WILLIAM HANNA
Name: William Hanna
Born: 14 July 1910 Melrose, New Mexico
Died: 22 March 2001 North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
William Denby "Bill" Hanna (July 14, 1910 - March 22, 2001) was an American
animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder, together with
Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera. The studio produced well-known cartoons such
as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo as well
as the musical film, Charlotte's Web.
William Hanna was born in Melrose, New Mexico, the son of Lebanese-born
William J. Hanna and Avice (Denby) Hanna.
He attended Compton High School from 1925 through 1928. Hanna started his career
in 1932 when he learned that Leon Schlesinger Productions, producers of animated
cartoons for Warner Bros., were hiring staff. He gained his employment without
any formal training and soon became head of their Ink and Paint Department. When
producer-directors Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising left Schlesinger and Warners in
1933 to become independent and produce cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),
Hanna was one of the employees who followed them.
In 1936, Hanna directed his first cartoon, To Spring, one of the Harman-Ising
Happy Harmonies series entries. In 1937, MGM made a business decision to stop
outsourcing to Harman-Ising and bring production in-house. Hanna was among those
hired away from Harman-Ising, and he became a senior director on MGM's Captain
and the Kids series. The same year, they hired storyman Joseph Barbera from
Terrytoons, and in 1939 the two began what was to be a winning partnership as co-directors.
The first cartoon directed by Hanna and Barbera together was Puss Gets the Boot,
which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject and
introduced their most famous creation from this period, the cat and mouse duo
Tom and Jerry. Hanna supplied all the screams and yelps of Tom in the shorts
without credit. Leonard Maltin says that "Barbera's strength was in gags and
story development, while Hanna saw himself more as a director, with a solid
sense of timing; they complemented each other perfectly."
Hanna and Barbera's 17-year partnership on the Tom & Jerry series resulted in 7
Academy Awards for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject, and 14 total nominations, more
than any other character-based theatrical animated series. Hanna and Barbera
were placed in charge of MGM's animation division in late 1955; this was short-lived,
as MGM closed the division in 1957.
Hanna-Barbera founders William Hanna and Joseph Barbera pose with several of the
Emmy awards the Hanna-Barbera studio has won.
From here, Hanna branched out into television, forming the company Shield
Productions to partner with animator Jay Ward, who had created the series
Crusader Rabbit. This fizzled, and in 1957 he reteamed up with his old partner
Joseph Barbera to produce the series The Ruff & Reddy Show, under the company
name H-B Enterprises, soon changed to Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Hanna-Barbera Productions became by the late-1960s the most successful
television animation studio in the business, producing hit programs such as The
Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! by the end
of the decade.
Hanna-Barbera had been a subsidiary of Taft Broadcasting (later Great American
Communications) since 1967. The studio thrived until 1991, when it was sold to
Turner Broadcasting. Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors and periodically
worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, including the What-a-Cartoon! series.
Hanna died of throat cancer on March 22, 2001 at the age of 90 in North
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. He is buried in Ascension Cemetery in Lake
Forest, California.
Name: William Hanna
Born: 14 July 1910 Melrose, New Mexico
Died: 22 March 2001 North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
William Denby "Bill" Hanna (July 14, 1910 - March 22, 2001) was an American
animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder, together with
Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera. The studio produced well-known cartoons such
as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo as well
as the musical film, Charlotte's Web.
William Hanna was born in Melrose, New Mexico, the son of Lebanese-born
William J. Hanna and Avice (Denby) Hanna.
He attended Compton High School from 1925 through 1928. Hanna started his career
in 1932 when he learned that Leon Schlesinger Productions, producers of animated
cartoons for Warner Bros., were hiring staff. He gained his employment without
any formal training and soon became head of their Ink and Paint Department. When
producer-directors Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising left Schlesinger and Warners in
1933 to become independent and produce cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),
Hanna was one of the employees who followed them.
In 1936, Hanna directed his first cartoon, To Spring, one of the Harman-Ising
Happy Harmonies series entries. In 1937, MGM made a business decision to stop
outsourcing to Harman-Ising and bring production in-house. Hanna was among those
hired away from Harman-Ising, and he became a senior director on MGM's Captain
and the Kids series. The same year, they hired storyman Joseph Barbera from
Terrytoons, and in 1939 the two began what was to be a winning partnership as co-directors.
The first cartoon directed by Hanna and Barbera together was Puss Gets the Boot,
which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject and
introduced their most famous creation from this period, the cat and mouse duo
Tom and Jerry. Hanna supplied all the screams and yelps of Tom in the shorts
without credit. Leonard Maltin says that "Barbera's strength was in gags and
story development, while Hanna saw himself more as a director, with a solid
sense of timing; they complemented each other perfectly."
Hanna and Barbera's 17-year partnership on the Tom & Jerry series resulted in 7
Academy Awards for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject, and 14 total nominations, more
than any other character-based theatrical animated series. Hanna and Barbera
were placed in charge of MGM's animation division in late 1955; this was short-lived,
as MGM closed the division in 1957.
Hanna-Barbera founders William Hanna and Joseph Barbera pose with several of the
Emmy awards the Hanna-Barbera studio has won.
From here, Hanna branched out into television, forming the company Shield
Productions to partner with animator Jay Ward, who had created the series
Crusader Rabbit. This fizzled, and in 1957 he reteamed up with his old partner
Joseph Barbera to produce the series The Ruff & Reddy Show, under the company
name H-B Enterprises, soon changed to Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Hanna-Barbera Productions became by the late-1960s the most successful
television animation studio in the business, producing hit programs such as The
Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! by the end
of the decade.
Hanna-Barbera had been a subsidiary of Taft Broadcasting (later Great American
Communications) since 1967. The studio thrived until 1991, when it was sold to
Turner Broadcasting. Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors and periodically
worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, including the What-a-Cartoon! series.
Hanna died of throat cancer on March 22, 2001 at the age of 90 in North
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. He is buried in Ascension Cemetery in Lake
Forest, California.