Joseph Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was a producer and animator. He created the Tom and Jerry short film series with William Hanna.
Biography[]
When Barbera was in high school, he worked as a tailor's delivery boy. In 1929, he became interested in animation after watching The Skeleton Dance. During the Great Depression, he worked as a cartoonist in the magazines Redbook, Saturday Evening Post, and Collier's, where he drew single cartoons. Barbera took art classes at the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt institute. Barbera was hired to work at the ink and paint department of The Fleischer Studios and in 1932, he joined the Van Beuren as animator and a storyboard artist and worked on series like Cubby Bear, Rainbow Parade, and a different Tom and Jerry than the one he would work on later. When the Van Beuren Studios closed down in 1936, he moved to Paul Terry's Terrytoon Studio. In 1937, he was lured to the new Metro Goldwyn Mayer cartoon studio by a salary increase. He went to Los Angeles and joined the studio, and worked with William Hanna, whose desk was opposite to his. Barbera and Hanna also worked with Tex Avery, a former Looney Tunes employee.
In 1940, Barbera and Hanna would create Puss Gets the Boot, which would go on to receive an academy award nomination. This cartoon would feature Jasper and Jinx, early versions of Tom and Jerry. Since the studio wanted a wider variety of cartoons, Fred Quimby (The sales executive of the MGM Cartoon Studio), did not want Barbera and Hanna to make another Jasper and Jinx cartoon. But since Puss Gets the Boot became so popular, Quimby changed his mind and let them work on more Jasper and Jinx cartoons.
Barbera and Hanna began working on another Jasper and Jinx cartoon, The Midnight Snack. Meanwhile, they decided to change the name of Jasper and Jinx. They held a contest which was won by animator John Carr, who suggested that the cat and mouse should be named Tom and Jerry. After The Midnight Snack was released in 1941, it was very successful, and Barbera and Hanna would work on many Tom and Jerry cartoons such as The Night Before Christmas, The Yankee Doodle Mouse, Mouse Trouble, Quiet Please!, The Cat Concerto, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse, The Little Orphan, Hatch Up Your Troubles, Jerry's Cousin, The Two Mouseketeers, Johann Mouse, and Touché, Pussy Cat! . Many Tom and Jerry shorts have received academy awards, and have made appearances in MGM feature films, Anchors Aweigh and Dangerous When Wet.
During the 1950's, the advent of television began, and Barbera and Hanna made future Tom and Jerry cartoons in cinemascope. Fred Quimby retired in 1955, and Barbera and Hanna were in charge of MGM cartoons. They soon stopped making new cartoons and started re-releasing old ones in cinemascope. In 1957, the MGM cartoon studio was closed and Hanna and Barbera were laid off.
Works[]
As a Director[]
- See List of cartoons supervised by Joseph Barbera.
As a Writer[]
- The Captain's Christmas (1938) (uncredited)
- Mama's New Hat (1939) (uncredited)
- Wanted: No Master (1939) (uncredited)
- The Mad Maestro (1939) (uncredited)
- Puss Gets the Boot (1940) (with Gus Arriola (uncredited)