Hanna-Barbera Biography

Birthdates:

Bill Hanna
July 7, 1910 to March 3, 2001

Joe Barbera

March 24, 1911 to present

Hanna-Barbera - The Beginning

Bill Hanna began his workin' years at a California engineering firm and it wasn't until 1930 that he decided to take a job in cartooning. And despite having a flair for drawing in high school, Joe Barbera started his career as an accountant. It wasn't long before he turned to cartooning as a profession as well.

Hanna-Barbera - Big Breaks

In 1937, both Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera joined the team of cartoonists at MGM studios in Hollywood, where they were paired up to work on a little cartoon about a cat and mouse duo called Tom and Jerry. Hanna and Barbera went on to create over 100 Tom and Jerry cartoons and continued on as a drawing/producing team for the rest of their careers.

Hanna-Barbera - Makes the Move

Faced with MGM studios shutting down their animation department in 1957, Hanna and Barbera decided to strike out on their own and created Hanna-Barbera Productions that same year.

Hanna-Barbera - Did U Know?

Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera worked together for nearly 50 years.

Between 1943 and 1953, the two animators won seven Oscars for their work on Tom and Jerry.

The very first characters created at the Hanna-Barbera studios were Ruff and Ready (which was a cat and dog duo this time) and Huckleberry Hound.

A Few Hanna-Barbera Credits:

Yogi Bear (1960)

The Flintstones (1960)

The Jetsons (1962)

Magilla Gorilla (1964)

Scooby-Doo Where Are You? (1969)

Josie and the Pussycats (1970)

The Harlem Globetrotters (1970)

Scooby & Scrappy-Doo (1979)

The Smurfs (1981)

The Snorks (1984)

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