Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-15 of 15
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Joseph Roland Barbera was an American animator, film director, and television producer. He was the co-founder of the company Hanna-Barbera, with his longtime partner William Hanna.
Barbera was born in an Italian-American family. His parents were barbershop-owner Vincent Barbera (1889-1965) and Francesca Calvacca (1875-1969), both Italian immigrants from Sicily. Vincent was from the farming town of Castelvetrano, while Francesca was from the spa town of Sciacca (founded as the ancient Greek colony of Thermae).
Barbera was born in Little Italy, at the Lower East Side section of Manhattan. Months following his birth, Barbera's family moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was mostly raised in Flatbush. Vincent Barbera grew prosperous for a while, but a gambling addiction led him to squander the family fortune. In 1926, Vincent abandoned his family, and Joseph was taken under the wing of his maternal uncle Jim Calvacca.
Barbera attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. During his high school years, he worked as a tailor's delivery boy. Meanwhile, he excelled in boxing and won a number of titles, but decided against becoming a professional boxer. He graduated high school in 1928, and started working odd jobs.
In 1929, Barbera first became interested in animation, after viewing Walt Disney's "The Skeleton Dance" (1929). Shortly after, he started working as a freelance cartoonist. Some of his print cartoons were published in Redbook, the Saturday Evening Post, and Collier's. Meanwhile Barbera took art classes at the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute, hoping to improve his drawing skills.
Barbera was eventually hired as an inker and colorist by Fleischer Studios. In 1932, he was hired by the Van Beuren Studios as an animator and storyboard artist. At Van Beuren he worked on such film series as "Cubby Bear" and "Rainbow Parades". The studio's most prominent cartoon starts were a human duo known as "Tom and Jerry". Barbera worked on the Tom and Jerry series, and apparently liked the sound of the duo's name.
In 1936, Barbera left the financially struggling Van Beuren studio to work for Paul Terry's Terrytoons studio. In 1937, he left Terrytoons to work for the then-recently established Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (1937-1957). MGM offered its animators higher salaries than what Terrytoons could offer. His first few years at the studio were not particularly notable. In 1939, he and co-worker William Hanna started working on the idea of a cat-and-mouse duo of characters. They were allowed to co-direct "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940), introducing the new duo of Tom and Jerry. It was critically and commercially successful, but studio head Fred Quimby was initially uninterested in producing a full series of Tom and Jerry films. The lack of success of other products of the studio convinced Quimby, and Barbera and Hanna became the head of their own production unit to work on the new series.
From 1940 to 1957, Hanna and Barbera co-directed 114 Tom and Jerry animated shorts. The Tom and Jerry series was very popular with critics and audience. But by the 1950s, production costs were high while the profitability of the shorts was lower than before. MGM decided to shut down its animation subsidiary. Barbera was unemployed for the first time in decades.
Barbera briefly partnered with Robert D. Buchanan (1931-) in production of an animated television series, the science fiction series "Colonel Bleep" (1957-1960). It was the first animated series specifically produced for color television. Barbera eventually left this partnership and teamed up with William Hanna again. They founded Hanna-Barbera Productions, their own animation studio. With theatrical animation in decline, they focused on the new market of television animation.
The studio's first television series was the moderately successful "The Ruff & Reddy Show". It was succeeded by the much more popular "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Yogi Bear Show". Survey's revealed that the two shows had attracted an adult audience, convincing Hanna and Barbera that they could market animation to adults. Their next series was the animated sitcom "The Flintstones" (1960-1966), popular with both children and adults. Its success helped establish Hanna-Barbera Productions as the leader in television animation.
In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million dollars.Barbera and Hanna remained studio heads until 1991, when the studio was sold to the Turner Broadcasting System for an estimated 320 million million dollars. Barbera and Hanna were reduced to advisory positions, which would they keep for the rest of their lives. Barbera periodically worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, and even provided input for the original live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo in 2002.
In 2001, Hanna-Barbera Productions was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation. Barbera received executive producer credits for Warner Bros. sequels and adaptations of his old series (such as "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" and "Tom and Jerry Tales"). In 2005, Barbera co-directed a new Tom and Jerry short film: "The Karate Guard". Barbera then started work on a Tom and Jerry feature film, " Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale" (2007). He died before production was completed.
Barbera died in December 2006, at the age of 95. He had never fully retired and was still working at the time of his death. His legacy includes more than a 100 television series, and a large number of enduring characters.- Mary Cox was born on 25 August 1941 in Elk Horn, Iowa, USA. She was a writer, known for Courage (1984) and Tattletales (1974). She was married to Ronny Cox. She died on 18 December 2006 in Encino, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Mavor Moore was born on 8 March 1919 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for Scanners (1981), Folio (1955) and Heavy Metal (1981). He was married to Alexandra Browning, Phyllis Grosskurth and Darwina "Dilly" Faessler. He died on 18 December 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.- Director
- Writer
Michel Berny was born on 18 February 1945 in Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain, France. He was a director and writer, known for Pourquoi pas nous? (1981), Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons (1973) and Billet doux (1984). He died on 18 December 2006 in Paris, France.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Franco Molè was born in 1939 in Terni, Umbria, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for La stanza delle parole (1989), The Fascist Jew (1980) and Il tastomatto (1985). He was married to Martine Brochard. He died on 18 December 2006 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Gwen Stith was born on 16 May 1921 in San Pedro, California, USA. She was an actress. She died on 18 December 2006 in Boise, Idaho, USA.- Herman Klurfeld was born on 30 July 1916 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Winchell (1998). He was married to Jeanette Garfield. He died on 18 December 2006 in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
- Heikki Saarnikko was born on 20 January 1947 in Lempäälä, Finland. He was an actor, known for Vallan miehet (1986) and Jaakko Ilkka (1982). He died on 18 December 2006.
- Mike Dickin was born on 28 September 1943 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He died on 18 December 2006 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England, UK.
- Salvador Botella was born on 27 March 1929 in Benifaió, Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. He was an actor, known for Escuela de periodismo (1956). He died on 18 December 2006 in Riba-roja de Túria, Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain.
- Loyola de Palacio was born on 16 September 1950 in Madrid, Spain. She died on 18 December 2006 in Madrid, Spain.
- Animation Department
- Director
- Art Director
Stanislaw Dülz was born on 16 March 1927 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a director and art director, known for Bolek i Lolek (1963), Signale - Ein Weltraumabenteuer (1970) and Bolek i Lolek na Dzikim Zachodzie (1986). He died on 18 December 2006.- Director
- Producer
Robert Yde was born on 29 December 1924 in Freeport, Illinois, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Get Reel (2003) and Real Life 101 (1998). He was married to Cassie Yde. He died on 18 December 2006 in Longwood, Florida, USA.- Gustavo Segal was born on 18 November 1936 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was an actor, known for Grandma (1979), La aventura de los paraguas asesinos (1979) and Violated Love (1963). He died on 18 December 2006 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Writer
- Actor
Ossi Ojala was born on 22 March 1933 in Savonlinna, Finland. He was a writer and actor, known for Ruuvit löysällä (1982), Jäähyväiset lasihevoselle (1985) and Joulukalenteri (1965). He died on 18 December 2006 in Heinola, Finland.