Joseph Barbera, the Italian- American animator who made up half of the Hanna-Barbera team, responsible for cartoon classics such as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and The Flintstones, died last night aged 95.
Warner Bros said that Barbera died from natural causes at home in Los Angeles. The animator outlived his former partner, William Hanna, by six years. Before his death in 2001, Hanna insisted that he had never been a good artist, but that his partner could “capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I’ve ever known”.
Hanna and Barbera first worked together in the 1930s at MGM and found success with Tom and Jerry, a series about the antics of a clever mouse and his house-cat tormentor. Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards, more than any other series featuring the same characters, and Hanna-Barbera won eight Emmy Awards for their TV work.
The duo continued their success in the 1950s with cartoons that appealed to adults as well as children, such as Top Cat, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo. Barbera typically provided the wit and the drawing, while Hanna gave the characters warmth and comic timing.
After MGM closed its animation department in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera set up their own shop. Their next big hit was The Flintstones, Fred Flintstone’s signature cry of “Yabba-Dabba-Doo!” is now part of the English language.
12-19-2006, 12:58 PM
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