Famous Studios
Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control of the aforementioned studio amid the departure of its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1942. The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers—Popeye the Sailor, Superman, and Screen Songs—as well as Little Audrey, Little Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Honey Halfwitch, Herman and Katnip, Baby Huey, and the anthology Noveltoons series.
| Formerly | Famous Studios (1942–1957) |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Fleischer Studios |
| Founded | May 24, 1941 |
| Founders | Sam Buchwald Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber |
| Defunct | December 31, 1967 |
| Fate | Shut down by Paramount Pictures |
| Successors | Studio: Paramount Animation Library: Paramount Pictures (through Melange Pictures and Paramount Animation) (pre-October 1950 and post-March 1962 cartoons only) Universal Pictures (through DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Classics) (post-October 1950 and pre-March 1962 cartoons under Harvey Films only) Warner Bros. (through Turner Entertainment Co. and DC Entertainment) (Popeye the Sailor and Superman only) |
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida (1941–1943) New York City, New York (1943–1967) |
Key people | Sam Buchwald Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber Dan Gordon Howard Post Ralph Bakshi Max Fleischer Dave Fleischer |
| Products | Animated cartoons |
| Owner | Paramount Pictures (Gulf+Western) |
Number of employees | Approx. 50 |
The Famous name was previously used by Famous Players Film Company, one of several companies which in 1912 became Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, the company which founded Paramount Pictures. Paramount's music publishing branch, which held the rights to all of the original music in the Fleischer/Famous cartoons, was named Famous Music, and a movie theater chain in Canada owned by Paramount was called Famous Players.
The library of Famous Studios cartoons is currently divided between three separate film studios (via various subsidiaries): Paramount Pictures via Melange Pictures (which owns the pre-October 1950 cartoons) and Paramount Animation (which owns the post-March 1962 cartoons), Universal Pictures via DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Classics (which owns both the post-October 1950 and pre-March 1962 cartoons under Harvey Films) and Warner Bros. via Turner Entertainment Co. (which owns the Popeye the Sailor cartoons, with King Features Entertainment under license for the original comics and characters) and DC Entertainment (which owns the Superman cartoons).