Willard Bowsky
Date of birth:1907
Date of death:November 27th, 1944
Birthplace:New York City
Biography
Willard Bowsky was an American animator known for his work in New York at Fleischer Studios, including cartoons such as Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, Superman and two full length films. He was the second son born in New York to immigrant parents Herman and Emma. Willard grew up in Manhattan, and across the river in New Jersey, picking up an interest for drawing at a young age.
Career outline
Willard Bowsky began working for Fleischer Studios when he was only twenty-one years old, and was known as an opinionated, passionate man. He had an appreciation for the jazz music emerging at the time and was known as an apt illustrator, and included this love of contemporary music into his animations. By the 1930’s he was one of the credited animators at Fleischer and his work can also be seen in the Talkartoon, Color Classics and Screen Songs produced by the company at the time. In 1938 Bowky moved to Miami to work for the Fleischer Studios location on the west coast, and worked on Popeyes in addition to two feature films, Gulliver’s Travels and Mr. Bugs Goes To Town. When the war broke out in 1942, Willard, unmarried at the time decided to enlist after his older brother Merle and joined the army on October 14th, 1942. He died in battle on November 27th, 1944 in the Strasbourg region of France. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart and is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France.