-off 'She-Ra, Princess of Power.' Scheimer is also the man who introduced the world to the animated "Star Trek" television series, for which he was awarded with a Daytime Emmy in 1975 and "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," for which he won a Primetime Emmy in 1977.
Filmation studios exchanged several hands as it was sold to Teleprompter in 1969 and then bought by Westinghouse in 1981. A French investor group bought the firm in 1989 and closed the Woodland Hill plant that resulted in almost all the employees losing their jobs. Last year, DreamWorks purchased the Filmation animation library.
Scheimer is survived by daughter Erika and son Lane from his early marriage to Jay Scheimer who passed away in 2009. He was retired for several years and also wrote a biography titled "Creating the Filmation Generation" with the help of Andy Mangels.
