Richard Fleischer - Biography

Richard O. Fleischer (December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director.

Early life

Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie (née Goldstein) and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.

His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent features, which he called Flicker Flashbacks. He won an Academy Award as producer of the 1947 documentary Design for Death, co-written by Theodor Geisel (later known as Dr. Seuss), which examined the cultural forces that led to Japan's imperial expansion through World War II.

Career

Fleischer directed his first feature in 1946. His early films were taut film noir thrillers such as Bodyguard (1948), The Clay Pigeon (1949), Follow Me Quietly (1949), Armored Car Robbery (1950), and The Narrow Margin (1952). In 1948, Fleischer also directed So This Is New York, a cynically sophisticated comedy starring acerbic humorist Henry Morgan based upon a Ring Lardner novel.

In 1954, he was chosen by Walt Disney (his father's former rival as a cartoon producer) to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Kirk Douglas. He became known for big features, often employing special effects, such as Barabbas (1961), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Doctor Dolittle (1967), and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970).

He directed many action adventures such as Violent Saturday (1955), Bandido (1956) starring Robert Mitchum, The Vikings (1958), and Mr. Majestyk (1974). Fleischer also directed a trilogy of films centering on famous serial killers and focusing on the theme of capital punishment: Compulsion (1959), The Boston Strangler (1968) and 10 Rillington Place (1971). He helmed Soylent Green (1973), a cautionary tale of overpopulation and pollution. Some of his entertainments are regarded as controversial and provocative, such as Che! (1969), a biopic of Che Guevara, and the interracial melodrama of the Deep South in Mandingo (1975).

Fleischer was chairman of Fleischer Studios, which today handles the licensing of Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. 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 (1947)
• Banjo (1947)
• Bodyguard (1948)
• So This Is New York (1948)
• Trapped (1949)
• Make Mine Laughs (1949)
• Follow Me Quietly (1949)
• The Clay Pigeon (1949)
• Armored Car Robbery (1950)
• His Kind of Woman (1951)
• The Narrow Margin (1952)
• The Happy Time (1952)
• Arena (1953)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
• Violent Saturday (1955)
• The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955)
• Bandido (1956)
• Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
• The Vikings (1958)
• These Thousand Hills (1959)
• Compulsion (1959)
• Crack in the Mirror (1960)
• The Big Gamble (1961)

• Barabbas (1961)
• Fantastic Voyage (1966)
• Doctor Dolittle (1967)
• Think 20th (1967)
• The Boston Strangler (1968)
• Che! (1969)
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
• See No Evil (1971) (aka Blind Terror)
• The Last Run (1971)
• 10 Rillington Place (1971)
• The New Centurions (1972)
• Soylent Green (1973)
• The Don Is Dead (1973)
• Mr. Majestyk (1974)
• The Spikes Gang (1974)
• Mandingo (1975)
• The Incredible Sarah (1976)
• Crossed Swords (1977) (aka The Prince and the Pauper)
• Ashanti (1979)
• The Jazz Singer (1980)
• Tough Enough (1982)
• Amityville 3-D (1983)
• Conan the Destroyer (1984)
• Red Sonja (1985)
• Million Dollar Mystery (1987)
• Call From Space (1989)

Awards

Wins

• Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Feature Documentary, for Design for Death (1947); Shared with: Sid Rogell and Theron Warth; 1948.
• Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, Avoriaz, France: Grand Prize, for Soylent Green; 1974.

Nominations

• Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Director, for The Happy Time (1952); 1953.
• Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm, for Compulsion'; 1959.
• Directors Guild of America: 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: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source, for Compulsion; 1960.
• Fantasporto, 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; 1981.

Further reading

• Fleischer, Richard, Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution (University Press of Kentucky, 2005)
• Fleischer, Richard, Just Tell Me When to Cry (Carroll and Graf, 1993)

External links

• Richard Fleischer profile at Disney Legends