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	{{short description\|American animator and voice actor}}		{{short description\|American animator and voice actor}}
	~~{{More citations needed\|date=October 2013}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Lou Scheimer		\| name = Lou Scheimer

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{{short description|American animator and voice actor}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lou Scheimer
| image = Lou Scheimer.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birthname = Louis Scheimer
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|10|19}}
| birth_place = [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|10|17|1928|10|19}}
| death_place = [[Tarzana, Los Angeles|Tarzana]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = Animator, voice actor
| yearsactive = 1957–2013
| othername = Erik Gunden, Erika Lane
| spouse = {{marriage|Jay Wucher||2009|end={{abbr|died}}}}
| children = 2; including [[Erika Scheimer|Erika]]
}}
'''Louis Scheimer''' (October 19, 1928 – October 17, 2013) was an American producer and voice actor who was one of the original founders of [[Filmation]], and also credited as an [[executive producer]] of many of its cartoons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sciencefiction.com/2013/10/18/r-p-animation-legend-lou-scheimer/ |title=R.I.P. Animation Legend Lou Scheimer |publisher= ScienceFiction.com |date=October 18, 2013 |access-date=2013-10-19}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Scheimer (SHY-mer) was the son of a [[German Jews|German-Jew]] who, according to family legend, had to leave Germany in the early 1920s after punching a young [[Adolf Hitler]] in 1921 or 1922, "well before" the [[Beer Hall Putsch]].<ref name=Patten>[https://www.awn.com/animationworld/book-review-lou-scheimer-creating-filmation-generation Book Review - 'Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation'], by [[Fred Patten]], at [[Animation World Network]]; published December 19, 2012; retrieved May 13, 2016</ref>

Scheimer graduated from Carnegie Tech University (now [[Carnegie Mellon University]]) in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 1952.

== Career ==
Early in Filmation's history, Scheimer also contributed a number of guest or secondary voices for the various productions. Amongst these was the voice of [[Nkima|N'kima]], Tarzan's monkey companion in ''[[Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle]]'' (1976–81).<ref name="Tarzan">{{cite web|title=The Animated Tarzan|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-animated-tarzan/|website=cartoonresearch.com|access-date=29 May 2021}}</ref>

He co-produced ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'', for which he won the [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Entertainment - Children's Series.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mangels|first=Andy|date=Summer 2018|title=Star Trek: The Animated Series|url=https://issuu.com/twomorrows/docs/retrofan1preview/2?ff|journal=RetroFan|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|issue=1|pages=25-37}}</ref>

Scheimer played a significant role in the creation of the cartoon ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' and ''[[BraveStarr]]''.<ref name="Time Dies">{{cite news|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/21/cartoon-studio-founder-lou-scheimer-dies/ |title=Cartoon Studio Founder Lou Scheimer Dies |website= Time.com |date=October 21, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131023024824/http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/21/cartoon-studio-founder-lou-scheimer-dies/| archive-date= October 23, 2013 |access-date=2013-10-22 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Aside from being the executive producer, he was also co-credited for the series' musical score under the pseudonym "Erika Lane" (which combined the names of his daughter Erika and son Lane),<ref name="Time Dies" /> and it had also been used as a character name on the 1967 Filmation series ''Fantastic Voyage''. He 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". The last name was taken from his father's original surname: "Gundenscheimer" (which was later shortened to Scheimer). The first name was Lou's middle name, which he was not given by his parents, but instead by his wife Jay, who felt that he should have one. Scheimer's contribution to the cast was in fact most notable as he voiced several supporting characters, including [[Orko (character)|Orko]] (and other characters with a similar ''[[Smurfs]]''-voice), [[Stratos (Masters of the Universe)|Stratos]], King Randor and others.

The reason producer Lou Scheimer performed the voices for so many supporting characters was that the "official" voice actors were contracted to perform no more than three different voices per episode. And since there were usually only three regular cast members working on each show, Lou would fill in the rest of the male cast. This is also why his wife Jay and daughter [[Erika Scheimer|Erika]] did various small parts in the first season of ''He-Man''. During the second season of ''He-Man'', and all of ''[[She-Ra]]'', Erika Scheimer received an onscreen credit as an actor and also directed the voice actors, and she and her father would record the remaining voices on their own later, because Lou did not see himself as a "proper" actor and was ashamed of recording together with the other voice actors due to severe budget restrictions. The pitch of his voice was often changed by using a "harmonizer", which could control the pitch without altering the speed of the sound.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lou Scheimer|url=https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0770617/trivia?ref_=m_nm_dyk_trv|publisher=IMDb|access-date=2019-05-06}}</ref>

The animated series also pioneered a type of programming known as [[Television syndication#The 1980s through today|first-run syndication]]. Also a first was the storyline being based on an [[action figure]] toy; prior to this time, [[Federal Communications Commission|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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24623154 | work=BBC News | title=He-Man cartoon producer Lou Scheimer dies aged 84 | date=October 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name=AWN>{{cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/remembering-she-ra-and-he-man-interview-lou-scheimer |title=Remembering She-Ra and He-Man: Interview with Lou Scheimer |publisher= Animation World Network |website=AWN.com |date=2006-11-07 |access-date=2013-10-22}}</ref>

Scheimer's daughter Erika also performed 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.<ref name= AWN /> Lou was also credited for helping to compose the theme music for both the ''He-Man'' and ''She-Ra'' series, under his pseudonym 'Erika Lane'.

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 ''Robin and the Dreamweavers'', an adult animated [[feature film]]. Robin, the first human to be born in cyberspace, battles Triple XXX: an evil siren who desires an earthly body, and who gains power through mankind's baser carnal desires. The movie, which has been compared to the majority of [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s work, was never distributed.

Scheimer also provided consultation work for Gang of Seven (G7) Animation.

The Lou Scheimer Gallery at the ToonSeum, a museum of comic and cartoon art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is named in his honor.

=== Voice roles ===
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 [[the Brown Hornet]]'s sidekick Stinger. He likewise served 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 series ''[[The Ghost Busters]]'', which starred [[Forrest Tucker]] alongside [[Larry Storch]] with Bob Burns, his was the voice of "Zero", the unseen boss of the main characters. Scheimer also provided the voices of Stubby on ''[[The New Adventures of Gilligan]]'' (1974), [[Bat-Mite]], [[Batcomputer|the Bat-Computer]] and [[Clayface]] (first two appearances) on ''[[The New Adventures of Batman]]'' (1977), Mo on ''[[Space Sentinels]]'' (1977), Spinner and Scarab on ''[[Tarzan and the Super 7]]''{{'}}s ''[[Web Woman]]'' (1978), [[Mighty Mouse]] on ''[[The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle]]'' (1979),<ref name="voice">{{cite web|title=Obscure Cartoon Spotlight Episode 6: Quackula|url=https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/obscure-cartoon-spotlight-episode-6-quackula.5050751/|publisher=Anime Superhero News|access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref> [[Tom Cat]], [[Jerry Mouse]], [[Spike and Tyke (characters)|Spike]], [[Nibbles (Tom and Jerry)|Tuffy]], [[Big Bad Wolf#MGM/Tex Avery's Big Bad Wolf|Slick Wolf]] and [[Barney Bear]] on ''[[The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show]]'' (1980),<ref>{{cite web|title=R.I.P. Lou Scheimer (Filmation)|url=https://www.deviantart.com/shebakoby/journal/R-I-P-Lou-Scheimer-Filmation-408108633|publisher=DeviantArt|access-date=2019-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Filmation Tribute to Lou Scheimer|url=https://www.deviantart.com/shebakoby/art/Filmation-Tribute-to-Lou-Scheimer-408282907|publisher=DeviantArt|access-date=2019-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (TV Series 1980–1982)|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0282315/trivia?ref_=m_tt_trv_trv|publisher=IMDb|access-date=2019-05-03}}</ref> the Master Sports Computer and Queen Vanda's Computer on ''[[Sport Billy]]'' (1980), Gremlin on ''[[The New Adventures of Flash Gordon]]'' (1979), Bumper on ''[[Gilligan's Planet]]'' (1982), and Tracy the Gorilla on ''[[Ghostbusters (1986 TV series)|Ghostbusters]]'' (1986).

== Personal life ==
He was married to Joanne "Jay" Wucher (1931–2009) until her death. The couple had one son, Lane (born 1956) and one daughter, [[Erika Scheimer|Erika]] (born 1960).

Scheimer was awarded the [[Inkpot Award]] in 2013.<ref>[https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot Inkpot Award]</ref>

Scheimer underwent [[quadruple bypass surgery]] in the late 1990s and was subsequently diagnosed with [[Parkinson's disease]]. He died from the disease at his home in [[Tarzana, Los Angeles|Tarzana, California]], on October 17, 2013, two days shy of his 85th birthday.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|last=Colker |first=David |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-lou-scheimer-20131020-story.html |title=Lou Scheimer obituary: Filmation founder Lou Scheimer dies |website=LATimes.com |date= October 20, 2013 |access-date=2013-10-20}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Memoryalpha}}
* {{findagrave|118940753}}
* {{IMDb name|0770617}}

=== History ===
* [http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Filmation.html Guide To Animated Star Trek - Filmation Associates]
* [https://animatedviews.com/2004/a-fond-look-back-at-filmation-part-one/ Animated Views - A Fond Look Back At Filmation (Part 1) (October 31, 2004)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040322033845/http://www.louscheimerproductions.com/erikaloubio.htm Animated Views - A Fond Look Back At Filmation (Part 2) (December 10, 2006)]
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040322033845/http://www.louscheimerproductions.com/erikaloubio.htm |date=March 22, 2004 |title=LouScheimerProductions.com - My Dad: The Trend Setter }}

=== Interviews ===
* [https://www.angelfire.com/tv2/isis/scheimer.html The Unofficial Isis Appreciation Page - Interview (July 2002)]
* [http://masterscast.com/2006/07/30/masters-cast-episode-19/ Masters Cast - Comic-Con Interview (QuickTime) (July 30, 2006)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150617110900/http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2005/teague/ Retro Crush - David Teague Interview]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140419040206/http://www.the-trades.com/articles/2007/06/11/lou-scheimer-candid-conversation-filmations-founder The-Trades Interview - R.J. Carter (June 11, 2007)]
{{Inkpot Award 2010s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheimer, Lou}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Animators from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American animated film producers]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Television producers from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Filmation people]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]

Lou Scheimer - Revision history

Adminpeter at 22:02, 30 May 2022