Biography
One half of the most celebrated animation-producing duos in history, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's company, Hanna-Barbera Productions, created some of the best-loved animated television programming of the 20th century and beyond, including "The Huckleberry Hound Show" (syndicated, 1958-1961), "The Yogi Bear Show" (syndicated, 1961-62), "The Flintstones" (ABC, 1960-66), "The Jetsons" (ABC, 1962-63), "Jonny Quest" (ABC, 1964-65), "Super …
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Career Milestones
| As the son of a construction superintendent for the early Santa Fe railroad stations, moved with family from train stop to train stop | ||
| Began attending school in Logan, UT | ||
| Began taking lessons on the alto saxophone; performed with a group of local children (subsequently studied piano, composition and harmony) | ||
| Developed story material for "Bosko" cartoons while washing paint off animation cells | ||
| Executive produced (with Barbera) "The Smurfs", a hugely successful cartoon series based on the Belgian comic strip by Peyo Culliford (end date approximate) | ||
| Executive produced and directed (both with Barbera) "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" (ABC), a cartoon comedy mystery series which remained in continuous production--under various titles--for 17 years (end date approximate) | ||
| In tandem with Barbera, produced and directed "Top Cat", an ABC primetime series; although Top Cat's primetime stay was short, he would later star as the treasure master in "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" of "The Futuristic World of Hanna-Barbera" | ||
| Joined the writing staff; wrote lyrics and music as needed; with artist Paul Fennell, formed a unit to produce cartoon musicals | ||
| Painted cels and punched animation paper | ||
| Premiered their first animated TV series, "Ruff and Reddy" (NBC), starring a quick-thinking cat (Ruff) and a dimwitted dog (Reddy) in six-minute "bookends" for vintage cartoons | ||
| Produced and directed (both with Barbera) the sci-fi-flavored ABC cartoon sitcom "The Jetsons"; only 24 episodes produced originally; 41 additional episodes produced in 1985 to make the series more viable in the syndication market | ||
| Ran inking and painting department during the day; worked with Ising on story material at night | ||
| Referred to a newly formed animation company, Harman-Ising Studios, by his brother-in-law Jack Stevens (himself an employee of Leon Schlesinger's Pacific Title, an art studio that crafted titles and artwork for film companies) | ||
| Revived (and revised) the popular characters Tom & Jerry for CBS's "Tom and Jerry Show" | ||
| TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network aired "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" | ||
| Took a job with the engineers building the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard | ||
| With Barbera, executive produced and directed "The Adventures of Jonny Quest", their first successful animated adventure series and the last to be created for primetime; reputedly the first animated show to use realistic human figures; after a season in primetime, the show subsequently played on Saturday mornings on each of the networks; new episodes produced in 1986 for inclusion in the expanded syndicated Sunday morning series "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" | ||
| With Barbera, produced and directed the hugely successful ABC cartoon sitcom, "The Flintstones", the longest running animated series in primetime until Fox's "The Simpsons" broke its record | ||
| Wrote and directed only "Tom and Jerry" cartoons for 17 years; the series won an unprecedented seven Academy Awards between 1943 and 1952; unit head Fred Quimby took home the statuettes | ||
1913 | By age three, lived in Baker, OR where his father was assigned to build a dam | |
1917 | At age seven, moved with family to San Pedro, CA | |
1919 | Moved to Los Angeles | |
1922 | At age 12, began a lifelong association with the Boy Scouts of America (date approximate) | |
1929 | Left college to look for work after the economic collapse (date approximate) | |
1930 | Hired as a cel-washer by Harman-Ising studios, then working with producer Schlesinger on the Looney Tunes cartoon series for Warner Bros.; worked with future animation director Friz Freleng | |
1933 | Continued to work for Harman-Ising when they severed ties with Schlesinger and left Warner Bros. over budget disputes; Harman-Ising contracted to produce cartoons for MGM | |
1934 | Began directing cartoon shorts for Harman-Ising | |
1937 | Hired by MGM as a director and story editor when the studio began its own animation unit under the supervision of Fred Quimby; Joe Barbera hired initially as an animator but soon became a storyman | |
1938 | First meeting with Barbera | |
1940 | First collaboration with Barbera "Puss Gets the Boot"; first Tom and Jerry cartoon (though Tom Cat is initially named Jasper); neither Hanna nor Barbera received screen credit; sole producing credit went to Rudolf Ising; nominated for a 1940 Oscar | |
1945 | Major supporting character Spike the Dog introduced in "Quiet, Please" | |
1945 | With Barbera, assigned to direct a live-action/animated sequence in which Jerry the mouse dances with sailor Gene Kelly in the musical feature "Anchors Aweigh" | |
1946 | With Barbera, directed the animated opening credits for the musical "Holiday in Mexico" | |
1953 | Animated the lengthy "Sinbad the Sailor" segment of Gene Kelly's multi-part dance film "Invitation to the Dance" in which Kelly danced in an elaborate cartoon environment (shelved until 1956) | |
1953 | With Barbera, animated a sequence for the musical "Dangerous When Wet" in which Tom and Jerry dance with Esther Williams | |
1955 | With Barbera, named production heads of the MGM animation department after Fred Quimby retired due to health reasons; picked up first Oscar nomination (along with Quimby and Barbera) for "Good Will to Men" | |
1957 | Co-founded production company Hanna-Barbera (with Barbera) | |
1957 | Contracted with NBC-TV to create a six-minute cartoon on a budget of $2,800 (as compared to the minimum budget of $50,000 alloted by MGM for a theatrical cartoon short of the same length) | |
1957 | MGM, hurt badly by the growing competition form TV, eliminated the studio's entire animation department | |
1958 | Produced (with Barbera) "The Huckleberry Hound Show" (syndicated), TV's first all-animation TV show; introduced the character of Yogi Bear who would star in his own series, "The Yogi Bear Show", beginning in 1961 | |
1959 | With Barbera, produced and directed "The Quick Draw McGraw Show", a syndicated cartoon series | |
1960 | "The Huckleberry Hound Show" became Hanna-Barbera's first Emmy-winner (Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming); the first cartoon to win an Emmy | |
1964 | Feature producing and directing debut (both with Barbera), "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear", a theatrical feature spin-off of the TV series; also feature screenwriting debut (with Barbera and Warren Foster) | |
1964 | Produced and directed (both with Barbera) "The Man Called Flintstone", a theatrical feature spin-off of the TV series | |
1967 | With Barbera, sold studio to Taft Broadcasting | |
1972 | Executive produced (with Barbera) the studio's first live-action TV-movie "Hardcase" (ABC), a Western | |
1972 | Produced (with Barbera) "Wait Til Your Father Gets Home", a syndicated "adult" cartoon series dealing with similar issues as those on "All in the Family" | |
1973 | With Barbera, produced "Charlotte's Web", a feature musical based on E B White's classic book; earned the studio an Annie Award | |
1976 | Earned star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; honored with Joseph Barbera | |
1977 | Hanna-Barbera Productions produced the acclaimed CBS live-action TV-movie, "The Gathering", a 1978 Emmy winner for Outstanding Special (Drama or Comedy); Barbera listed as executive producer (Hanna did not not take an individual credit); generated a sequel "The Gathering, Part II" (NBC, 1979) | |
1978 | "The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour", a short-lived live-action comedy variety series (with high-tech puppet hosts) aired on NBC in primetime | |
1978 | Hanna-Barbera produced its first live-action feature film, "C.H.O.M.P.S.", starring Valerie Bertinelli | |
1980 | Various entertainment subsidiaries of Taft Broadcasting reorganized into the Taft Entertainment Company with Hanna-Barbera as a division; Hanna served as senior vice president (and Barbera as president) of Hanna-Barbera Productions | |
1982 | Produced (with Barbera) "Heidi's Song", an animated feature | |
1988 | Taft Broadcasting, Hanna-Barbera's parent company, sold to the Great American Broadcasting Company; did not affect day-to-day operation of studio | |
1990 | Directed and produced (both with Barbera) "Jetsons: The Movie" | |
1993 | Provided his voice for ABC movie "I Yabba Dabba Do!"; also directed (solo) and produced (with Barbera) | |
1994 | Executive produced (with Barbera and three others) "The Flintstones" feature film | |
1994 | Inducted into the TV Hall of Fame by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | |
Awards
1955 | Academy Award for Short Subject (Cartoon) in Good Will to Men |
1957 | Academy Award for Short Subject (Cartoon) in One Droopy Knight |
1960 | Golden Globe Award for Television Achievement |
1973 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Children's Programming in The Last of the Curlews |
1982 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in The Smurfs |
1994 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) in A Flintstones Christmas Carol |