Award-winning animator dies

LOS ANGELES – Joseph Barbera, who created, with William “Bill” Hanna, such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo, Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw and Jonny Quest, died of natural causes Monday at his Los Angeles home. He was 95.

During the 1940s, Barbera and Hanna were MGM’s blue-ribbon cartoon directors, winning seven Oscars for the Tom and Jerry shorts. After MGM closed its animation unit in 1957, they moved to television, where they created a series of prime-time hits in the 1960s, beginning with “The Flintstones,” the first animated series in prime time.

By the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera was the dominant studio in Saturday morning cartoons, making shows for all three major networks.

“Joe Barbera was a passionate storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna, helped pioneer the world of animation,” Sander Schwartz, president of Warner Bros. Animation, said in a statement. “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.”

During their six-decade partnership, Barbera and Hanna produced more than 300 series for network and syndicated television. They also adapted comic books and live-action series and made theatrical features, direct-to-video releases and television specials.

They sold their production company in 1967 but remained involved in its management. Hanna died in 2001 at age 90.

After joining MGM in 1937, Barbera met Hanna, a story man, and the two became friends. When MGM failed to establish a successful cartoon series, the two men decided to create a film of their own.

Their idea – which their co-workers dismissed as a cliche – was a cat-and-mouse cartoon featuring Jasper, a hot-tempered cat, and an unnamed chubby-cheeked mouse. The 1940 short, “Puss Gets the Boot,” earned Hanna and Barbera their first Oscar nomination in the cartoon short category.

In their next short, “The Midnight Snack” in 1941, the cat was renamed “Tom” and the mouse was christened “Jerry.”

Hanna-Barbera’s most popular TV show of the ‘60s was “The Flintstones,” which ran from 1960 through 1966, the longest-running animated prime-time series until “The Simpsons.”

The partners followed the Flintstones success with three more prime-time shows: “Top Cat” (1961), “The Jetsons” (1962) and “The Adventures of Jonny Quest” (1964).

Among other awards, Barbera and Hanna received seven Emmys, a Humanitas Prize and a Golden Globe. They were inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1994.