Norm Prescott, 78; Producer Co-Founded Filmation Studios

Norm Prescott, 78, co-founder of Filmation Studios who produced animated Saturday morning children’s television series including “Star Trek” and “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” died Saturday of natural causes in Encino.

Born in Boston, Prescott began his career in radio, working as a program director and disc jockey. In 1959, he became a record producer and vice president of music for Embassy Pictures Corp., handling music for such feature films as the 1959 “Hercules” starring Steve Reeves.

Prescott began producing his own films with the animated “Pinocchio in Outer Space” in 1965 and later produced “The Journey Back to Oz” in 1974. In 1965, he also joined Lou Scheimer to establish Filmation Studios, beginning a successful run producing more than 30 animated television series. Prescott earned an Emmy for “Star Trek” in 1975.

The producer often lent his own voice to his shows, performing as Theodore H. Bear in the 1979 “The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle,” the voice of Solomon on the 1974 “Shazam!” and various voices on the “Star Trek” series.