Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (died 1972)

Max Fleischer was an American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, in Austrian Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios, which he co-founded with his younger brother Dave. He brought such comic characters as Koko the Clown, Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen, and was responsible for several technological innovations, including the Rotoscope, the "Follow the Bouncing Ball" technique pioneered in the Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes films, and the "Stereoptical Process". Film director Richard Fleischer was his son.