WILLIAM HANNAWilliam Hanna, who died on 22 March 2001, worked with colleague Joseph Barbera to produce some of the best-loved cartoons of the 20 th century.They met whilst working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and formed a successful partnership, inventing the mischevious cat and mouse pair - Tom and Jerry.Their first cartoon collaboration “Puss Gets the Boot” was nominated for an Oscar and they worked together for 17 years on the “Tom & Jerry” cartoon series.Hanna-Barbera Productions, the company they co-founded in 1957, produced hit cartoons including “The Flintstones”, “The Jetsons” and “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”William Denby “Bill” Hanna was born on 14 July 1910 in New Mexico . He trained to be a structural engineer but the Great Depression and a talent for drawing led him to join the Harman-Ising cartoon studios in1930.He worked in the story and layout departments for seven years, contributing to the Looney Tunes and Merry Melody cartoon series.When MGM moved their cartoon production in-house in 1937, William Hanna was hired as one of their first staff members. The same year, MGM hired Joseph Barbera.They formed a winning partnership as co-directors – he directed whilst Mr Barbera supplied the gags. Their “Tom & Jerry” cartoon series won 7 Oscars and a further 14 nominations.MGM closed its animation division in 1955 and, in 1957, Hanna and Barbera founded their own animation studio to make cartoons for both television and cinema.Their first television series, “The Ruff & Reddy Show”, was broadcast in 1957. More than 100 cartoon series and specials followed including “The Smurfs”, “The Yogi Bear Show” and “Huckleberry Hound.”Mr Hanna remained active in the cartoon industry after selling Hanna-Barbera Productions and in 1993 co-produced the feature film “Once upon a forest.” William Hanna is regarded as one of the greatest cartoonists of all time and an inspiration to many subsequent animators.Jean MacCurdy, President of Warner Brothers Animation, said of him “There are literally thousands of people working in the television animation business today who had the honour of training under Mr. Hanna.”Although their later features such as “Atom Ant” and “Quickdraw McGraw” were unremarkable, Hanna-Barbera Productions won eight Emmy Awards as an independent producer.Their greatest achievement was bringing characters and catchphrases such as Fred Flintstone’s “Yabba dabba doo” to a generation of adults and children.He died of throat cancer on 22 March 2001, aged 90.
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