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The History of Hanna-Barbera
In 1937, Joe Barbera began what would turn out to be a 60-plus-year partnership with William Hanna. Between the two of them, the internationally renowned cartoon legends created a famed collection of animated characters unrivaled in the world of television animation. They enjoyed one of the most enduring and successful relationships in entertainment history and together created some of the world's most recognizable and beloved characters, including Tom and Jerry (for MGM), Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear and Jonny Quest, among many others.
Interestingly, neither man started out in the field of animation -- Hanna was an engineer and Barbera was a banker, but when the two collaborated, the result was nothing short of magical. Hanna's animation career started during the Depression when he took a position at Harman-Ising, the Hollywood animation unit that made the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. In 1937, Hanna was hired by MGM as a director and story editor. Several weeks later, Barbera came aboard as an animator and writer. Hanna's precise comedic timing and ability to manage top creative talent were the ideal complement to Barbera's strong animation skills and storytelling instincts.
When Hanna-Barbera Productions opened its doors in 1957, the two men developed a limited animation process that would revolutionize the way cartoons are produced, resulting in the timeliness and cost efficiency that enabled them to create season after season of classic TV animation.
It didn't take long for the team to assemble a phenomenal roster of shows, from the Emmy® Award-winning The Huckleberry Hound Show to the much-beloved Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw. In 1960, they triumphed with television's first animated sitcom, The Flintstones. The unforgettable modern Stone-Age family took the world by storm, eventually being translated into more than 80 languages. At one point, Hanna and Barbera could accurately proclaim, "Every hour of every day, someone somewhere in the world is watching The Flintstones."
In the years that followed, Hanna-Barbera solidified their reputations as hitmakers with the likes of The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and The Smurfs.
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