American animator
Otto J. Messmer
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Messmer in 1983
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Born
| Otto James Messmer
(
1892-08-16
)
August 16, 1892
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Died
| October 28, 1983
(1983-10-28)
(aged 91)
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Notable work
| Felix the Cat
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Spouse
| Ann Messmer
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Children
| 2
[1]
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Otto James Messmer
(
; August 16, 1892 ? October 28, 1983) was an American
animator
known for his work on the
Felix the Cat
cartoons and
comic strip
produced by the
Pat Sullivan
studio.
The extent of Messmer's role in the creation and popularity of Felix is a matter of ongoing dispute, particularly as he only laid his claim to the character after the death of Sullivan, who until that time had received the credit.
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Messmer was born on August 16, 1892, to a
German
Catholic
family in
West Hoboken, New Jersey
(now
Union City
).
[3]
He attended Holy Family Parochial School. He had a love of
vaudeville
and the entertainment industry instilled in him by his parents and teachers beginning at a young age. He attended the Thomas School of Art in New York City from 1911?1913, and participated in a work-study program with the Acme Agency, where he did
illustrations
for fashion catalogs.
[4]
Career
[
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]
Messmer's first love, however, was
cartooning
. Inspired by
Winsor McCay
's animated films, such as
How a Mosquito Operates
, Messmer began creating his own comics for local newspapers in 1912, the same year he met Anne Mason, whom he married in 1934. One of his comics,
Fun
, ran as part of the Sunday comics' page for
New York World
.
[4]
Messmer signed a deal with
Universal Studios
in 1915 to produce a test film of a character Messmer created called "Motor Mat". It was never released, but drew the interest of animator Pat Sullivan, though Messmer instead decided to go to work with
Henry "Hy" Mayer
, a well-known cartoonist. Mayer and Messmer collaborated on the successful animated series
The Travels of Teddy
, which was based on the life of
Teddy Roosevelt
. Messmer would subsequently work for Sullivan, who handled the business side of the work, with Messmer handling creative responsibilities. When Sullivan served a nine-month prison sentence in 1917, Messmer briefly returned to work with Mayer, until Messmer was drafted into
World War I
.
[4]
When Messmer returned to the United States in 1919, he returned to Sullivan's studio, which was hired by director
Earl Hurd
of
Paramount Screen Magazine
for a cartoon
short
that would accompany a
feature film
. Sullivan gave the project to Messmer, whose end result,
Feline Follies
, starred Master Tom, a black cat, who was a prototype to Felix, which brought good luck to people in trouble.
[4]
Sullivan's involvement in the project is disputed, although handwriting in the animation has been identified as his.
[5]
[6]
In addition to Sullivan's handwriting in 'Feline Follies', the Australian term for mother 'MUM' is used in a speech bubble of one of the kittens at the 4:00 mark of 'Feline Follies'.
Felix was the first cartoon character created and developed for the screen, as well as the first to become a licensed, mass merchandised character. Both his design and his unique character were highly influential. Sullivan took the credit for Felix, and though Messmer directed and was the lead animator on all of the episodes he appeared in, Sullivan's name was the only onscreen credit that appeared in them. Messmer also oversaw the direction of the Felix newspaper strip, doing most of the pencils and inks on the strip until 1954.
[4]
Felix the Cat starred in over 150 cartoons until 1931, when animation studios began converting to
sound films
. The newspaper strip's popularity began to fade in the late 1930s, though the character was reintroduced to new fans via comic books in the 1940s. Messmer then teamed with
Douglas Leigh
on the large moving electronic signs that lit up
Times Square
.
[4]
Messmer also produced more
Felix
comic books in the 1940s and 1950s for companies such as
Dell Comics
, Toby Press, and
Harvey Comics
, as well as doing animation for
Famous Studios
(Several Popeye cartoons carry his credit). By the 1960s, Felix had been reinvented for
television
, and Messmer's longtime assistant
Joe Oriolo
(the creator of
Casper the Friendly Ghost
) made sure that Messmer was finally credited as the creator of Felix the Cat. Messmer continued working on the character for the rest of his life.
[4]
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
Messmer died from a heart attack at
Holy Name Medical Center
in
Teaneck, New Jersey
on October 28, 1983. He was 91 years old. Today, Felix the Cat is run in syndication in over 250 newspapers all over the world.
[4]
[7]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Key people
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Films
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Television
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Other media
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1972
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1973
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1977
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1978
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1979
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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