Animation Legend Joe Barbera Dies At 95 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 12-18-2006, 07:52 PM

LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.

Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.

With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven
Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters.

The partners, who had first teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1950s with a witty series of animated TV comedies, including "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," "Yogi Bear," "Scooby-Doo" and "Huckleberry Hound and Friends."

Their strengths melded perfectly, critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons." Barbera brought the comic gags and skilled drawing, while Hanna brought warmth and a keen sense of timing.

"This writing-directing team may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year — without a break or change in routine," Maltin wrote.

"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," Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said Monday.

Hanna, who died in 2001, once said he was never a good artist but his partner could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known."

The two first teamed cat and mouse in the short "Puss Gets the Boot." It earned an Academy Award nomination, and MGM let the pair keep experimenting until the full-fledged Tom and Jerry characters eventually were born.

Jerry was borrowed for the mostly live-action musical "Anchors Aweigh," dancing with Gene Kelly in a scene that become a screen classic.

After MGM folded its animation department in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera were forced to go into business for themselves. With television's sharply lower budgets, their new cartoons put more stress on verbal wit rather than the detailed — and expensive — action featured in theatrical cartoon

Like "The Simpsons" three decades later, "The Flintstones" found success in prime-time TV by not limiting its reach to children. The program, a parody of "The Honeymooners," was among the 20 most popular shows on television during the 1960-61 season, and Fred's shout of "yabba dabba doo!" entered the language.

The Jetsons, which debuted in 1962, were the futuristic mirror image of the Flintstones.

"It was a family comedy with everyday situations and problems that we window-dressed with gimmicks and inventions," Barbera once said. "Our stories were such a contrast to many of the animated series that are straight destruction and blasting away for a solid half-hour."

The show ran just one season on network TV but was often rerun, and the characters were revived in the 1980s in a syndicated show. Barbera said he liked the freedom syndication gave the producers, with none of the meddling from network executives.

"Today,
Charlie Chaplin couldn't get his material by a network," he once said.

Even so, the influence of Hanna-Barbera was felt for decades. In 2002 and again in 2004, characters from the cartoon series "Scooby-Doo" were brought to the big screen in films that combined live actors and animation.

Hanna-Barbera, meanwhile, received eight Emmys, including the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1988.

"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 friend, colleague and Warner animation President Sander Schwartz. "Joe's contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel — he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe."

Neither Hanna, born in 1910, nor Barbera, born in 1911, set out to be cartoonists. Barbera, who grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, originally went into banking. Soon, however, he turned his doodles into magazine cartoons and then into a job as an animator.

Hanna, who had studied engineering and journalism, originally went into animation because he needed a job.

Although not the hit factory it was in the '50s and '60s, the Hanna-Barbera studio remained active through the years. It eventually became a subsidiary of Great American Communications Co., and in 1991 it was purchased by a partnership including Turner Broadcasting System, which used the studio's library when it launched cable TV's Cartoon Network in 1992. Turner is now part of Time Warner.

Funeral arrangements were pending, Miereanu said. In addition to his wife, the animator is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.

Brian Damage · 12-18-2006, 08:16 PM

To an animation legend!

TJL · 12-18-2006, 08:25 PM

Wow! What a shame.

Skywalker · 12-18-2006, 09:55 PM

R.I.P. Joe.

Mr. Monitor · 12-18-2006, 10:26 PM

R.I.P. to one of greatest animation pioneers ever.

TV DVD Fan · 12-18-2006, 11:00 PM

He had an incredibly long life and a lusterous career and his family should be VERY proud of him. He was truly a legend and one-of-a-kind.

RIP Mr. Barbera--- You will be missed though you will never die in our hearts and will always be treasured.

kirkfan · 12-18-2006, 11:47 PM

RIP Mr. Barbera

Thank you so much for bringing me great entertainment on Satuarday mornings and after school. I love the Flintstones, The Jetsons among other great cartoons. My children love your shows as well so glad I can pass these great shows on down to them.

Sal · 12-19-2006, 12:33 AM

Hanna-Barbera were my favorite cartoon team ever! The critics often scoffed at their work, particularly their 'limited animation' system, but they had the last word, winning many awards which they received for creating some of the most memorable cartoon characters of all time over a span of an incredible 5 decades in television. My favorites were Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo, "The Flintstones", "The Jetsons", "The Banana Splits", "Josie and the Pussycats", and Tom & Jerry. When you ask anyone over a certain age what they remember fondly about their childhood, they might talk about getting up early on Saturdays, loading up on Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies, and spending the entire morning in front of the TV watching the above cartoons as well as a few of their lesser-known creations which allowed Hanna-Barbera to dominate the kids' market between the late '60s to the late '70s, and even into the '80s with "The Smurfs". What would Saturday mornings back then have been like without Hanna-Barbera cartoons on TV? Well, pretty much what it's like today, and that's an awful shame, since nobody that's around today seems to want to take the lead and continue their great tradition. Our kids and grandkids will never know how special Saturdays can be, but they can still watch the older stuff if they wish on the Web or on DVD. After all, it seems that "Scooby-Doo" is more popular today than ever, and would "The Simpsons" have existed at all without the "Flintstones" influence? I think not!

Put it simply, Hanna-Barbera were the best and I will miss them.

God bless you Joe for always...

"Exit...stage left...stage right, even" (Snagglepuss)

PrettyinPink55 · 12-19-2006, 01:11 AM

I was very saddened to hear this news.

The Flintstones is one of my ALL-TIME favorite cartoons, heck one of my ALL-TIME favorite shows ever!!! I think Hanna-Barbera were both geniouses and one of, if not the greatest, and I salute them for giving us such wonderful cartoons, and for introducing us to such wonderful characters. You will be missed Mr. Barbera, but not forgotten. R.I.P.

comedyfreak · 12-20-2006, 06:19 AM

I liked all their early work. They forgot to give props to:

Squiddly Diddley
Atom Ant
Secret Squirrel (sp)
Winsome Witch
The Hillbilly Bears
Chopper and Yakky
Pixie, Dixie, and Jinx
Augie Doggie
Hokie Wolf
Lippy The Lion
Snagglepuss
Precious Pupp
The Wacky Races
Dastardly and Muttley
Perils Of Penelope Pitstop

AaronHandy3 · 12-20-2006, 07:42 AM

Yep...I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

I shall never, ever forget these magnificent, talented artists.

And neither will hundreds of millions of fans.

To absent friends...

Dynomite · 12-21-2006, 12:41 AM

The legacy of Joe Barbera(and Bill Hanna) will live forever! I can only imagine how many animation specialists will pay their final respects to Joe Barbera. Joe Ruby & Ken Spears(Ruby-Spears), Lou Scheimer(Filmation), David DePatie(DePatie-Freleng), Buzz Potamkin & David Kirchner(Hanna-Barbera), Andrew Heyward(DIC), Steve Holland(Nelvana), Catherine Rankin(Warner Bros.), Matt Groenig(20th Century Fox) and the list will go on as far as likely animation specialists who will come out to pay their final respects to Barbera. He will be missed!
Footnote: Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera created Tom & Jerry for MGM, and the only time when neither Hanna and Barbera were involved with Tom and Jerry was 1980-Lou Scheimer's Filmation Studios produced the Tom & Jerry Comedy Show with MGM, but Hanna and Barbera will always be associated with Tom & Jerry.

AaronHandy3 · 12-23-2006, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dynomite

Footnote: Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera created Tom & Jerry for MGM, and the only time when neither Hanna and Barbera were involved with Tom and Jerry was 1980-Lou Scheimer's Filmation Studios produced the Tom & Jerry Comedy Show with MGM, but Hanna and Barbera will always be associated with Tom & Jerry.

There's also the Gene Deitch (Rembrandt Films) and Chuck Jones (Sib-Tower 12) Tom & Jerry theatricals of the 1960s...

Scoobiedoo30 · 12-24-2006, 02:31 AM

Rest in Peace Joe

12-18-2006, 07:52 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,338	Animation Legend Joe Barbera Dies At 95 LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95. Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said. With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters. The partners, who had first teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1950s with a witty series of animated TV comedies, including "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," "Yogi Bear," "Scooby-Doo" and "Huckleberry Hound and Friends." Their strengths melded perfectly, critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons." Barbera brought the comic gags and skilled drawing, while Hanna brought warmth and a keen sense of timing. "This writing-directing team may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year — without a break or change in routine," Maltin wrote. "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," Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said Monday. Hanna, who died in 2001, once said he was never a good artist but his partner could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known." The two first teamed cat and mouse in the short "Puss Gets the Boot." It earned an Academy Award nomination, and MGM let the pair keep experimenting until the full-fledged Tom and Jerry characters eventually were born. Jerry was borrowed for the mostly live-action musical "Anchors Aweigh," dancing with Gene Kelly in a scene that become a screen classic. After MGM folded its animation department in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera were forced to go into business for themselves. With television's sharply lower budgets, their new cartoons put more stress on verbal wit rather than the detailed — and expensive — action featured in theatrical cartoon Like "The Simpsons" three decades later, "The Flintstones" found success in prime-time TV by not limiting its reach to children. The program, a parody of "The Honeymooners," was among the 20 most popular shows on television during the 1960-61 season, and Fred's shout of "yabba dabba doo!" entered the language. The Jetsons, which debuted in 1962, were the futuristic mirror image of the Flintstones. "It was a family comedy with everyday situations and problems that we window-dressed with gimmicks and inventions," Barbera once said. "Our stories were such a contrast to many of the animated series that are straight destruction and blasting away for a solid half-hour." The show ran just one season on network TV but was often rerun, and the characters were revived in the 1980s in a syndicated show. Barbera said he liked the freedom syndication gave the producers, with none of the meddling from network executives. "Today, Charlie Chaplin couldn't get his material by a network," he once said. Even so, the influence of Hanna-Barbera was felt for decades. In 2002 and again in 2004, characters from the cartoon series "Scooby-Doo" were brought to the big screen in films that combined live actors and animation. Hanna-Barbera, meanwhile, received eight Emmys, including the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1988. "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 friend, colleague and Warner animation President Sander Schwartz. "Joe's contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel — he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe." Neither Hanna, born in 1910, nor Barbera, born in 1911, set out to be cartoonists. Barbera, who grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, originally went into banking. Soon, however, he turned his doodles into magazine cartoons and then into a job as an animator. Hanna, who had studied engineering and journalism, originally went into animation because he needed a job. Although not the hit factory it was in the '50s and '60s, the Hanna-Barbera studio remained active through the years. It eventually became a subsidiary of Great American Communications Co., and in 1991 it was purchased by a partnership including Turner Broadcasting System, which used the studio's library when it launched cable TV's Cartoon Network in 1992. Turner is now part of Time Warner. Funeral arrangements were pending, Miereanu said. In addition to his wife, the animator is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.
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12-18-2006, 08:16 PM	#2
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	To an animation legend!
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12-18-2006, 08:25 PM	#3
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,591	Wow! What a shame.
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12-18-2006, 11:00 PM	#6
TV DVD Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 07, 2005 Posts: 2,602	He had an incredibly long life and a lusterous career and his family should be VERY proud of him. He was truly a legend and one-of-a-kind. RIP Mr. Barbera--- You will be missed though you will never die in our hearts and will always be treasured.
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12-19-2006, 12:33 AM	#8
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,149	Hanna-Barbera were my favorite cartoon team ever! The critics often scoffed at their work, particularly their 'limited animation' system, but they had the last word, winning many awards which they received for creating some of the most memorable cartoon characters of all time over a span of an incredible 5 decades in television. My favorites were Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo, "The Flintstones", "The Jetsons", "The Banana Splits", "Josie and the Pussycats", and Tom & Jerry. When you ask anyone over a certain age what they remember fondly about their childhood, they might talk about getting up early on Saturdays, loading up on Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies, and spending the entire morning in front of the TV watching the above cartoons as well as a few of their lesser-known creations which allowed Hanna-Barbera to dominate the kids' market between the late '60s to the late '70s, and even into the '80s with "The Smurfs". What would Saturday mornings back then have been like without Hanna-Barbera cartoons on TV? Well, pretty much what it's like today, and that's an awful shame, since nobody that's around today seems to want to take the lead and continue their great tradition. Our kids and grandkids will never know how special Saturdays can be, but they can still watch the older stuff if they wish on the Web or on DVD. After all, it seems that "Scooby-Doo" is more popular today than ever, and would "The Simpsons" have existed at all without the "Flintstones" influence? I think not! Put it simply, Hanna-Barbera were the best and I will miss them. God bless you Joe for always... "Exit...stage left...stage right, even" (Snagglepuss)
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12-18-2006, 09:55 PM	#4
Skywalker Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2003 Posts: 14,205	R.I.P. Joe.

12-18-2006, 10:26 PM	#5
Mr. Monitor Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 27, 2004 Posts: 402	R.I.P. to one of greatest animation pioneers ever.

12-18-2006, 11:47 PM	#7
kirkfan Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 16, 2002 Posts: 50	RIP Mr. Barbera Thank you so much for bringing me great entertainment on Satuarday mornings and after school. I love the Flintstones, The Jetsons among other great cartoons. My children love your shows as well so glad I can pass these great shows on down to them.

12-19-2006, 01:11 AM	#9
PrettyinPink55 Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 11, 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 24,601	I was very saddened to hear this news. The Flintstones is one of my ALL-TIME favorite cartoons, heck one of my ALL-TIME favorite shows ever!!! I think Hanna-Barbera were both geniouses and one of, if not the greatest, and I salute them for giving us such wonderful cartoons, and for introducing us to such wonderful characters. You will be missed Mr. Barbera, but not forgotten. R.I.P.
	__________________ ♥♥♥

12-20-2006, 06:19 AM	#10
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,058	I liked all their early work. They forgot to give props to: Squiddly Diddley Atom Ant Secret Squirrel (sp) Winsome Witch The Hillbilly Bears Chopper and Yakky Pixie, Dixie, and Jinx Augie Doggie Hokie Wolf Lippy The Lion Snagglepuss Precious Pupp The Wacky Races Dastardly and Muttley Perils Of Penelope Pitstop
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12-20-2006, 07:42 AM	#11
AaronHandy3 Classic TV Buff Forum Regular Join Date: Nov 21, 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 859	In Memoriam: JOSEPH ROLAND BARBERA (1911-2006) Yep...I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I shall never, ever forget these magnificent, talented artists. And neither will hundreds of millions of fans. To absent friends... Attached Images
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12-21-2006, 12:41 AM	#12
Dynomite Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 10, 2006 Location: near Dayton, Ohio Posts: 579	The legacy of Joe Barbera(and Bill Hanna) will live forever! I can only imagine how many animation specialists will pay their final respects to Joe Barbera. Joe Ruby & Ken Spears(Ruby-Spears), Lou Scheimer(Filmation), David DePatie(DePatie-Freleng), Buzz Potamkin & David Kirchner(Hanna-Barbera), Andrew Heyward(DIC), Steve Holland(Nelvana), Catherine Rankin(Warner Bros.), Matt Groenig(20th Century Fox) and the list will go on as far as likely animation specialists who will come out to pay their final respects to Barbera. He will be missed! Footnote: Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera created Tom & Jerry for MGM, and the only time when neither Hanna and Barbera were involved with Tom and Jerry was 1980-Lou Scheimer's Filmation Studios produced the Tom & Jerry Comedy Show with MGM, but Hanna and Barbera will always be associated with Tom & Jerry.

12-24-2006, 02:31 AM	#14
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	Rest in Peace Joe
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