Lou Scheimer

Infobox actor
name = Lou Scheimer


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Louis Scheimer
birthdate = birth date and age|1928|10|19
location = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
USA
deathdate =
occupation = Animator and voice actor
yearsactive =
spouse = Jay Scheimer
emmyawards =

Louis Scheimer (born October 19, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American producer, one of the original founders of Filmation, an animation company, and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons (though only by name due to standardized crediting in most cartoons; Norm Prescott received similar treatment).

Scheimer (pronounced SHY-mer) was most pro-active in the creation of the cartoon "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". Aside from being the executive producer, he also became a voice actor for the show (as he had done for many of his company's previous productions), going under the pseudonym Erik Gunden. Scheimer's contribution to the cast was in fact most notable as he singlehandedly voiced nearly all supporting characters, including Orko (and other characters with a similar "Smurfs"-voice), Stratos, King Randor and others, due to severe budget restrictions. The animated series also pioneered a type of programming known as first-run syndication. Also a first was the storyline being based on an action figure toy; prior to this time, FCC regulations had prohibited any type of children's programming being based on a toy. Scheimer transformed He-Man from a graphically violent version of "Conan the Barbarian" into a pro-social character, who imparted a life lesson to impressionable viewers in each episode.

Erika Scheimer, Lou's daughter, also did supporting female voices and occasional voice-acting for young boy characters. She would later star in the follow-up series "She-Ra", which Scheimer also produced.

In the late 1990s, Scheimer returned to the field of animation. A Dutch investment company, Dreamweavers, NV., approached Lou with a concept based on an off-kilter Dutchman's renderings of characters aimed at young adults. Scheimer went into production on an animated feature film entitled "Robin and the Dreamweavers". Robin, the first human ever born in cyberspace, battled the evil siren "Triple XXX" who desired an earthly body and gained power through mankind's baser carnal desires. The film, however, was never distributed.

Shortly thereafter, Scheimer underwent quadruple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Erika Scheimer quickly took control of her father's company and shut it down.

Currently, Scheimer is currently providing consultation work for Gang of Seven (G7) Animation.

Other voice roles

Lou Scheimer voiced characters for other Filmation cartoons besides "He-Man". Most notably, he provided the voice to "Dumb Donald" on the long running Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He was also the voice of Legal Eagle and Brown Hornet sidekick Stinger. He was used as the voice-over narrator during the opening credits of the majority of Filmation shows and cartoons. In Jason of Star Command and Space Academy, he was consistently heard as generic voices over intercoms. In the live action Ghost Busters series, he was the voice of "Zero", the unseen boss of the main characters.

External links

* [http://www.louscheimerproductions.org LouScheimerProductions.org]
* [http://www.flashgordon.de www.flashgordon.de] Flash Gordon Community
*imdb name|id=0770617
*voice actor|id=2254|name=Lou Scheimer
* [http://www.comic-con.org/cci2005/cci_guests.shtml#scheimer Comic-Con - 2005 Guest]
* [http://www.he-man.org/cartoon/exclusivefeatures/exclusive-heroseriesbible-intro.shtml He-Man.org - He-Ro Series Bible]
* [http://www.andymangels.com/BCI_DVDs.html AndyMangels.com - BCI Eclipse/Ink & Paint: US Filmation DVD Releases]

History

* [http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Filmation.html Guide To Animated Star Trek - Filmation Associates]
* [http://animated-views.com/2004/a-fond-look-back-at-filmation-part-one/ Animated Views - A Fond Look Back At Filmation (Part 1) (October 31, 2004)]
* [http://animated-views.com/2006/a-fond-look-back-at-filmation-part-two/ Animated Views - A Fond Look Back At Filmation (Part 2) (December 10, 2006)]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040322033845/http://www.louscheimerproductions.com/erikaloubio.htm LouScheimerProductions.com - My Dad: The Trend Setter (Archive)]

Interviews

* [http://www.he-man.org/site_sects/archives/articles/article_11.shtml He-Man.org - Playthings Interview (June 1987)]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/isis/scheimer.html The Unofficial Isis Appeciation Page - Interview (July 2002)]
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=75253 Newsarama - Interview (Pt. 1) (June 28, 2006)]
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=75941 Newsarama - Interview (Pt. 2) (July 5, 2006)]
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=76681 Newsarama - Interview (Pt. 3) (July 12, 2006)]
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=77355 Newsarama - Interview (Pt. 4) (July 18, 2006)]
* [http://www.masterscast.com/video/mcsdcc2006.mov Masters Cast - Comic-Con Interview (Quicktime) (July 30, 2006)]
* [http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3072 Animation World Magazine - Interview (November 7, 2006)]
* [http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2005/teague/ Retro Crush - David Teague Interview]