Portal:Animation/Selected biography/8

Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an influential American animator, film director, film producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist. Born in New York City, after working odd jobs and as a banker, Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936. He met his lifelong collaborator William Hanna while working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1937 and soon began producing animated shorts such as the Tom and Jerry series. 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, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Top Cat, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, The Smurfs, Wacky Races and Yogi Bear. Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards. Their shows, which have translations in more than 20 languages, had a global audience in the 1960s of over 300 million people.