William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, voice actor, cartoon artist, and musician. Hanna and Joseph Barbera co-founded Hanna-Barbera in 1957, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business. They created and produced programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear.
About William Hanna in brief
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, voice actor, cartoon artist, and musician. Hanna and Joseph Barbera co-founded Hanna-Barbera in 1957, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business. They created andor produced programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards, while Hanna and Barbera were nominated for two others and won eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoons have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. Hanna was born on July 14, 1910, in Melrose, New Mexico Territory. He married Violet Blanch Wogatzke on August 7, 1936, and they had a marriage lasting over 64 years, until his death. In 1996, Hanna, with assistance from Los Angeles writer Tom Ito, published his autobiography—Joe Barbera had published his own two years earlier. As an adult, he served as a Scoutmaster and was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with their Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 1985. Despite his numerous career-related awards, Hanna was most proud of this Distinguished Boy Scout Award. His passion for music carried over into his career; he helped write songs for his cartoons, including the theme for The Flintstone. Hanna became an Eagle Scout as a youth and remained active in Scouting throughout his life.
His interests also included sailing and singing in a barbershop quartet. He was the third of seven children. Hanna described his family as “a red-blooded, Irish-American family’s.” His father was a construction superintendent for railroads as well as water and sewer systems throughout the western regions of America, requiring the family to move frequently. The family moved to Logan, Utah, before moving to San Pedro, California, in 1917. During the Great Depression, Hanna worked briefly as a construction engineer and helped build the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. He lost that job during the Great depression and found another at a car wash. In 1930 he joined the Harman and Ising animation studio, which had created the Looney and Merrie Melodies series. Despite a lack of formal training, Hanna soon became head of their ink and paint department. In 1933 he was one of the first employees who was given the opportunity to direct the cartoon series Captain and the Kids. When Harman-Ising broke up with Rudolph Schlesinger in 1933, Hanna followed them and began producing cartoons independently for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1967, Hanna- barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for USD 12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991. The marriage produced two children,: 29 David William and Bonnie Jean, and seven grandchildren. He also had a son, David William, and a daughter, Bonnie Jean.
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