ANIMATED SHORTS: REMEBERING JOE BARBERA

[MattBrady]

by Steve Fritz

Joseph R. Barbera, one of the last of the Golden Age giants of animation, passed away this Monday. Initial reports say of natural causes. He was 95 years old and is survived by his wife, Sheryl, and three children; Jayne, Neal and Lynn.

On the other hand, the legacy he left behind will endure for centuries, if not millennia, to come.

In his lifetime he and partner Bill Hanna created approximately 2,000 hours of animation covering approximately 350 TV series, specials, films and theatrical shorts. Their creations have been seen in over 175 different countries over the last 75 years.

Born March 24, 1911, of Sicilian parents in the Little Italy section of New York City, Barbera’s first job was as a banker. Luckily for us all, he quickly abandoned that field when he sold some comic strips to Collier’s Magazine in 1930. From that point on he quickly went from comics to animation, quickly landing a job as an inbetweener for the legendary Van Beuren studio. His quick wit and gift for gag drawing soon made him a top story man. From there he made the move to Terrytoons and, in 1937, to MGM where he worked under one of the original Disney men, Hugh Harmon.

It was at MGM that he would meet up with the man who would be his animation partner for life, William Hanna (1910-2001). Originally a journalist, Hanna came under animation’s sway when he met Harmon and his partner Rudy Ising while the two were at Looney Tunes with Leon Schlessinger and Warner Bros. He initially worked as an errand boy, but his ability to tell stories also soon set him apart from the pack. Hanna established himself as a master of timing and an excellent director. When Harmon-Ising made the move to MGM, he joined them.

“I was never a good artist,” Hanna would later tell Leonard Maltin in the latter’s seminal work Of Mice and Magic. “He [Barbera] has the ability to capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I’ve ever known.”

What was important is the two recognized the talents they lacked in the other, and the most long-term partnership in animation was born.

It also didn’t take long for this pair to make an impression in these pre-TV days. Ostensibly directed by Harmon, in 1939 Hanna-Barbera did a new short for MGM called Puss Gets The Boot starring a spunky, tenacious mouse and a just plain unlucky cat…especially when it came to catching the mouse. They initially named this pair Jasper and Jinx, and the duo quickly earned an Oscar nomination for the budding team. Pretty soon, the cat and mouse would be renamed Tom & Jerry (oddly enough, the name of another duo at Van Beuren), and animation history was made.

Considered some of the most violent shorts of the time, one still had to admit the T&J franchise had something many other toons of the day didn’t. First and foremost was the fact the lead characters never talked…and they never really needed to. Barbera’s ability to draw personality into each and every frame made the characters express volumes in just a sideways glance. Coupled with Hanna’s immaculate sense of timing, it was a lethal one-two punch that killed audiences at theaters across the world.

But Tom & Jerry didn’t survive on creating anarchy wherever they went. Hanna had a way of injecting sweetness into those early shorts that fans fell in love with. It grew to the point that even though Jerry The Mouse was always the more popular of the two, Tom himself garnered a very strong following who felt there should have been one or two where the hard luck feline would have been triumphant. Of course, that would never happen under H-B’s rule. It would have wrecked the formula. And as time would later prove, the last thing Hanna or Barbera would do is mess with a formula that worked. Instead they would do until they ground it to death.

While the pair enjoyed a considerable amount of esteem and power at MGM--earning Oscars in 1943, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1951 and 1952—the two were quite aware the movie industry was slowly losing its thunder to a new medium called television. In the mid-40s they formed an independent studio called H-B Enterprises to allow them to do independent projects, apparently with MGM funding. Then in the mid-50s they left MGM to go full time with H-B. They would bring a number of monstrously talented animation vets with them, among them Ed Benedict, and voice artists Don Messick and Daws Butler. They also changed their enterprise name to Hanna-Barbera.

At first they did commercials for beer companies and the like, but TV had a voracious appetite for new kids programming after Jay Ward broke the barrier with Crusader Rabbit in 1949. Soon H-B came up with a new toon team (thanks in a large part to Benedict); a dog and cat they called Ruff & Reddy. The shorts were quickly syndicated to the new medium and rapidly became hits on kids shows across the land.

While it must be said that UPA invented the animation style experts now called “limited,” it must also be known H-B mastered it. Barbera’s ability to sketch, Benedict’s ability to turn those sketches into incredibly unique characters, Hanna’s timing as well as Butler and Messick’s incredible voice work led to incredibly new toons. While Ruff & Reddy certainly put the studio on the map, it wasn’t long before new creations such as Huckleberry Hound and then Yogi Bear made H-B the #1 studio on television, if not the world.

This position would be written in stone with the 60s. At that time, cartoons were seen as late as 7:30 at night with the likes of H-B’s own Huckleberry Hound Show and Yogi Bear Show, but also with things like Jay Ward’s The Bullwinkle Show and Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny Show.

That’s when Hanna-Barbera decided it was time to do something a little different. They decided to do a variation on Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooners, but set it in the Stone Age. The humor, while still having strong appeal to kids, would be more sophisticated and mature. Hanna and Barbera then managed to sell the project to ABC, where it would be called The Flintstones. The series would become the longest-running prime time animated show for nearly three decades, when an upstart underground artist named Matt Groening would rewrite the rules and record books with his own creation, The Simpsons.

The team would try to put other shows on prime time for decades to come, with such series as The Jetsons up to collaborating with Martin Short on The Misadventures of Ed Grimley, but would never quite do it again. Still, in 1964 one of these prime time failures would rewrite the world of animation.

The series was called Jonny Quest. Actually a creation by Doug Wildey, the series originally was supposed to be based on the pulp character Jack Armstrong. Due to licensing issues it would be turned into one of the first American TV productions to put hard science and adventure into the toon mix. It also had some of the most realistic character design and lavish background work in animation period, including Disney. Unfortunately, ABC would pull the plug on the show after one season of 39 episodes.

But it’s hard to keep the Quest Team down. The series would move to Saturday mornings and turn into a monster hit in reruns. Before you know it, Hanna-Barbera would move full force into the world of superheroes with such series as Space Ghost and The Herculoids (1966). They would even sign a deal with Marvel Comics to do the original Fantastic 4 in 1967.

That didn’t mean the company wouldn’t have other issues than Nielsen ratings to contend with. Those who believed in the protection of children from violence, such as the political/parental watchdog committee Action for Children’s Television (ACT) took exception to the heroics. By 1972, series like these would be pulled from the TV screen, and would only return in severely edited (some might say castrated) form. According to more than a number of sources, Barbera seriously chafed under this new collar.

Still, the innovations kept coming. In 1968, H-B would hire another interesting duo, Sid & Marty Kroft, to kick off a new series called The Banana Splits. The series incorporated live people in big animal suits, rock’n roll, live action adventures and, naturally, cartoons in a one-hour block that was a touch of Laugh-In, a bit of the Beatles and a lot of fun. Heck, the series even gave a young Jan-Michael Vincent some of his earliest work in the show-within-the-show Danger Island. That same series would also employ a then-young director named Richard Donner. The Krofts would go on their own, creating such shows as HR Puffenstuff among many others.

But the decade of innovation wasn’t over for the team. In 1969, H-B struck again by coming up with a series that incorporated mystery and (mild) horror. Entitled Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, it would become one of the truly great series of all time.

As the 60s turned into the 70s, the landscape of the TV animation world began to change, and not to the good. The big three TV studios realized that kids would gladly watch the same episodes over and over again, and contracts for new series or episodes began to get smaller and smaller. Hanna-Barbera also had some serious competition from the likes of studios like Filmation, Rankin-Bass and Ruby-Spears. In an interview conducted earlier this year, Filmation founder Lou Scheimer (himself a former H-B employee) recalled Barbera actually approached him at one point about buying H-B. It didn’t happen.

What eventually did happen was H-B was acquired by a company called Great American, who also owned Ruby-Spears. The two companies, although relatively independent, apparently did combine resources in many ways. Another thing Great American forced H-B to do was a lot of licensed characters and dumbed down retcons of past works. The position of the studio was rapidly failing until 1991, when Ted Turner bought H-B and R-S from the failing Great American.

The word was Turner bought the studios for their extensive libraries to boost his planned launch of Cartoon Network, but he also brought in Fred Siebert to revamp Hanna-Barbera Studio. Siebert, as it turned out, would bring new life to the joint. Not only did he keep Barbera around, but he brought in young talent to kick the studio back to the forefront. Among the talent are now legendary animation names like Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McFadden, Seth McFarlane and Butch Hartman under the aegis of an animation vet named Buzz Potemkin.

It wasn’t long before this heady brew of new talent would become part of the animation renaissance. Soon Hanna-Barbera would be putting out shows like Two Stupid Dogs, SWAT Kats, Pirates of Dark Water and many more. As for Barbera? Siebert was smart enough to keep him around and work as a senior advisor on such productions as the first Tom & Jerry movie. Barbera would enjoy this kind of status for the rest of his life. Even when Turner was absorbed by Time Warner, Barbera was given his own office at Warner Animation. Although the H-B studio would be closed down in 1998, Barbera would be moved to WBA and worked on such things as this year’s latest versions of Tom & Jerry and Scooby Doo, which are currently airing on Kids WB.

The last true Hanna-Barbera production would be Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase in 2001. Hanna would die on March 21, 2001.

As one might expect, the tributes are starting to, deservedly, roll in.

“Joe Barbera truly was an animation and television legend,” said Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. “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.”

“Joe Barbara was a passionate storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna, helped pioneer the world of animation,” said Sander Schwartz, President, Warner Bros. Animation. “Bill created a landmark television production model and Joe filled it with funny, original show ideas and memorable characters that will stand for all time as his ultimate legacy. Joe’s contributions to the both the animation and television industries are without parallel–he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe. His influences upon generations of animation professionals have been extraordinary. While the Warner Bros. family and the animation community will mourn his departure, we will also celebrate his life and the many lives to which he brought great entertainment. I was inspired to work alongside Joe and I am proud to have had the blessing of his friendship.”

“We have lost a true pioneer in the world of Animation,” said Cartoon Network General Manager/ Executive Vice President, Jim Samples. “Cartoon Network and Boomerang were built on the innovative programming of Joseph Barbera and William Hanna. The success of their programs for over a half of century is not only a testament to their genius, but is also a continuing inspiration to all of us in the world of animation today.”

The kudos isn’t coming just from the animation industry, but from comics as well.

"Though most known for their impact on television, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's influence trickled onto the pages of comics to entertain a whole new audience,” says Dark Horse founder and animation fan Mike Richardson. “From Tom & Jerry to The Jetsons, these characters saw a new life on paper. It would be impossible to quantify their influence on all facets of the animated world, and this loss will be felt by all who were ever children."

When asked to compare Barbera to anyone similar in the comic world, both Mark Evanier and Paul Dini came up with the same answer. One that, when you think about it, makes an awful lot of sense.

“I don't know if there's a comparison to comics,” says Evanier, who has worked on everything from the animated Garfield series to Sergio Aragones’ Groo, “maybe to Stan Lee. Barbera was involved in revitalizing an industry. He was involved in the introduction of a stunning number of characters, many of which were his co-creations but some of which were the creations of others. His efforts led to the employment of countless writers and artists. So maybe Stan. And come to think of it, Barbera worked his entire life, never retired, never stopped trying to come up with that next big hit...and that describes Stan, as well.”

“If I would compare Mr. B. to any comic book legend, it would have to be Stan Lee,” adds Dini. “Both cultivated larger than life personalities, both were natural showmen and both were great when pitching a new project. I'd give Joe extra props for being a hell of a draftsman, too.”

Personally, I also see a little Jack Cole in the man. I had the pleasure of interviewing Barbera when the first Tom & Jerry movie was released in the early 90’s. As Dini pointed out, the man was a hell of an artist. He was also remarkably funny, cracking some pretty sharp jokes about our mutual Italian and New York heritages.

Like the creator of Plastic Man, Barbera had a remarkable ability to come up with all manner of unique and incredible gags, especially visual ones. Unlike Hanna, these jokes were of a more mature nature, although from my experience one wouldn’t call them adult-only. What really mattered was even though we were on opposite coasts, I could feel an incredible warmth coming from the phone line. It wasn’t hard to see why Evanier, who has been writing extensively about Barbera on his blog, could never be mad at the man, even when Barbera apparently did Evanier wrong.

According to my research, with the parting of Barbera, only two Golden Age animators are still among us, Bill Melendez (of Charlie Brown fame) and Disney Old Man Ollie Johnston. Fortunately for all, Hanna and Barbera received an incredible number of awards during their lifetime, culminating with Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 1994. For more insight into the man, dig up his autobiography My Life In Toons.

For more wonderful insights on Barbera, check out Evanier’s blog at: www.newsfromme.com. and Dini’s blog at http://kingofbreakfast.livejournal.com.

Next Column: Well…it was pretty much already written when the news about Joe Barbera came in. So we’ll post it tomorrow. See you then.

[vbartilucci]

Joe was at a pitch meeting at ABC once, and had a whole portfolio of new shows to sell. But ABC wanted none of them. The Muppet Babies had premiered the year before, and of course, the network only wanted to see knock-offs of what had succeeded before. Joe said well, there was one more show he had, but he wasn't going to mention it...the...uh...Flintstone Kids. The network brass leaned forward and wanted to hear more. Joe started making it up right there; a school bus on a dinosaur's back, walkman headphones with birds sitting on the earpieces, anything he could think of. The wanted to hear more, but he said he'd "have to go back and get the sketches" since he didn't bring them.

He found a phone and called the office. Every artist was drafted into this emergency project. By the time he got back, they had a stack of concept art. He grabbed it, drove back to ABC, and they bought it on the spot.

A genius, in every facet of the industry.

Somebody ask Nat Gertler to tell the story of how Pebbles was originally to be a boy, save for one phone call.

[EMeadow]

THAT'S HOW FLINSTONE KIDS GOT ON THE AIR????

I always thought it was better then it had every right to be myself.

RIP Mr. Barbera. Wish I could have met you like I did Mr. Hanna years ago.

[Mike Hayden]

It saddens me that Joe Barbera has died. BUT he will never leave us.

Jee Barbera thanks for giving me a childhood. May angels guide you to The Place Beyond.

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by EMeadow

THAT'S HOW FLINSTONE KIDS GOT ON THE AIR????

I always thought it was better then it had every right to be myself.

RIP Mr. Barbera. Wish I could have met you like I did Mr. Hanna years ago.

The same way I wish I could have Bill Hanna, bud.

All I can add is the number of stories revolving around Barbera are legendary. Mark Evanier's blog is packed with them and Paul Dini promises a number more. I'm sure Jerry Beck and Amad Amidi have their share to tell too.

And the craziest thing is they are all true.

It's people like Joe Barbera that got me to love the animation industry. Good thing there's a lot more like him out there. -s

[coolmvm]

I like the tribute to Barbera, but did you guys did one for William Hanna when he died ?

At least I finally know the truth of the Banana Split show.

[Mike Hayden]

Originally Posted by coolmvm

I like the tribute to Barbera, but did you guys did one for William Hanna when he died ?

Who are u and what do u know about me and what i post or what anyone posts. I may not have posted anything when William Hanna died. BUT that is only becuz I wasnt capable of doing so. And now some us of pay tribute and this is your reaction. That is kinda lame in my book. You don't walk into a funeral parlour and Say HEY DID U ALL KNOW THERE OTHER PEOPLE DEAD TOO??? Dude come on man.

[Simon DelMonte]

That was a good obit, Steve. Thanks.

I want to add that Tom & Jerry were, with the exception of the Fleischer Bros. Superman films, the best looking of the shorts I grew up with. (I can't speak for Disney's shorts since they were not in constant reruns.) The Looney Tunes shorts were smarter, the early Popeye shorts often wittier and much more surreal, and the MGM spoofs and Droopy cartoons were more unpredictable. But Tom and Jerry's little world, it had color and flavor and a mix of the real and the fantastic no other shorts had. What was lacked in originality - by their very nature these shorts get repetitive fast - was more than made up for in art.

And when Hanna and Barbera did something new, like Jerry's trip to Manhattan, it was amazing.

Rest well, Mr. Barbera.

[Spaz_Monkey]

Joe Barbera's death hit me harder than i would have expected. Thinking about it, i figured out why. As the child of working parents, i spent a lot of time home, alone. In a neighborhood with no other kids my age, I plopped myself in front of the tube. This was back in the day, when all the local stations would have afternoon blocks of cartoons. And it seemed that they all had H-B cartoons. As a result, I'd say that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera were almost as influencial in raising me as my parents were.

Losing Joe Barbera is losing a big part of my childhood. He will be missed.

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by coolmvm

I like the tribute to Barbera, but did you guys did one for William Hanna when he died ?

At least I finally know the truth of the Banana Split show.

I had done one at the time. But that was in 2001 and for a different group, not Newsarama (I only came here a year ago).

All I remember was I couldn't get a statement from Mr. Barbera. He was too broken up. -s

[WC Brooks]

While Hanna-Barbera's comedy cartoons are legendary (Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, Tom & Jerry), it was their adventure cartoons that made me a fan for life!

From The MIGHTY MIGHTOR & SAMSON and GOLIATH to BIRDMAN and the GALAXY TRIO & The HERCULOIDS Mr. Barbera helped to make my Saturday mornings very special. And I will always have a special place in my heart for The Banana Splits (The Three Musketeers, The Arabian Knights, and Danger Island..."Uh oh, CHONGO"!)

Hell, it was due to the major success of SPACE GHOST and DINO BOY -1966 (along with THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) that ABC, NBC, and CBS realized that super-heroes on Saturday mornings were a match made in heaven.

And don't get me started on JONNY QUEST , the GREATEST adventure cartoon of all time! And to this day Hanna-Barbera gave us the BEST animated version of The FANTASTIC FOUR (1967).

God Bless you Joe Barbera (and you too Bill Hanna). You gave us so much and I will always be thankful.

Rest well, you EARNED IT!

"It's time for SAMSON POWER"! *Klang*

[roblewmac]

Originally Posted by WC Brooks

While Hanna-Barbera's comedy cartoons are legendary (Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, Tom & Jerry), it was their adventure cartoons that made me a fan for life!

From The MIGHTY MIGHTOR & SAMSON and GOLIATH to BIRDMAN and the GALAXY TRIO & The HERCULOIDS Mr. Barbera helped to make my Saturday mornings very special. And I will always have a special place in my heart for The Banana Splits (The Three Musketeers, The Arabian Knights, and Danger Island..."Uh oh, CHONGO"!)

Hell, it was due to the major success of SPACE GHOST and DINO BOY -1966 (along with THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) that ABC, NBC, and CBS realized that super-heroes on Saturday mornings were a match made in heaven.

And don't get me started on JONNY QUEST , the GREATEST adventure cartoon of all time! And to this day Hanna-Barbera gave us the BEST animated version of The FANTASTIC FOUR (1967).

God Bless you Joe Barbera (and you too Bill Hanna). You gave us so much and I will always be thankful.

Rest well, you EARNED IT!

"It's time for SAMSON POWER"! *Klang*

yep I ALWAYS loved the flinstones too but the FF really was great! Their orgin of Dr DOOM that took less than two mintues but still worked great stuff.
Even though I thought the 1990s FF pretty good and the recent Cartoon network one..uh not good but interesting. The 1960s one was best

[DaVeO]

This one is for you Joe.

Captain Caaaaavemaaaa-aaan

[CMFD_GLC]

Originally Posted by Mike Hayden

Who are u and what do u know about me and what i post or what anyone posts. I may not have posted anything when William Hanna died. BUT that is only becuz I wasnt capable of doing so. And now some us of pay tribute and this is your reaction. That is kinda lame in my book. You don't walk into a funeral parlour and Say HEY DID U ALL KNOW THERE OTHER PEOPLE DEAD TOO??? Dude come on man.

Um actually,I think that dude was asking Newsarama if they did a tribute for William Hanna cause he might have missed it. Your pointless hostility is hilarious!

But thank God for "Boomerang", because of that channel Hanna Barbera's legacy will never die.

And as a hardcore cartoon fan, Thank you Joe Barbera, with every facet of my heart. I will never ever forget your work. Say "What's up?" to Will for me!

[OM]

...Good overview, but a couple of corrections need to be made regarding the split with MGM:

1) Joe & Bill didn't leave MGM until they closed up their animation shop in 1956. They didn't leave on their own accord, they were let go like everyone else in that division. Joe, in fact, was president of that division with a really good salary at the time everyone was cut.

2) H-B Enterprises also clandestinely did the opening titles for quite a few early 50's TV series, most notably the original titles for I Love Lucy - not the "heart" ones seen in syndication, but a couple of really cute stick figures representing Lucy & Ricky in their prime. Much of this work has only come to light in recent years because Joe & Bill had kept it "hush-hush" back then thanks to threats circulating around MGM at the time from the higher ups that basically stated if they caught anyone who was employed by the studio doing *anything* with TV(*) they'd be fired on the spot.

...Still, this was a good overview of Joe - and Bill's - career. I just wish I could remember the source for the quote I'd heard that Joe made years ago about ACT's chairbimbo, Peggy Charren and her b'ullshit crusade against cartoons worth watching. It went something along the lines of having her become the style model for all their obnoxious neighbor adversaries instead of Paul Lynde - that is, if he simply couldn't feed her to Wilma's food disposal!

(*) There's a old story about how one MGM exec had two studio staffers fired because their kids had appeared in the kids' gallery of a local kids' show. True or not, that's how scared the studios were of TV. Much like the MafRIAA is scared of file sharing...

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by OM

...Good overview, but a couple of corrections need to be made regarding the split with MGM:

1) Joe & Bill didn't leave MGM until they closed up their animation shop in 1956. They didn't leave on their own accord, they were let go like everyone else in that division. Joe, in fact, was president of that division with a really good salary at the time everyone was cut.

2) H-B Enterprises also clandestinely did the opening titles for quite a few early 50's TV series, most notably the original titles for I Love Lucy - not the "heart" ones seen in syndication, but a couple of really cute stick figures representing Lucy & Ricky in their prime. Much of this work has only come to light in recent years because Joe & Bill had kept it "hush-hush" back then thanks to threats circulating around MGM at the time from the higher ups that basically stated if they caught anyone who was employed by the studio doing *anything* with TV(*) they'd be fired on the spot.

...Still, this was a good overview of Joe - and Bill's - career. I just wish I could remember the source for the quote I'd heard that Joe made years ago about ACT's chairbimbo, Peggy Charren and her b'ullshit crusade against cartoons worth watching. It went something along the lines of having her become the style model for all their obnoxious neighbor adversaries instead of Paul Lynde - that is, if he simply couldn't feed her to Wilma's food disposal!

(*) There's a old story about how one MGM exec had two studio staffers fired because their kids had appeared in the kids' gallery of a local kids' show. True or not, that's how scared the studios were of TV. Much like the MafRIAA is scared of file sharing...

Thanks for the corrections. I've heard/read contrary things about point #1, but didn't know about #2 (I mean I knew UPA did them in the 50s, and Bill & Joe did their share when they turned H-B to Hanna-Barbera, but not before then).

Matter of fact, one point I was trying to clear up...didn't Michael Maltese and TED Pierce also do work for Hanna-Barbera.?

-s

[vbartilucci]

Originally Posted by sfritz

Matter of fact, one point I was trying to clear up...didn't Michael Maltese and TED Pierce also do work for Hanna-Barbera.?

Might you be confusing that with when Chuck Jones took over the MGM animation house and started doing new T&Js, and brought Maltese and Pierce with him?

[vbartilucci]

Originally Posted by OM

2) H-B Enterprises also clandestinely did the opening titles for quite a few early 50's TV series, most notably the original titles for I Love Lucy - not the "heart" ones seen in syndication, but a couple of really cute stick figures representing Lucy & Ricky in their prime.

Those animated titles are now restored on TV Land, BTW. Much like many shows, they made new titles for the syndicated copies of the show to standardize them, also because often the sponsors' logos were plastered all over everything. The Flintstones also had a different opening (with different music and everything) that has since been restored on Boomerang. They fixed the closing credits as well, restoring the proper writing credits for the episodes of the series

[Kolimar]

Sigh...

[Dman]

Joe Barbera made me and a lot of kids happy to get up on a saturday morning, his leagcy will live on as long as there is a television, RIP

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

Might you be confusing that with when Chuck Jones took over the MGM animation house and started doing new T&Js, and brought Maltese and Pierce with him?

Don't think so. I do believe Maltese in particular did some freelance work for H-B, but I'm not sure. -s

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by DaVeO

This one is for you Joe.

Captain Caaaaavemaaaa-aaan

I think one of the best possible ways of honoring their memory is remembering how much fun we had and keep having with their creations.

Here's to you Bill and Joe, wherever you are.

Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones.
They're the modern stone age family.
From the town of Bedrock,
They're a page right out of history.

Let's ride with the family down the street.
Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.

When you're with the Flintstones
you'll have a yabba dabba doo time.
A dabba doo time.
You'll have a gay old time.



YABBA DABBA DOO!!!

[Comic-Reader]

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

Might you be confusing that with when Chuck Jones took over the MGM animation house and started doing new T&Js, and brought Maltese and Pierce with him?

I've seen Michael Maltese's name in Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the early 60s like "Snooper and Blabber." Don't remember Pierce, though, but I'm more a Maltese fan.

The Tom & Jerrys by Chuck Jones were from a few years later -- around 1965-1967.

[Kolimar]

Yogi Bear is smarter than the average bear,
Yogi Bear is always in the ranger's hair.
At a picnic table you will find him there
Stuffing down more goodies than the average bear.

He will sleep till noon but before it's dark,
He'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park.

Yogi has it better than a millionaire
That's becasue he's smarter than the average bear.



Hey Boo-Boo, let's go get us some pic-a-nic baskets

[Kolimar]

Meet George Jetson,

His Boy Elroy,

Daughter Judy,

Jane, His wife








JETSON. YOU'RE FIRED.