Today is...the birth anniversary of animator/producer Joe Barbera

Today is the birth anniversary of animator/producer Joe Barbera. What is your favorite cartoon?

Joe Barbera and William Hanna co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio, in 1957.

Together, they won 7 Academy Awards and 8 Emmy Awards.

The first Hanna-Barbera show produced was The Ruff & Reddy Show, an animated series starring a smart cat and a stupid dog. It began in December of 1957. Other shows from the 50s included The Huckleberry Hound Show, and The Quick Draw McGraw Show.

The 1960s were big for Hanna-Barbera with shows such as The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, and Wacky Races.

One of the most popular Hanna-Barbera series was The Smurfs, which began airing in 1981 and ran for 9 seasons.

Don Messick was a voice actor who worked most notably with Hanna-Barbera, giving voice to characters such as Scooby-Doo, Bam Bam Rubble, Astro the dog, Dr. Benton Quest, and Papa Smurf.

The last shows that Hanna-Barbera produced were co-produced by Cartoon Network. The last three shows were Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and the Powerpuff Girls.

Hanna-Barbera ceased to be beginning in 2001 when William Hanna died of throat cancer. Barbera continued to work for Warner Brothers until his dead in 2006.

Hanna-Barbera is now an in-name-only unit of Warner Bros. Animation.