Biography
William Hanna (1910 – 2001) Joseph Barbera (1911 – 2006)
Like any successful car toon duo,William Hanna and Joseph Barbera came from two very different walks of life but were united by one dream. After meeting at the MGM car toon studio in 1939 at the end of America’s Great Depression, the pair embarked on a par tnership that transformed television forever. Hanna, a well-liked family man, and Barbera, a smooth-talking former Wall Street tax accountant, hit the ground running when MGM closed their car toon studio in 1957. Just two months later, and with many of their colleagues onboard, they opened H-B Enterprises (rebranded as Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. in 1959). Following the success of series like The Huckleberry Hound Show , The Yogi Bear Show , The Flintstones and Top Cat , the studio moved to a sprawling new complex in Los Angeles in 1963.With a cartoonish façade inspired by the Space Age style of The Jetsons , this innovative hub of creativity produced some of the world’s best-loved television programmes, earning Hanna and Barbera the moniker ‘The General Motors of Animation’. Their visionary approach included responding to real-life cultural events and creating animation in colour, despite networks not broadcasting in colour until 1965. Along with their television series, the studio branched out into opening credits and crossovers with comic books, most notably with their Scooby-Doo franchise. At the hear t of American television for over four decades, Hanna and Barbera were awarded seven Academy Awards, eight Emmy Awards and a star on the HollywoodWalk of Fame. In 2001, their studio was absorbed byWarner Bros. Animation and their characters continue to inspire children and animation artists worldwide.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker