Norman Maurer
Encyclopedia
Norman Albert Maurer a comic book artist
and writer
, was also a director
and producer
of films and television shows.
, the daughter of the comedy team's Moe Howard
on June 29, 1947. In 1949, he produced two Three Stooges comic book issues for Jubilee, based on the short films the team was making for Columbia Pictures
. In 1953, Maurer created the first 3-D
comics, Three-Dimension Comics featuring Mighty Mouse
, with his brother, Leonard Maurer, and Joe Kubert
. Two three-dimensional Stooge comics were also issued in 1953. He returned to the Stooges in comic form in 1972 with Gold Key Comics
' The Little Stooges, which ran for seven issues over the next two years.
(1958), in which his father-in-law, Moe, had a minor role, and is credited with the creation of the CineMagic
process used in the 1960 film The Angry Red Planet
.
He became the manager of the Three Stooges after Columbia
terminated their employment in 1957 and has credits in most of their later feature films. He produced The Three Stooges Scrapbook
(1960), and wrote the screen stories and produced The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
(1962), The Three Stooges in Orbit
(1962), The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze
(1963) and The Outlaws Is Coming
(1965), the last two of which he also directed.
Maurer's son, Jeffrey Scott (Moe's grandson), can be seen in The Outlaws Is Coming!, credited as Jeffrey Alan, and The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze in the role of Timmy, credited as Geoffrey A. Maurer. Maurer himself can also be seen on camera as a TV cameraman in The Three Stooges Scrapbook and as a camper in 1970's Kook's Tour
, which he also directed. Kook's Tour was intended to be a comedy-travelogue television series featuring the Stooges, but Larry Fine
suffered a stroke during production of the pilot episode
and the series was cancelled; several years later, Maurer edited together a 50-minute version of Kook's Tour using available footage from the pilot and released it to the then-booming Super 8
home movie market.
' syndicated
The New Three Stooges
cartoons (1965–1966).
He later became associated with Hanna-Barbera
, working as a writer on their The New Scooby-Doo Movies
(1972), Speed Buggy
(1973), The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
(1976), and season one of The Richie Rich Show
. He also created and was the executive producer of their 1978 series, The Three Robonic Stooges. Maurer's sons, Jeffrey Scott and Michael Maurer also have prolific careers as TV cartoon writers.
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, was also a director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of films and television shows.
Comic books
Maurer's life-long association with the Three Stooges began about the time of his marriage to Joan HowardJoan Howard Maurer
Joan Howard Maurer is the daughter of Moe Howard of the Three Stooges. She has written several books on the Three Stooges and appeared in a few films.She was married to cartoonist/director Norman Maurer until his death in 1986....
, the daughter of the comedy team's Moe Howard
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
on June 29, 1947. In 1949, he produced two Three Stooges comic book issues for Jubilee, based on the short films the team was making for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. In 1953, Maurer created the first 3-D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
comics, Three-Dimension Comics featuring Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.-History:The character was created by story man Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named Superfly. Studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a cartoon mouse instead...
, with his brother, Leonard Maurer, and Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
. Two three-dimensional Stooge comics were also issued in 1953. He returned to the Stooges in comic form in 1972 with Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
' The Little Stooges, which ran for seven issues over the next two years.
Films
Maurer was associate producer of Space Master X-7Space Master X-7
Space Master X-7 is a 1958 science fiction movie directed by Edward Bernds, starring Robert Ellis and Bill Williams.-Plot:A space probe returns to Earth covered with a mysterious fungus, which, when accidentally tinged with human blood, transforms into an ever-growing pile of space rust...
(1958), in which his father-in-law, Moe, had a minor role, and is credited with the creation of the CineMagic
CineMagic (film technique)
CineMagic was the name of film development technique invented by 3-D movie producer Sidney W. Pink and Norman Maurer in the 1959 science-fiction movie The Angry Red Planet to cast a pinkish glow over the screen...
process used in the 1960 film The Angry Red Planet
The Angry Red Planet
The Angry Red Planet is a 1959 science fiction film starring Gerald Mohr and directed by Ib Melchior. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.The movie was made with a CineMagic technique which was applied for all of the scenes on the...
.
He became the manager of the Three Stooges after Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
terminated their employment in 1957 and has credits in most of their later feature films. He produced The Three Stooges Scrapbook
The Three Stooges Scrapbook
The Three Stooges Scrapbook was an unaired 1960 television pilot starring The Three Stooges . The pilot featured the slapstick trio getting evicted from a rooming house for cooking in their apartment, looking for a new place to live, finding refuge in the home of a mad inventor , and presenting an...
(1960), and wrote the screen stories and produced The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules was the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita . Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules was directed by long-time...
(1962), The Three Stooges in Orbit
The Three Stooges in Orbit
The Three Stooges In Orbit was the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita . Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges In Orbit was directed by long-time Stooge...
(1962), The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze is the fifth feature film made by the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita...
(1963) and The Outlaws Is Coming
The Outlaws Is Coming
The Outlaws IS Coming! is the sixth and last theatrical feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita . Like its predecessor, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze...
(1965), the last two of which he also directed.
Maurer's son, Jeffrey Scott (Moe's grandson), can be seen in The Outlaws Is Coming!, credited as Jeffrey Alan, and The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze in the role of Timmy, credited as Geoffrey A. Maurer. Maurer himself can also be seen on camera as a TV cameraman in The Three Stooges Scrapbook and as a camper in 1970's Kook's Tour
Kook's Tour
Kook's Tour is the title of an American short comedy film produced in late 1969 and early 1970. It was the final film to star the Three Stooges and originally intended as part of a television series. However, on January 9, 1970, before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a severe stroke,...
, which he also directed. Kook's Tour was intended to be a comedy-travelogue television series featuring the Stooges, but Larry Fine
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
suffered a stroke during production of the pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
and the series was cancelled; several years later, Maurer edited together a 50-minute version of Kook's Tour using available footage from the pilot and released it to the then-booming Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
home movie market.
Animation
Maurer was executive producer of the 39 live-action segments used to introduce and follow Cambria StudiosCambria Productions
Cambria Productions was the West Hollywood, California animation production studio most famous for its wide usage of the Syncro-Vox technique of animation developed by Edwin Gillette, who was a co-partner in the studio.Owned by Clark S. Haas, Jr...
' syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
The New Three Stooges
The New Three Stooges
The New Three Stooges is a syndicated television program that ran from 1965-1966 starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly-Joe DeRita, with actor and close friend Emil Sitka...
cartoons (1965–1966).
He later became associated with Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, working as a writer on their The New Scooby-Doo Movies
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
The New Scooby-Doo Movies is the second incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for two seasons on CBS as the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series...
(1972), Speed Buggy
Speed Buggy
Speed Buggy is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 8, 1973 to August 30, 1975.-Production:...
(1973), The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour was a 60-minute package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1976 for ABC Saturday mornings. It marked the first new installments of the cowardly canine since 1973, and contained the following segments:...
(1976), and season one of The Richie Rich Show
Richie Rich (1980 TV series)
Richie Rich is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on ABC from 1980 to 1984. Based upon Harvey Comics' popular Richie Rich comic book characters, shared time slots with Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Little Rascals, and Pac-Man over its original broadcast...
. He also created and was the executive producer of their 1978 series, The Three Robonic Stooges. Maurer's sons, Jeffrey Scott and Michael Maurer also have prolific careers as TV cartoon writers.