Willard Bowsky

Willard Bowsky (1907-November 27, 1944) was an American animator best known for his work at Fleischer Studios.

Bowsky was born in 1907 in New York City and spent his childhood either living in Manhattan or across the Hudson River in New Jersey. In the 1920s, while still living with his parents, he began his career in animation.

In the late 1920s, Bowsky began working at the Fleischer Studios. He was promoted to credited animator in 1930 in Screen Song bouncing ball cartoons and Talkartoons starring Betty Boop. Bowsky began his long association with Popeye the Sailor with the 1933 cartoon "Blow Me Down!". In these cartoons, Bowsky was head animator who served the functions of an animation director. But in every Fleischer Studios cartoon, Dave Fleischer was the credited director who served mainly as an animation supervisor who contributed gags in the cartoons he supervised.

Bowsky moved to Florida with the Fleischer Studios' relocation there in 1938. He also worked on the Superman cartoons and the Fleischer Studios' two feature length films "Gulliver's Travels" and "Mr. Bug Goes to Town".

Shortly after Fleischer Studios was reorganized into Famous Studios in 1942, Bowsky enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 14, 1942. While most animators serving during World War II were assigned to animation studios serving the military, Bowsky did combat duty with the 14th Armored Division. He was a platoon leader with 50 men under his command in the 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. Bowsky was killed in action on November 27, 1944 in a nighttime firefight with German forces east of Paris, France. Bowsky was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart and was buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France.

External links

*imdb name|id=0101466 Retrieved on 2008-02-09
*findagrave|10008906 Retrieved on 2008-02-09
* [http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/2007/06/willard-bowsky.html Mark Mayerson commentary on Willard Bowsky] Retrieved on 2008-06-17