in the beginning

Created in the early 20th century by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios was a pioneer in the art and craft of animation and were responsible for creating and animating some of the most beloved characters in American animation including Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. The studio was also renowned for its animation of two extremely popular comic-strip characters: Popeye (originally created by Elzie Segar) and Superman (originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster).

The artists of Fleischer Studios were not only animators, they were innovators as well. Known for their ground-breaking marriage of live action with animation, their ingenious “bouncing ball” cartoons, their gritty, urban and often surreal landscapes, their jazz cartoons featuring early film footage of the era’s popular artists including the very first film footage of Cab Calloway, and many inventions including Max’s rotoscope and “set-back” process, the influence of Fleischer Studios can be seen today in everything from music videos to karaoke to Japanese animé.

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fleischer studios today

Today, Max Fleischer’s grandson, Mark Fleischer, serves as Chairman and CEO of Fleischer Studios. An entertainment executive and attorney, Mark helms a dedicated team of artists and innovators to bring Betty Boop and all the Fleischer characters into the 21st century, and works in close partnership with Global Icons, Inc., the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for all the Fleischer characters, to development new and exciting opportunities for beloved Fleischer characters around the globe including media, merchandising and more.

Board of Directors

mark fleischer, president

An entertainment executive and attorney, Mark helms a dedicated team of artists and innovators to bring Betty Boop and all the Fleischer characters into the 21st century, and works in close partnership with Global Icons, Inc., the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for all the Fleischer characters, to development new and exciting opportunities for beloved Fleischer characters around the globe including media, merchandising and more.

ginny mahoney, vice president

• Max’s granddaughter, Ginny Mahoney, is a visual artist with an extensive career in developing and designing exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution, The National Museum of Jewish Military History, and throughout her 16-year tenure as Head of Design & Exhibit Planning for the National Zoo. She is the Founder of The Fleischer Studios Collection, an ongoing archive of photos, recordings and other media that preserve and celebrate the physical and intellectual legacy of Fleischer Studios and was instrumental in the design and creation of the Fleischer Studios website and curated many of the digital exhibits featured on this website.

jeni mahoney

• Max's great granddaughter, Jeni Mahoney, is a playwright, dramaturg, theater director and Founding Artistic Director of Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. Her plays have been presented at theaters across the country and published by published by Applause, Playscripts and Smith & Kraus. She served as Head of Playwriting at New York University/Tisch's Playwrights Horizons Theatre School for more than a decade and was inducted into the IndieTheater Hall of Fame in 2014. Jeni also serves on the Board of Open Sky NH and as an honorary Board Member of Seven Devils New Play Foundry. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the National Theatre Conference and currently teaches Scriptwriting at Stonecoast (University of Southern Maine's low-residency MFA writing program). Jeni also puts her narrative and film editing skills to work as FSI's V.P. of Digital Media and Historian. More at jenimahoney.com

jane reid

Max's granddaughter Jane Fleischer Reid, corporate Secretary of Fleischer Studios, created the Studio's Filmography. She also is the CEO of Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored, LLC, which is in the process of reconstructing and restoring the entire Fleischer cartoon library.

Peter Van Raalte

• Peter Van Raalte A Managing Partner with Browne, Gordon & Van Raalte, Peter has more than 30 years of experience licensing in retail, and promotions. He served as Senior Vice President for Cablevision’s Madison Square Garden Entertainment division where he was responsible for all in-venue retail stores, and for developing licensing, merchandise, and collectible programs for the New York Rangers, Knicks, and Liberty, Radio City Music Hall, The Christmas Spectacular, and The Rockettes. He also served as Senior Vice President, Business Development for Joester-Loria Group, where he developed opportunities and managed sales of key licensing programs for Jeep and Chrysler brands, animated television properties Little Robots (BBC) and Peppa Pig (Contender); Vice-President, Consumer Products, at Scholastic Entertainment where he managed U.S. licensed consumer products sales and related promotions for Scholastic brands and entertainment properties including Clifford The Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Animorphs and Maya & Miguel; Vice President of Licensing at Turner Home Entertainment where he directed national licensing sales The Hanna Barbera Animation Library, MGM and Warner Brothers, Classic Film Libraries, The Cartoon Network, World Championship Wrestling and CNN among others; and was elected and served as past Chairman of the Board of The Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association.

If you are interested in learning more about the history of Fleischer Studios, visit our History Page or read the vivid and engrossing portrait on the life, work and legacy of Max in  Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution, written by Max's son Richard Fleischer, a prominent motion picture director in his own right and former President and CEO of Fleischer Studios.

the Fleischer Studios team

If you are interested in licensing Betty Boop, or any of the Fleischer characters, contact Global Icons, Inc.
 the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for all the Fleischer characters.
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​For media requests, interviews, images, clips, or social media inquiries, please contact our Public Relations and Marketing specialist, Kristi Ling Spencer here.