R.I.P. Joe Barbera (The King of Cartoons)

[mrtonguetwista]

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.

[Tha G In Deee]

R.I.P....

[Mo Z. Dizzle]

damn, everybody is dying; R.I.P.

[Sikotic™]

He came up with so many great cartoons.

Thanks for making my childhood a little more entertaining. RIP.

[gav09]

R.I.P.

[E. J. Rizo]

He came up with so many great cartoons.

Thanks for making my childhood a little more entertaining. RIP.

no kiddint huh... just imagine how much of an impact this guy had with so many children growing up...

seriously... imagine instead of watching Tom and Jerry i was out doing something else...

just crazy how people make a difference in the world and u dont even realize it...

and animation back then was so much better than it is now a days.... i hate all this new shit... they for sure need better writters and better animation....

RIP

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

animation back then was so much better than it is now a days.... i hate all this new shit... they for sure need better writters and better animation....

Bump.

[GangstaBoogy]

Damn sad to see him go. He made 2 of my all-time favorite cartoons.

[Don Seer]

RIP..


hell not just our childhoods.. although some of ya'll are few generations below me.. i know my granddad on my mums side was a huge tom n jerry fan.. and he died over 25 years ago when i was about 3 years old..

[Bedford Iz Active]

R.I.P

I remember watching those cartoons 24/7, classics and always will be.

[WestCoasta]

animation back then was so much better than it is now a days.... i hate all this new shit... they for sure need better writters and better animation....

[Tha G In Deee]

animation back then was so much better than it is now a days.... i hate all this new shit... they for sure need better writters and better animation....