Joseph Barbera

Joseph Barbera co-created some of the most iconic cartoon characters in television history, including "Tom and Jerry," "The Flintstones," and "Scooby-Doo." Before founding his own studio, his original "Tom and Jerry" shorts won multiple Academy Awards for MGM. These characters became staples of American pop culture.

Barbera partnered with William Hanna to officially establish Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1957, right after MGM closed their cartoon division. The studio quickly revolutionized television animation by pioneering "limited animation" techniques to save time and money. This allowed them to produce massive quantities of weekly cartoon series.

In their decades-long partnership, William Hanna was primarily the director who managed the timing and storyboard, while Joseph Barbera was the head gag man and the primary sketch artist. Barbera was famous for his ability to quickly draw and pitch hilarious character concepts and comedic scenarios. Together, they formed one of the most successful creative duos in Hollywood history.

No, Joseph Barbera never worked for Walt Disney Productions. He began his professional animation career at the Van Beuren Studios and later moved to the Terrytoons studio before finding his greatest success at MGM. His entire legacy and most famous achievements are tied to his independent partnership with William Hanna.