Who was Joseph Barbera?

Joseph "Joe" Roland Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, who co-founded the animation studio and production company "Hanna-Barbera".

Born to Italian immigrants in New York City, Barbera joined "Van Beuren Studios" in 1927 and subsequently "Terrytoons" in 1929. In 1937, he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Barbera met William Hanna. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing "Tom and Jerry". In 1957, after MGM dissolved their animation department, they co-founded "Hanna-Barbera", which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing programs such as "The Flintstones", "Yogi Bear", "Scooby-Doo", "Top Cat", "The Smurfs", "Huckleberry Hound", and "The Jetsons".

Joseph Barbera was born at 10 Delancey Street in the Little Italy (Lower East Side) section of Manhattan, New York, to Italian (Sicilian) immigrants Vincent Barbera, born in Castelvetrano (of Lebanese origin) and Francesca Calvacca Barbera, born in Sciacca. He grew up speaking Italian. His family moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York when he was four months old. He had two younger brothers, Larry (1912–1999) and Ted (1914–2000), both of whom served in World War II. As a member of the United States Army, Larry participated in the invasion of Sicily.