Joseph Barbera

[Deckard]

So Joseph Barbera, one half of the team behind such cartoon classics as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and Huckleberry Hound, has died, aged 95.

Thinking back to my childhood (3 TV channels - woohoo!), Hanna Barbera were a key part of keeping me entertained, and the sheer volume of successful cartoon characters they managed to create must place them among the most influential "entertainers" of all time, at least for us 30somethings and older.

Their characters may not have had the wackiness of, say, the Warners' stable, and their limited animation style may not have been the most dazzling, but there was a certain warmth in their output that appealed to me in a way that the other studios never really managed with their characters. And on the budget they often had to make do with, their output was all the more remarkable.

I know the era ended long ago, but still.... it kind of feels like it's really ended now, with Hanna having died a few years back.