Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera Studios Dies at 95

[SuperJerk]

Joseph Barbera, Co-Founder of Hanna-Barbera Studios, Dies at 95

 

By Steven Bodzin

 

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Joseph Barbera, co-founder of Hanna- Barbera Studios and creator of Oscar-winning characters Tom and Jerry as well as Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstone family, died today at home. He was 95.

 

Warner Bros. Animation announced Barbera's death in a statement today. Barbera abandoned a career in banking to become a cartoonist when he was in his 20s, the studio said. As an animator at MGM, he collaborated with William Hanna to create Tom and Jerry, characters that went on to win seven Academy Awards, according to the statement.

 

Hanna and Barbera started their studio in 1957 after MGM scrapped its animation department. They created the ``Huckleberry Hound Show'' in 1958 and later introduced Yogi Bear as a character on the show ``Quick Draw McGraw,'' Warner Bros. said.

 

``The Flintstones,'' which went on the air in 1960, was the first animated series to air in prime time. The show continues to air in more than 80 countries, Warner Bros. said. Barbera and Hanna, who died in 2001, also created the animated sitcom ``The Jetsons.''

 

Barbera is survived by his wife Sheila and three children, Jayne, Neal and Lynn, Warner Bros. said.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...68&refer=us

[MrRant]

RIP. One of the greatest people in animation and television to have lived.

[ChrisMWaters]

And Hannah-Barbera finally re-unite. RIP man.

[Vern Gagne]

Heaven needed a new animator.

[Vampiro69]

RIP Joesph Barbera. You made me realize the joys of animation. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

[Vern Gagne]

[Masked Man of Mystery]

Hannah and Barbera have done both some of the best and the worst things to the animation industry, but their best stuff was truely great, RIP

[RepoMan]

I watched a ton of Hanah-Barbera stuff on Cartoon Express on USA when I was really young. RIP- Thanks for making my childhod happier.

[Guest NYankees]

Hannah and Barbera have done both some of the best and the worst things to the animation industry, but their best stuff was truely great, RIP

 

 

What did they do that was so awful? How can you hate on someone who created the Jetsons and the Flinstones?

[MrRant]

Not to mention Scooby Doo etc. The two touched generations of people including my parents, myself and my daughter with laughter and humor.

[pochorenella]

Those two guys were some of the people responsible for me having such a happy childhood and making me the cartoon-loving and comic-book fan I still am to this very day. RIP, Mr. Barbera.

[Darthtiki]

It was time for Joe to join the Heaven Chapter of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes RIP.

[Guest NYankees]

I am still waiting for Masked Man to point out what was so horrible that Hannah and Barbera did.

[Masked Man of Mystery]

Sorry, been busy with finals and such. After their run on Tom and Jerry, undeniably great work, and here my memory is a little hazy, I read it in a book by Leonard Maltin about animation, they went and promised huge amounts of content to a network or company. Thus we got the limited animation style which survives in some form to this day. We were fine with it as kids because we were kids and it didn't matter, but it hurts the quality of the animation of shows. Because they had insane deadlines, they made very talky shows. That is what hurts their legacy. I'll try to look up more specifc info another time, but it's late and I'm tired