Joseph Barbera, who with William Hanna founded powerhouse animation
factory Hanna-Barbera, creator of TV gems such as "The Flintstones" and
"The Jetsons," died of natural causes at his home Monday. He was 95.Early
in their careers, Barbera and Hanna (who died in 2001) won seven Oscars
for the "Tom and Jerry" cartoon series at MGM; later they earned eight
Emmys as the duo set about defining TV animation.
Hanna-Barbera Productions became by the late-1960s the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing hit programs such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! by the end of the decade.After the sale of Hanna-Barbera Productions by owner Taft Broadcasting to Ted Turner in 1991, the Hanna-Barbera library of creative work was used as the foundation for the creation of Cartoon Network in 1992. Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors and periodically worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, including the What-a-Cartoon! series.
After Hanna's death, Barbera had remained active as an
executive producer for Warner Bros. Animation on television series such
as What's New, Scooby-Doo? and Tom and Jerry Tales. He also wrote, co-storyboarded, co-directed and co-produced the theatrical Tom and Jerry short The Karateguard
in 2005, thus returning to his and Hanna's first successful cartoon
format.
