an innovator of animation who teamed with William Hanna to give generations of young television viewers a pantheon of beloved characters, including Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstones, died Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95.
Anyone of a certain age has probably spent half their childhood watching Hanna-Barbera creations from Tom and Jerry to Pixie and Dixie to The Flintstones and The Jetsons.
During the 1970s, the Hanna-Barbera studios produced most of the cartoons I remember watching, including Josie and the Pussycats, Funky Phantom, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, and, into the 1980s, Smurfs.
Frankly, much of the animation from these cartoons is perfectly dreadful, especially in the H-B studio's more serious cartoon attempts like Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.
If you're feeling a bit nostalgic, check out Boomerang, the Cartoon Network channel that seems to run Hanna-Barbera cartoons 24/7. Along with favorites, you'll get to see cartoons you never heard of (or wanted to), like The New Shmoo, Jabber Jaw, and Hong Kong Phooey.
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