Animation Legend Passes Away

BURBANK, December 19: Animation legend Joseph Barbera, the co-chairman and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Studios,
passed away yesterday at his Studio City, California, home. He was 95 years
old.

Born in New York City on March 24,
1911, Barbera worked as a banker until the 1930s, when Collier’s magazine published some of his hand-drawn illustrations.
After studying art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Barbera went on to the
Van Beuren animation studios in New York. In 1937, when was hired by MGM as an
animator and writer, he met William Hanna, whom MGM had also just hired as a
director and story editor. The pair’s first collaboration at MGM was entitled Puss
Gets the Boot, which led to the creation
of Tom and Jerry. MGM, however, eventually
eliminated its animation division and the pair, in 1957, set up Hanna-Barbera
Studios. The independent outfit went on to release The Huckleberry Hound
Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top
Cat and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? among numerous others. Hanna-Barbera also produced animated feature films
including the award-winning Charlotte’s Web, and Heidi’s Song,
a full-length animated musical based on Johanna Spyri’s novel Heidi. The independent was sold to Turner Broadcasting in 1991,
but the duo stayed on as advisors and periodically worked on new productions.
Hanna passed away in 2001. Barbera is survived by his wife Sheila, and his
three children by a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.

“Joe Barbera truly was an
animation and television legend,” said Barry Meyer, the chairman and CEO of
Warner Bros. “From the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday
mornings, syndication and cable, the characters he created with his late
partner, William Hanna, are not only animated superstars, but also a very
beloved part of American pop culture. While he will be missed by his family and
friends, Joe will live on through his work.”

“Joe Barbara was a passionate
storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna,
helped pioneer the world of animation,” said Sander Schwartz, the president of
Warner Bros. Animation. “Bill created a landmark television production model
and Joe filled it with funny, original show ideas and memorable characters that
will stand for all time as his ultimate legacy. Joe’s contributions to the both
the animation and television industries are without parallel—he has been
personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across
the globe. His influences upon generations of animation professionals have been
extraordinary.”