Norm Prescott dies aged 78

by Ben | July 10, 2005 8:58 am

Variety notes[1] that Filmation Studios co-founder and former disc jockey (one of the original “Live Five”) Norm Prescott has died in Los Angeles. After producing the animated feature Pinocchio In Outer Space (1965), he partnered with former Bozo the Clown animator Lou Scheimer and former Disney animator Hal Sutherland to form Filmation Associates. The fledgling outfit took off with animated commercials until the studio bid successfully to translate the Superman comica as a television series. Under executive producer Prescott, Filmation went on to create hundreds of hours of animated TV shows (including Batman, Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Mighty Mouse, Masters Of The Universe, and the animated Star Trek among many others) that used often-criticised cost-cutting animation techniques, though which have been getting revived attention on DVD. A slew of bigger budget, ambitious animated feature flops (including sequels to Pinocchio and Snow White) closed down the studio in 1993. Prescott’s radio training did not go to waste, and he spoke for many characters in the Filmation shows[2], often as narrator, before retiring and becoming somewhat of a recluse at his Hollywood home.

Source URL: https://animatedviews.com/2005/norm-prescott-dies-aged-78/

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