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Joseph Barbera

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Joseph Ronald “Joe” Barbera was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist and cartoonist. He along with his partner William Hanna William Denby “Bill” Hanna was an American animato >> Read More... created famous cartoon characters like Tom and Jerry which still entertain millions of people worldwide. Barbera was born on March 24, 1911 in a neighbourhood called the Little Italy at 10 Delancey Street Manhattan, New York Click to look into! >> Read More... . His parents Vincent Barbera,an Italian immigrant, and Francesca Calvacca moved to Flatbush Brooklyn, New York when Barbera was four months old. He was the eldest son and had two younger brothers, Larry and Ted. His father owned three barbershops. When Barbera turned 15, his father left the family and eventually his maternal uncle Jim took over the responsibility. He completed his schooling at Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn in 1928.

He was active in boxing and even won few titles. Dorothy Earl was his school sweetheart and first wife. Their marriage lasted for 28 years, and they separated in 1963. They had a son named Neal. Their second son died after two days of his birth. Lynn and Jayne were their two daughters. He then married Sheila Holden who worked at Musso and Frank’s restaurant as bookkeeper and cashier. Barbera worked as a cartoonist for The NY Hits Magazine, but on the verge of the Great Depression, it was unsuccessful. He worked at a bank and simultaneously publishing cartoons in Redbook, Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. Barbera joined Art Students League of New York. Also, he studied at the Pratt Institute. After working with the Fleischer Studios, Barbera joined the Van Beuren Studios in 1932.

Cubby Bear and Rainbow Parades are two of the cartoon series on which he worked. Following the shutdown of Van Beuren Studios, he worked with Terrytoons. California-based MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) offered Barbera more salary, and he accepted the offer. At the MGM Barbera met another cartoonist William Hanna. Sensing the combination of Barbera’s gag writing and Hanna’s skill for the construction of a story and timing, they teamed up to become the most successful duo in animation history. In 1941 the world saw their first hit collaboration Puss Gets the Boot. Supervisor Ted Quimby wanted diversified cartoons instead of cat-and-mouse stories. At the same time, Barbera wanted to back to working for Ising.

Since Ising took the sole credit of the success of the Puss Gets the Boot, Ted Quimby allowed Hanna and Barbera to work on a cat-and-mouse cartoon series which resulted in the creation of famous cartoon characters, Tom and Jerry. It was a huge success winning 7 Academy Awards. Hereafter, Hanna and Barbera produced almost 114 different animated characters together. They also made animated training films during World War II World War II is a Malayalam information TV show on >> Read More... . Ted Quimby took credit for Tom and Jerry production and also delayed a raise to Barbera by six months. He retired in 1955, and the duo Hanna-Barbera became the head for MGM animation. Soon MGM felt to melt down the production of new cartoons and started airing old cartoons. In 1957, Barbera entered the television business with Robert D. Buchanan, short-lived Colonel Bleep.

Later that year, Barbera again collaborated with William Hanna. Their perfect combination gave rise to the establishment of H-B Enterprises which was is now known as Hanna-Barbera Productions. The Ruff and Reddy Show was the first assignment for this company. Their second venture, Loopey De Loop was not very successful. The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Yogi Bear became very popular. In 1960, they produced The Flintstones which is said to be a cartoon show for both, children and adults. The famous dialogue of The Flintstones character Fred Flintstone, “yabba dabba doo” became a sensation and was repeated by a huge fan base of the show. Together, Hanna and Barbera created more than 3000 cartoon shows becoming the most successful animation studio. They introduced prominent cartoons such as Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs Click to look into! >> Read More... , Top Cat Click to look into! >> Read More... , The Quick Draw McGraw, Magilla Gorilla, Super Friends and many more. Since the animation cost was very high, many animation studios were forced to shut down in the 1950s and 1960s.

Hanna and Barbera came up with cost-cutting animation which focused more on the dialogue. Even though this alternative animation technique got cold response in the early stage, it went on to become economic and was adopted by many animation studios. The Simpsons The Simpsons is a funny, highly popular American s >> Read More... , SpongeBob SquarePants and South Park were few of the shows created using the new technique for animation. Taft Broadcasting, now known as Great American Communications, took over Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1966. Hanna and Barbera remained the head till 1991. In 1990s Hanna-Barbera produced few series including Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls for Cartoon Network. After 1991, Hanna and Barbera became advisors in their former company.

Barbera’s partner William Hanna died in 2001 of throat cancer. After that Hanna Barbera merged with Warner Bros. Animation. Barbera became the executive producer at Warner Bros. He wrote The Karate Gaurd and the return of Tom and Jerry on screen. His last work was Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale. On December 18, 2006, Joseph Barbera passed away in Studio City, Los Angeles. An Aries by birth he lived for 95 glorious years. He rests in Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Joseph Barbera was an icon in the animation business and was loved by everyone. Pop sensation Michael Jackson Story soon >> Read More... was a great fan of Barbera. Undoubtedly Joseph Barbera had an influence on people in the 20th century through his work, while the fruits of his efforts are still enjoyed and will continue to entertain the generations to come.

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