Lillian Friedman Astor


Lillian Friedman Astor was the first American female studio animator, working at for the Fleischer Brothers' studio, inking and eventually animating various Betty Boop cartoons, as well as one Popeye, some Color Classics, and several Hunky and Spunky cartoons, although she received screen credit on only six cartoons in her lifetime.

Personal life

She attended Washington Irving High School, where she studied animation and fashion design. After graduating, she worked as a fashion designer.

Animation career

After being rejected by Disney, Friedman was hired by the Fleischer Studios in 1930 as an inker. Taken under the wing of Fleischer animator James "Shamus" Culhane, Friedman was promoted to his assistant and in-betweener, responsible for intermediate drawings between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image, and giving the illusion of movement. Impressed by her skill, in 1933 Culhane "secretly" promoted Friedman to animator, whereby she could generate animation content. Working on the crew of Myron Waldman, she animated – uncredited – a Popeye cartoon, Can You Take It. Her animation work also appears in, Betty Boop's Prize Show, Making Stars, Judge for a Day, Be Human, The New Deal Show, Pudgy Takes a Bow-Wow, Buzzy Boop at the Concert, Pudgy and the Lost Kitten, Honest Love and True, and the Color Classic Hawaiian Birds. She was also responsible for animating several scenes in Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor in 1936, specifically Popeye giving the "twisker" punch and the two-headed giant, "Boola."