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Richard O. Fleischer (December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American
Cinema of the United States

United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, Classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period ....
 film director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
.

scher was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn

Brooklyn is one of the five Borough of New York City, located at the western end of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area....
, the son of Essie (née Goldstein) and animator/producer Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer

File:MaxFleischerPDUS.JPGMax Fleischer was an important Jewish-American pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon who served as the head of Fleischer Studios....
. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop
Betty Boop

Betty Boop is an animation cartoon fictional character designed by Grim Natwick, appearing in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures....
, Popeye
Popeye

File:Thimbletheat.jpgPopeye the Sailor is a fictional hero famous for appearing in comic strips and animated films as well as numerous TV shows....
 and Superman
Superman (1940s cartoons)

The Superman animated cartoons, commonly but somewhat erroneously known as the "Fleischer Superman cartoons" were a series of seventeen animation Technicolor short films, released by Paramount Pictures between 1941 and 1943, based upon the comic book character Superman....
 series.

His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO
RKO Pictures

RKO Pictures is an United States film production and distribution company. As Radio Pictures Inc. and then RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the so-called studio system major film studio of Hollywood Cinema of the United States#Golden Age of Hollywood....
 studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent
Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made possible in the late 1920s with the introduction of the Vitaphone system....
 features, which he called Flicker Flashbacks.






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Encyclopedia


Richard O. Fleischer (December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American
Cinema of the United States

United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, Classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period ....
 film director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
.

Early life

Fleischer was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn

Brooklyn is one of the five Borough of New York City, located at the western end of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area....
, the son of Essie (née Goldstein) and animator/producer Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer

File:MaxFleischerPDUS.JPGMax Fleischer was an important Jewish-American pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon who served as the head of Fleischer Studios....
. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop
Betty Boop

Betty Boop is an animation cartoon fictional character designed by Grim Natwick, appearing in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures....
, Popeye
Popeye

File:Thimbletheat.jpgPopeye the Sailor is a fictional hero famous for appearing in comic strips and animated films as well as numerous TV shows....
 and Superman
Superman (1940s cartoons)

The Superman animated cartoons, commonly but somewhat erroneously known as the "Fleischer Superman cartoons" were a series of seventeen animation Technicolor short films, released by Paramount Pictures between 1941 and 1943, based upon the comic book character Superman....
 series.

His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO
RKO Pictures

RKO Pictures is an United States film production and distribution company. As Radio Pictures Inc. and then RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the so-called studio system major film studio of Hollywood Cinema of the United States#Golden Age of Hollywood....
 studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent
Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made possible in the late 1920s with the introduction of the Vitaphone system....
 features, which he called Flicker Flashbacks. He won an Academy Award
Academy Award for Documentary Feature

The Academy Awards for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films....
 as producer of the 1947 documentary Design for Death, co-written by Theodor Geisel
Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist, most widely known for his children's books written under his pen name, Dr. Seuss....
 (later known as Dr. Seuss), which examined the cultural forces that led to Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
's imperial expansion through World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

Career

Fleischer directed his first feature in 1946. His early films were taut film noir
Film noir

Film noir is a film term used primarily to describe stylish cinema of the United States Crime film, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation....
 thrillers such as Bodyguard
Bodyguard (1948 film)

Bodyguard is a United States semi-documentary crime film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex, based on a story written by George W....
 (1948), The Clay Pigeon (1949), Follow Me Quietly
Follow Me Quietly

Follow Me Quietly is a semidocumentary film noir directed by Richard Fleischer, with support from Anthony Mann in an uncredited position. The drama features William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, and others....
 (1949), Armored Car Robbery
Armored Car Robbery

Armored Car Robbery is an United States film noir shot in a semi-documentary style and directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Charles McGraw....
 (1950), and The Narrow Margin
The Narrow Margin

The Narrow Margin is an United States film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Earl Belton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard....
 (1952).

In 1954, he was chosen by Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
 (his father's former rival as a cartoon producer) to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 in film film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax and Peter Lorre as Conseil....
. He became known for big features, often employing special effects, such as Barabbas (1961), Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage

Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 in film science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner. Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it ....
 (1966), Dr. Dolittle (1967), and Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora!

Tora! Tora! Tora! is a 1970 United States-Japanese film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production....
 (1970).

He directed many action adventures such as Violent Saturday (1955), Bandido (1956), The Vikings
The Vikings

The Vikings can refer to:* Vikings, a group of Scandinavian peoples* The Vikings , a 1958 film starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis* The Vikings at Helgeland, a play by Henrik Ibsen...
 (1958), and Mr. Majestyk
Mr. Majestyk

Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 in film American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Charles Bronson. The film is based on a novel written by Elmore Leonard....
 (1974). He also directed a trilogy of films centering on famous serial killer
Serial killer

A serial killer is a person who murders usually three or more people"One of the most famous [geographically stable] serial killers is Wayne Williams....
s and focusing on the theme of capital punishment
Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the killing of a person by procedural law for Punishment#Retribution and Punishment#Incapacitation....
: Compulsion
Compulsion (film)

Compulsion, directed by Richard Fleischer, was a film made in 1959, based on the 1956 novel Compulsion by Meyer Levin, which in turn was based on the Leopold and Loeb trial....
 (1959), The Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler (film)

The Boston Strangler is a 1968 in film based on the true story of the Boston Strangler. It was directed by Richard Fleischer, and stars Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and Henry Fonda as John S....
 (1968) and 10 Rillington Place
10 Rillington Place

10 Rillington Place, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, was the site of the crimes of John Reginald Halliday Christie, one of uk's most notorious serial killers....
 (1971). He helmed Soylent Green
Soylent Green

Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which global warming and overpopulation lead to depleted resources on Earth....
 (1973), a cautionary tale of overpopulation
Overpopulation

Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the world population and its environment , the Earth....
 and pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
. Some of his entertainments are regarded as controversial and provocative, such as Che!
Che!

Che! is a 1969 in film USA Biographical film starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967, although the film does not portray the formative pre-Cuban revolution sections of Che's life as described in the autobiographical bo...
 (1969), a biopic of Che Guevara
Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentina Marxism revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader....
, and the interracial melodrama of the Deep South in Mandingo
Mandingo (film)

Mandingo is a 1975 in film, based on the book Mandingo by Kyle Onstott. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George , Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxing-turned-actor Ken Norton and bodybuilder and pro wrestling-turned-actor Earl Maynard....
 (1975).

Fleischer was chairman of Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios, Inc. is an United States corporation which originated as an animation studio located at 1600 Broadway , New York City, New York....
, which today handles the licensing of Betty Boop
Betty Boop

Betty Boop is an animation cartoon fictional character designed by Grim Natwick, appearing in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures....
 and Koko the Clown
Koko the Clown

Koko the Clown is an animation character created by animation pioneer Max Fleischer. The character originated when Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope, a device that allowed for animation to be more lifelike by tracing motion picture footage of human movement....
. In June 2005 he released his memoirs of his father's career in Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution.

Death and legacy

He died in his sleep at age 89, after having been in failing health for the better part of a year.

Fleischer's 1993 autobiography, Just Tell Me When to Cry, described his many difficulties with actors, writers and producers.

Filmography

  • This is America (1943) (Short documentary series)
  • Flicker Flashbacks (1943) (Series of shorts)
  • Memo for Joe (1944)
  • Child of Divorce (1946)
  • Design for Death
    Design for Death

    Design for Death is a 1947 in film documentary film that won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature#1940s. It was based on a shorter U.S....
     (1947)
  • Banjo (1947)
  • Bodyguard
    Bodyguard (1948 film)

    Bodyguard is a United States semi-documentary crime film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Fred Niblo Jr.and Harry Essex, based on a story written by George W....
     (1948)
  • So This is New York (1948)
  • Trapped (1949 film)
    Trapped (1949 film)

    Trapped is a semidocumentary film noir directed by Richard Fleischer, written by George Zuckerman and Earl Felton. The drama features Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, John Hoyt, and others....
     (1949)
  • Make Mine Laughs (1949)
  • Follow Me Quietly
    Follow Me Quietly

    Follow Me Quietly is a semidocumentary film noir directed by Richard Fleischer, with support from Anthony Mann in an uncredited position. The drama features William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, and others....
     (1949)
  • The Clay Pigeon
    The Clay Pigeon

    The Clay Pigeon is a United States drama film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Carl Foreman based on his own story. The drama features Bill Williams , Barbara Hale, Richard Quine, and others....
     (1949)
  • Armored Car Robbery
    Armored Car Robbery

    Armored Car Robbery is an United States film noir shot in a semi-documentary style and directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Charles McGraw....
     (1950)
  • His Kind of Woman
    His Kind of Woman

    His Kind of Woman is a black-and-white 1951 in film comedy drama film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. The film features supporting roles by Vincent Price, Raymond Burr, and Charles McGraw....
     (1951)
  • The Narrow Margin
    The Narrow Margin

    The Narrow Margin is an United States film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Earl Belton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard....
     (1952)
  • The Happy Time
    The Happy Time

    The Happy Time is a 1952 in film movie directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer. It is based on Samuel A. Taylor's hit play....
     (1952)
  • Arena (1953)
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 in film film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax and Peter Lorre as Conseil....
     (1954)
  • Violent Saturday
    Violent Saturday

    Violent Saturday is a 1955 in film United States Crime film drama directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Victor Mature, Lee Marvin, Richard Egan and Stephen McNally....
     (1955)
  • The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955)
  • Bandido (1956)
  • Between Heaven and Hell (film)
    Between Heaven and Hell (film)

    Between Heaven and Hell is a 1956 in film 20th Century Fox Cinemascope colour war film based on the novel The Day the Century Ended by Francis Gwaltney that the film follows closely....
     (1956)
  • The Vikings
    The Vikings (film)

    The Vikings was an adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer in 1958 in film, produced by and starring Kirk Douglas, and based on the novel The Viking by Edison Marshall....
     (1958)
  • These Thousand Hills (1959)
  • Compulsion
    Compulsion (film)

    Compulsion, directed by Richard Fleischer, was a film made in 1959, based on the 1956 novel Compulsion by Meyer Levin, which in turn was based on the Leopold and Loeb trial....
     (1959)
  • Crack in the Mirror (1960)
  • The Big Gamble (1961)
  • Barabbas (1961)
  • Fantastic Voyage
    Fantastic Voyage

    Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 in film science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner. Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it ....
     (1966)
  • Dr. Dolittle (1967)
  • Think 20th (1967)
  • The Boston Strangler
    The Boston Strangler (film)

    The Boston Strangler is a 1968 in film based on the true story of the Boston Strangler. It was directed by Richard Fleischer, and stars Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and Henry Fonda as John S....
     (1968)
  • Che!
    Che!

    Che! is a 1969 in film USA Biographical film starring Omar Sharif as Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It follows Guevara from when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his death in Bolivia in 1967, although the film does not portray the formative pre-Cuban revolution sections of Che's life as described in the autobiographical bo...
     (1969)
  • Tora! Tora! Tora!
    Tora! Tora! Tora!

    Tora! Tora! Tora! is a 1970 United States-Japanese film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production....
     (1970)
  • See No Evil
    See No Evil (1971 film)

    See No Evil is a 1971 in film thriller film film from the United Kingdom starring Mia Farrow as a recently-blinded woman named Sarah....
     (1971) (aka Blind Terror)
  • The Last Run
    The Last Run

    The Last Run is a 1971 in film action film directed by Richard Fleischer, starring George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere, and Colleen Dewhurst....
     (1971)
  • 10 Rillington Place
    10 Rillington Place

    10 Rillington Place, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, was the site of the crimes of John Reginald Halliday Christie, one of uk's most notorious serial killers....
     (1971)
  • The New Centurions
    The New Centurions

    The New Centurions is a 1972 film based on the The New Centurions by "cop-writer" Joseph Wambaugh, with George C. Scott as a veteran police officer, and Stacy Keach as his soon-to-become world-weary rookie trainee....
     (1972)
  • Soylent Green
    Soylent Green

    Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which global warming and overpopulation lead to depleted resources on Earth....
     (1973)
  • The Don is Dead (1973)
  • Mr. Majestyk
    Mr. Majestyk

    Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 in film American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Charles Bronson. The film is based on a novel written by Elmore Leonard....
     (1974)
  • The Spikes Gang (1974)
  • Mandingo
    Mandingo (film)

    Mandingo is a 1975 in film, based on the book Mandingo by Kyle Onstott. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George , Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxing-turned-actor Ken Norton and bodybuilder and pro wrestling-turned-actor Earl Maynard....
     (1975)
  • The Incredible Sarah (1976)
  • Crossed Swords
    Crossed Swords (film)

    Crossed Swords is an adventure film released in 1977 in film, directed by Richard Fleischer, based on The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain....
     (1977) (aka The Prince and the Pauper)
  • Ashanti
    Ashanti (film)

    Ashanti is a 1979 in film adventure film, produced by Georges-Alain Vuille, and directed by Richard Fleischer. Despite its impressive cast and setting , it was widely panned by critics upon release....
     (1979)
  • The Jazz Singer
    The Jazz Singer (1980 film)

    The Jazz Singer was a 1980 in film musical film remake of the 1927 in film classic The Jazz Singer . It starred Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz and Laurence Olivier, and was co-film director by Richard Fleischer and Sidney J....
     (1980)
  • Tough Enough (1982)
  • Amityville 3-D
    Amityville 3-D

    Amityville 3D is the third film in The Amityville Horror movie saga, released in 3-D film in 1983 in film. This was the first Amityville film to not be based on or inspired by the alleged "true story" of the original book and movie....
     (1983)
  • Conan the Destroyer
    Conan the Destroyer

    Conan the Destroyer is a 1984 film directed by action/fantasy veteran Richard Fleischer . It is a sequel to Conan the Barbarian , with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako returning to resume their roles as Conan and Akiro the wizard, along with a new cast, such as Grace Jones as Zula....
     (1984)
  • Red Sonja
    Red Sonja

    Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a low fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith....
     (1985)
  • Million Dollar Mystery
    Million Dollar Mystery

    Million Dollar Mystery is a 1987 United States film released as a promotional piece for Glad brand bags. It was performing a routine stunt for this film that cost legendary stuntman Dar Robinson his life on November 21, 1986....
     (1987)
  • Call From Space (1989)


Awards

Wins
  • Academy Awards
    Academy Awards

    The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
    : Oscar, Best Feature Documentary
    Academy Award for Documentary Feature

    The Academy Awards for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films....
    , for Design for Death
    Design for Death

    Design for Death is a 1947 in film documentary film that won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature#1940s. It was based on a shorter U.S....
     (1947); Shared with: Sid Rogell and Theron Warth; 1948.
  • Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, Avoriaz
    Avoriaz

    Avoriaz is a France mountain resort in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. It is located on the territory of the communes of France of Morzine....
    , France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    : Grand Prize, for Soylent Green; 1974.


Nominations
  • Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Director, for The Happy Time (1952); 1953.
  • Cannes Film Festival
    Cannes Film Festival

    The Cannes Film Festival , founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals alongside Venice Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival....
    : Golden Palm, for Compulsion; 1959.
  • Directors Guild of America
    Directors Guild of America

    Directors Guild of America is the trade union which represents the interests of film director and television director directors in the United States motion picture industry....
    : DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, for     The Vikings; 1959.
  • Directors Guild of America: DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, for Compulsion; 1960.
  • British Academy of Film and Television Arts
    British Academy of Film and Television Arts

    The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation....
    : BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source, for     Compulsion; 1960.
  • Fantasporto
    Fantasporto

    Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized in Porto, Portugal. Giving space to big screen productions, to auteur films and to experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from cinephiles to more popular spectators, with an annual aver...
    , Porto, Portugal: International Fantasy Film Award, Best Film, for     Amityville 3-D; 1986.


Unsolicited nomination
  • Razzie Awards: Razzie Award nomination, Worst Director, for The Jazz Singer; shared with: Sidney J. Furie
    Sidney J. Furie

    Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing The Ipcress File , The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues , The Boys , Gable and Lombard, and the Iron Eagle films....
    ; 1981.


Further reading

  • Fleischer, Richard, Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution (University Press of Kentucky
    University Press of Kentucky

    The University Press of Kentucky is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press....
    , 2005)
  • Fleischer, Richard, Just Tell Me When to Cry (Carroll and Graf, 1993)


External links

  • profile at Disney Legends