Joseph Barbera

Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera in 1993
Born
Joseph Roland Barbera

(1911-03-24)March 24, 1911
DiedDecember 18, 2006(2006-12-18) (aged 95)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Other namesJoe Barbera
Occupations
  • Animator
  • cartoonist
Years active1930–2006
Spouses
Dorothy Earl
(m. 1935; div. 1963)
Sheila Holden
(m. 1963)
Children4

Joseph Roland Barbera (/bɑːrˈbɛərə/ bar-BAIR[1][2] Italian: [barˈbɛːra]; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera.

Born to Italian immigrants in New York City, Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1927 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936.[3] In 1937, he moved to California, and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Barbera met William Hanna. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry.

In 1957, after MGM dissolved its animation department, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing programs such as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, Top Cat, The Smurfs, Huckleberry Hound, and The Jetsons. In 1967, Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company. In 1991, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System,[4] which merged with Time Warner, owners of Warner Bros., in 1996; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors.

Hanna and Barbera directed seven Academy Award films and won eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoon shows have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media, such as films, books, and toys. Hanna-Barbera's shows had a worldwide audience of over 300 million people in the 1960s and have been translated into more than 28 languages.

  1. ^ Olausson, Lena; Sangster, Catherine (2006). Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation. Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 0-19-280710-2.
  2. ^ "ABC Book". National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/201/edited_volume/chapter/3895358 [bare URL]
  4. ^ "Joseph Barbera". The Times. London. December 20, 2006. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2008.

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