Henry Mayer
Pioneered animated travelogue shorts
Henry Mayer, often seen as Hy Mayer in signatures, using the traditional abbreviation for Henry, was a German-American cartoonist and animator. Mayer was the son of a Jewish merchant from London. After working as a magazine illustrator in Munich, Paris (Le Figaro Illustré), and London (Pall Mall Gazette), he emigrated to the United States in 1886. In 1893 he moved to New York, and illustrated a number of children's books. He was a political cartoonist for the New York Times from 1904, and then in 1914 chief cartoonist of Puck. From 1909 to 1917 he contributed artwork to early films such as the Universal Animated Weekly newsreel series. He created and directed the original "Travelaughs" series, released through Universal Studios from 1913 to 1920, and the "Such Is Life" series, with titles Such Is Life at a County Fair (1921) and Such Is Life in Munich (1922), released by Film Booking Offices of America from 1920 to 1926. These two short subject film series combined animation with live action film taken in exotic locations. He is credited with directing over 100 short films from 1913 to 1926. Mayer also worked with Otto Messmer on the series The Travels of Teddy, satirizing President Teddy Roosevelt, before Messmer left to work with producer Pat Sullivan on the long-running Felix the Cat animation series.
Artworks by this artist
- Wall Street and the nouveau poor 1914
- Impressions of Coney Island 1914
- Scenes and behind scenes at the Metropolitan opera 1915
- The gentleman farmer 1914
- Travel impressions 1914
- On the road to Carlsbad 1914
- Memories 1914
- War atrocities 1914
- Goldfishing 1914
- New York Sunday Herald, June 28th ’96 1896
- Truth. Easter ’97 1897
- Pickings from Puck’s vineyard 1914
- Scribner’s April 1896
- Fresh paint 1914
- St. Nicholas January. Danny and the Major. A story of the plains between 1890 and 1900
- The awakening 1915
- In the movies 1914
- ‘No drink in the Navy,’ says Daniels 1914
- Foolish fashion 2 1914
- Red or black 1914