Joseph Barbera

JOSEPH ROLAND BARBERA

March 24, 1911, New York (USA) - December 18, 2006, Los Angeles (California, USA)

He is an American producer, animation director, screenwriter, and voice actor.

He was born in a family of Sicilian immigrants. He began drawing at the age of seven. After leaving school he moved to California, where he first saw Walt Disney's short film Skeleton Dance (1929) and was inspired by his dream of becoming an animator. During the Great Depression, he worked in a bank and published comics in children's magazines. After graduating from the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute, he worked at Fleischer Studios before moving back to California in 1937, where he took a job as a storyboardist in the animation department of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios. It was there that Barbera met future collaborator William Hanna.

Together, Hanna and Barbera directed the first short film about Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse called The Cat Gets Kicked (1940), which grew into an entire series of cartoons still popular today. Work on the adventures of Tom and Jerry earned the creative duo two Oscar nominations for best short animation in 1956 and 1958.

During his career, Barbera produced more than 200 animated films, including such popular animated series as "Smurfs" (1981-1989), "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" (1969-1970) and "The Flintstones" (1960-1966).

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Golden Globe Award:

1961 - For Achievement in Television.