An animator and illustrator, Waldman was the last surviving animator from the Fleischer Studios, the premier animation house, where he was hired in 1930. There he drew many of the studios characters, including Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman, Raggedy Ann, and others. He was especially instrumental in developing Betty Boop: when he came on board, Boop was a dog; he switched her over to a “real” person, leading to an animated star.
He also produced a number of Color Classics cartoons, introduced by Fleischer Studios in 1934 to counter Disney’s Silly Symphonies. After a financial setback, the studio got less ambitious, but Waldman stayed on and helped several classic cartoon series emerge: Baby Huey, Herman, Little Lulu, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. He left the company in 1957 and moved to television, then to the lecture circuit. Waldman died in New York February 4 from congestive heart failure. He was 97.