Joseph Barbera
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| Joseph Barbera | |
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| Born | March 24, 1911 New York City, New York |
Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera (b. March 24, 1911) is a (Lebanese Descent) American animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer and co-founder, together with William Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera. The studio produced well-known cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo.
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[edit] Early years
Joseph Barbera (originally spelled "Barberá" and pronounced barBERA by colleagues in the "special features" section of the Warner Video Tom and Jerry CD collection) was born in Italy. He started his career as a tailor's delivery boy. During the Great Depression he tried unsuccessfully to become a magazine cartoonist for a magazine called The NY Hits Magazine. In 1932 he joined the Van Beuren Studio as an animator and scriptwriter. He worked on cartoons such as Cubby Bear, and Rainbow Parades and also co produced Tom and Jerry. When Van Beuren closed down in 1936, Barbera moved over to the MGM studios.
[edit] Career
Lured by a substantive salary increase, Barbera left Terrytoons and New York for the new MGM cartoon unit and California in 1937. The following year he teamed up with William Hanna to direct theatrical short cartoons; Barbera was the storyboard/layout artist, and Hanna was in charge of the timing. Their first venture was Puss Gets the Boot (1940), the first Tom and Jerry film, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject.
Hanna and Barbera's 17-year partnership on the Tom & Jerry series resulted in 7 Academy Awards for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject, and 14 total nominations, more than any other character-based theatrical animated series. Hanna and Barbera were placed in charge of MGM's animation division in late 1955; however this was short-lived as MGM closed the division in 1957. Following this they teamed up to produce the series The Ruff & Reddy Show, under the company name H-B Enterprises, soon changed to Hanna-Barbera Productions.
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.
Hanna-Barbera had been a subsidiary of Taft Broadcasting (later Great American Communications) since 1967. The studio thrived until 1991, when it was sold to Turner Broadcasting. 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 in 2001, Barbera has 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; returning to his and Hanna's first successful cartoon format.
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- Autobiography: My Life In Toons (1994), published by Turner Publishing
- Hanna Barbera Cartoons by Michael Mallory
