Joseph Barbera

Joseph Barbera

Joseph Roland Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist. His cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the 20th century. Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1927 and Terrytoons in 1929.

About Joseph Barbera in brief

Summary Joseph BarberaJoseph Roland Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist. His cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the 20th century. He was born to Italian immigrants in New York City, where he lived, attended college and began his career through his young adult years. Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1927 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1929. In 1930, he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Barbera met William Hanna. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry. In 1957, after MGM dissolved their animation department, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing programs such as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, Top Cat, The Smurfs, Huckleberry Hound, and The Jetsons. Hanna and Barbera directed seven Academy Award films and won eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoon shows have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. In 1991, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn was merged with Time Warner, owners of Warner Bros., in 1996; Barbera stayed on as advisors. He also wrote to Walt Disney for advice on getting the animation industry in place in the New York, but never took the call.

During the Great Depression, he tried unsuccessfully to become a cartoonist for a magazine called The NY Hits Magazine. His cartoons, not comic strips, began to published in Redbook, Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s—the magazine with which he had had the most success. During high school, Barbera worked as a tailor’s delivery boy. In 1929, he became interested in animation after watching a screening of Walt Disney’s The Skeleton Boy. He supported himself with a job at a bank, and continued to pursue publication for his cartoons. In 1935, he married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Earl. They had four children: two sons and two daughters ). The marriage officially ended in 1963. He met his second wife, Sheila Holden, sister of British rock and roll singer Vince Taylor at Musso & Frank’s restaurant, where she worked as bookkeeper and cashier. He had two younger brothers, Larry and Ted, both of whom served in World War II. Larry participated in the invasion of Sicily, and Ted was a fighter pilot with the United States Army Air Forces and served in the Aleutian Islands Campaign. In school, they had been known as “Romeo and Juliet’s” in school, in school, he won several boxing titles. He was briefly managed by World Lightweight Boxing Champion Al Singer’s manager but soon lost interest in boxing. He later married his wife Sheila Holden.