Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera (born
March 24,
1911) is an
American animator,
cartoon artist,
storyboard artist,
director,
producer and co-founder, together with
William Hanna of
Hanna-Barbera (now known as
Cartoon Network Studios). The studio produced well-known cartoons such as
Tom and Jerry,
The Huckleberry Hound Show,
The Flintstones,
The Jetsons, and
Scooby-Doo.
Joseph Barbera (originally spelled "Barberá") was born in
New York City. He started his career as a tailor's delivery boy. During the
Great Depression he tried unsuccessfully to become a magazine cartoonist. 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.
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. The studio thrived until
1991, when Hanna and Barbera sold it to
Turner Entertainment. 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.
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List of entertainer pairs* Autobiography :
My Life In Toons (1994), published by
Turner Publishing*
Hanna Barbera Cartoons by Michael Mallory
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Joseph Barbera profile from Tom and Jerry Online
