Joseph Roland Barbera was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera.
34 Facts About Joseph Barbera
2.
In 1937, he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Joseph Barbera met William Hanna.
3.
Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed seven Academy Award films and won eight Emmy Awards.
4.
Hanna-Joseph Barbera's shows had a worldwide audience of over 300 million people in the 1960s and have been translated into more than 28 languages.
5.
Joseph Barbera was born at 10 Delancey Street in the Little Italy section of Manhattan, New York City, to Italian immigrants Vincenzo Barbera, born in Castelvetrano, and Francesca Calvacca, born in Sciacca.
6.
Joseph Barbera's family moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York when he was four months old.
7.
Joseph Barbera had two brothers, Larry and Ted, both of whom served in World War II.
8.
Joseph Barbera displayed a talent for drawing as early as the first grade.
9.
Joseph Barbera graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in 1928.
10.
Joseph Barbera was briefly managed by World Lightweight Boxing Champion Al Singer's manager but soon lost interest in boxing.
11.
In 1935, Joseph Barbera married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Earl.
12.
Joseph Barbera supported himself with a job at a bank, and continued to pursue publication for his cartoons.
13.
Joseph Barbera wrote to Walt Disney for advice on getting started in the animation industry.
14.
Joseph Barbera took art classes at the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute and was hired to work in the ink and paint department of Fleischer Studios.
15.
Joseph Barbera worked on cartoon series such as Cubby Bear and Rainbow Parades, and an earlier Tom and Jerry.
16.
When Van Beuren closed down in 1936, Joseph Barbera moved over to Paul Terry's Terrytoons studio.
17.
In 1935, Joseph Barbera created his first solo-effort storyboard about a character named Kiko the Kangaroo.
18.
The original storyboard, which had been passed down through the Joseph Barbera family, went on sale at auction in November 2013.
19.
Joseph Barbera found that Los Angeles was suffering just as much from the Great Depression as Brooklyn and almost returned to Brooklyn.
20.
In 1940, Hanna and Joseph Barbera jointly directed Puss Gets the Boot, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
21.
When Quimby retired in late 1955, Hanna and Joseph Barbera were placed in charge of MGM's animation division.
22.
In 1957, Joseph Barbera reteamed with his former partner Hanna to produce cartoon films for television and theatrical release.
23.
Joseph Barbera later produced a futuristic version of The Flintstones, known as The Jetsons.
24.
Joseph Barbera produced animated specials based on Alice in Wonderland, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as the feature-length films Charlotte's Web and Heidi's Song.
25.
Hanna-Joseph Barbera was key in the development of an animation technique known as limited animation, which allowed television animation to be more cost-effective, but often reduced quality.
26.
Hanna and Joseph Barbera had first experimented with these techniques in the early days of Tom and Jerry.
27.
Joseph Barbera once said that their choice was to adapt to the television budgets or change careers.
28.
The new style did not limit the success of their animated shows, enabling Hanna-Joseph Barbera to stay in business, providing employment to many who would otherwise have been out of work.
29.
Joseph Barbera remained active as an executive producer for Warner Bros.
30.
Joseph Barbera wrote, co-storyboarded, co-directed and co-produced The Karate Guard, the return of Tom and Jerry to the big screen.
31.
On December 18,2006, Joseph Barbera died of natural causes at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, at the age of 95, ending a seventy-year career in animation.
32.
Joseph Barbera is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California.
33.
In 1992, Joseph Barbera met with pop musician Michael Jackson, an avid cartoon fan, in an unsuccessful attempt to arrange for Jackson to sing in Tom and Jerry: The Movie.
34.
Joseph Barbera drew five quick sketches of Tom and Jerry for Jackson and autographed them.