Comics / Comics News

Animation pioneer Lou Scheimer autobiography out September 26

By Dan Horn
July 13, 2012 - 01:16

With the late Norm Prescott, Lou Scheimer established one of the most influential and well-known American animation studios of the Twentieth Century, Filmation. Though Lou is fighting an uphill battle against Parkinson's now at the age of 83, he was still able to entertain a large audience today during his Filmation panel at Comic Con. Lou and his Filmation family, director Tom Tataranowicz, writer Buzz Dixon, animator Darrell McNeil, and actor Sid Haig, reminisced about their days working on Tarzan, The Archies, Fat Albert, He-Man, and much more.

The audience was delighted to be able to watch a never before seen Marx Brothers cartoon entitled "A Night at the Horse Opera" and see pages from Lou's upcoming autobiography, which will be released September 26.

Under Scheimer and Prescott's guidance, Filmation broke ground in television, having the first shows to star black and Native American heroes. Filmation revolutionized casting diversity with strong female leads and ethnic equality. Other studios, like Hanna-Barbara, often closely followed Filmation's lead to stay on the cutting edge of animation, and when many other studios began outsourcing their work to cut costs, Scheimer was stretching every penny Filmation had to keep his studio in the states and employing Americans.

Lou Scheimer is a true legend, and his autobiography is sure to entertain and enlighten. 

At the panel, Lou was awarded the San Diego Comic Con Ink Pot Award for excellence in animation.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12