Louis "Lou" Scheimer

Animator, Art Director, Director, Producer, Voice Actor

19/10/1928

17/10/2013

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

• Filmation
• Larry Harmon Pictures
• True Line
• SIB Productions

Biography

Louis “Lou” Scheimer was born on October 19th, 1928. He is best known for being the co-founder of American production company Filmation Associates—the leading company in TV animation throughout the 70s and 80s. The company was formed in 1962 alongside his business partner Hal Sutherland.

Scheimer provided voice acting for the He-Man series, bringing to life the voices of King Randor, Orko, and various other background characters. His daughter, Erika Scheimer, also worked as a voice actress for Filmation.

In 1989, Filmation was shut down after Westinghouse sold the studio’s properties. Scheimer entered retirement soon after.

He passed away at the age of 84 on October 17th, 2013, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Scheimer’s colourful characters and timeless projects are still beloved today.

Family and early life

Scheimer was born to a German and Russian-Jewish family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up as an only child and spoke Yiddish with his parents. At school, Scheimer had difficulties learning how to read due to not understanding English very well. Scheimer suspected that his love for looking at comics allowed him to eventually grasp the subject.

Scheimer enjoyed art class the most, recalling that he had been his art teacher’s favourite student. He would write his own comic books and model with clay to entertain himself.

Career outline

After graduating university, Scheimer soon found work in the animation industry. He worked as an art director for Larry Harmon Pictures, which produced cartoons featuring characters such as Popeye and Bozo the Clown. It was then that Scheimer formed a working relationship with animator Hal Sutherland.

Following the shut down of Larry Harmon Pictures in 1961, Scheimer and Sutherland found work at True Line. During this time, they were contacted by Japanese-American company SIB Productions to produce an animated TV series, which led to the creation of Rod Rocket (1963).

In 1962, Scheimer began working independently on commercials. He decided to form his own company with Sutherland called Filmation, which was a combination of the two words “film” and “animation.”

Despite a rough first few years, Filmation saw its big break in 1966 with the New Adventures of Superman. Up until then, the company—on the brink of closing—had only been doing animated commercials. Filmation’s newfound success allowed Scheimer and his associates to produce iconic cartoons such as The Archie Show (1968), The New Adventures of Batman (1977), and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983).

Influences

As a young boy, Scheimer would draw from his favourite comic strips, taking a particular interest in Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant. He especially admired the way Hal Foster drew the human figure.

Honors and awards

In 2012, Scheimer was given an Inkpot Award for his contributions to animation.

Filmography

References:

“Lou Scheimer.” IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0770617/. Accessed 28 May 2025.

Scheimer, Lou. Lou: Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2012.