12 Facts About Otto Messmer

Otto James Messmer was an American animator known for his work on the Felix the Cat cartoons and comic strip produced by the Pat Sullivan studio.

Otto Messmer was born on August 16,1892, to a German Catholic family in West Hoboken, New Jersey.

Otto Messmer had a love of vaudeville and the entertainment industry instilled in him by his parents and teachers beginning at a young age.

Otto Messmer signed a deal with Jack Cohn of Universal Studios in 1915 to produce a test film of a character Otto Messmer created called "Motor Mat".

When Otto Messmer returned to the United States in 1919, he returned to Sullivan's studio, which was hired by director Earl Hurd of Paramount Screen Magazine for a cartoon short that would accompany a feature film.

Sullivan gave the project to Otto Messmer, whose end result, Feline Follies, starred Master Tom, a black cat, who was a prototype to Felix, which brought good luck to people in trouble.

Sullivan took the credit for Felix, and though Otto Messmer directed and was the lead animator on all of the episodes he appeared in, Sullivan's name was the only onscreen credit that appeared in them.

Otto Messmer oversaw the direction of the Felix newspaper strip, doing most of the pencils and inks on the strip until 1954.

Otto Messmer then teamed with Douglas Leigh on the large moving electronic signs that lit up Times Square.

Otto Messmer produced more Felix comic books in the 1940s and 1950s for companies such as Dell Comics, Toby Press, and Harvey Comics, as well as doing animation for Famous Studios.

Otto Messmer continued working on the character for the rest of his life.

Otto Messmer died from a heart attack at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey on October 28,1983.