Joseph Barbera Biography

Fast Facts

• He and William Hanna have garnered multiple awards for his cartoon work, including two Daytime Emmys, one Golden Award, two Primetime Emmys, and a Star on the Walk of Fame
• In 1994 he and his creative partner William Hanna were inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame
• Took art classes at the Aft Students League of New York as well as at the Pratt Institute, after which he was hired to work at Fleischer Studios in the ink and paint department
• Was a boxer in high school, winning the lightweight championship and even briefly considering becoming a pro fighter
• Quote: "Animation is a relief from what's going on in the world․"
• A majority of known biographical info about his life comes from his memoir, "My Life in 'toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century," which he wrote along with Alan Axelrod
• After a cartoon division-wide layoff in MGM studios, he and William Hanna came together to produce cartoon films for TV, and started their company Hanna-Barbera Productions, becoming the most successful TV animation studio in the 1960s
• Along with William Hannah, created more than 100 series and produced more than 3,000 half-hour cartoon shows
• While working at MGM studios, he was one of the main directors and animators of the well-known "Tom and Jerry" shorts
• Early in his career, he wrote to Walt Disney for advice on animation, and received a response saying that Disney would call him, but the call never happened