Film director Richard Fleischer dead at 89

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- "Doctor Dolittle," "Fantastic Voyage" and "Soylent Green" director Richard Fleischer has died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 89.

The Oscar-winning director whose 47-plus films also included "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!," died Saturday at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Fleischer followed his father, animation pioneer Max Fleischer, into the entertainment business and his first job was working on RKO newsreels in New York in 1942.

He moved to Hollywood in the mid-1940s and landed at RKO film studios, where he won an Oscar for co-producing the documentary "Our Job in Japan."

His 1952 film "The Happy Time" earned him a best director Golden Globe nomination and he received two Director's Guild nods for "Compulsion" and "The Vikings." "Dr. Dolittle" garnered nine Academy Award nods, including best picture. Fleischer received a "Disney Legends" award in 2003.

Fleischer was also head of Fleischer Studios, which handles licensing and merchandising for his father's creations such as Betty Boop and Ko-Ko the Clown.

His survivors include his wife of 62 years, Mickey, three children and five grandchildren.