The character originated when Max Fleischer invented the
rotoscope, a device that allowed for animation to be more lifelike by tracing motion picture footage of human movement. The use of the clown character came after two previous tests and a search for an original character. Fleischer filmed his brother
Dave in a clown costume. After tracing the film footage amounting to some 2,500 drawings and a year's work, the character that would eventually become Koko the Clown was born, although he did not have a name until 1924. "The Clown"'s appearance owes much to
The Yama Yama Man. Dave's clown costume was clearly inspired by one worn by
Bessie McCoy, with the additions of a black ruffled collar replacing the big white bow, three pom-pom front buttons, and a prominent cone-shaped cap also with three pom-poms. The white face with slit eyes was a design common among German circus clowns. Both costumes have white gloves with long fingers, white foot coverings, and a hat with the same white pom-pom as in front. Their films were distributed through the States Rights method through
Warner Bros., Winkler Pictures, Standard, and finally The Red Seal Pictures Corporation. The "Clown" was named Ko-Ko in 1924 when
Dick Huemer came to the studio as their animation supervisor, having animated on the
Mutt and Jeff series for eight years. He redesigned the "Clown" for more efficient animation production and moved the Fleischers away from their dependency upon the Rotoscope for fluid animation. Huemer created Ko-Ko's canine companion, Fitz. Most importantly, Huemer set the drawing style that gave the series its distinctive look. The illustration at the heading is an example by Huemer. In the films produced from 1924 to 1927, the clown's name was hyphenated, "Ko-Ko". The hyphen was dropped due to legal issues associated with the bankruptcy of the Fleischer's partnership company, The Red Seal Pictures Corporation. Alfred Weiss presented the Fleischers with a new Paramount contract beginning in mid-1927, and "Out of the Inkwell" was retitled as "The Inkwell Imps". The series continued for two years until July 1929, ending with "Chemical Koko". Due to alleged mismanagement under Alfred Weiss, the Inkwell Studios filed bankruptcy in January 1929, and Koko was put into retirement for two years. In 1931, the legal entanglements regarding Koko were resolved, and he returned to the screen beginning with "The Herring Murder Case" (1931) and became a regular in the new Fleischer
Talkartoons series with costars,
Betty Boop and
Bimbo. Koko's last theatrical appearance was in the "Betty Boop" cartoon "
Ha! Ha! Ha!" (1934), a remake of an "Out of the Inkwell" silent film, "The Cure" (1924). ==Koko in "Kolor"==