Joe Ruby facts for kids

Joseph "Joe" Clemens Ruby (born March 30, 1933 – died August 26, 2020) was a talented American animator, writer, and TV producer. He is most famous for helping create the popular Scooby-Doo cartoons with his partner, Ken Spears. Together, they also started their own animation company called Ruby-Spears Productions in 1977.

Joe Ruby's Early Life and Career

Joe Ruby was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 30, 1933. His parents, Mildred and Carl Ruby, were from Canada. Joe went to Fairfax High School.

After high school, he joined the United States Navy. He worked on a destroyer ship during the Korean War, using sonar to detect things underwater.

Starting in Animation

Joe always loved art. He began his animation career at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He started in the "inbetweening" department. This is where artists draw the frames that go between the main drawings to make movement smooth.

He also worked as a music editor. Joe knew it would take time to become a full animator. But he kept drawing and writing comic books on the side. Later, he worked briefly in live-action TV editing.

Working with Ken Spears

Joe Ruby then moved to Hanna-Barbera, a famous animation studio. There, he met Ken Spears, who had also been in the Navy. They became a great team.

Joe and Ken started writing for many animated and live-action TV shows. They worked at Hanna-Barbera from 1959. They also wrote for other studios like Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions and DePatie–Freleng Enterprises.

Creating Scooby-Doo

For Hanna-Barbera, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the Scooby-Doo cartoon series. They invented all the main characters:

• Fred Jones
• Daphne Blake
• Velma Dinkley
• Shaggy Rogers
• And of course, Scooby-Doo himself!

The first Scooby-Doo show was called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It first aired on CBS in September 1969. The head of CBS's daytime programming, Fred Silverman, thought a Great Dane dog should be the star. Joe and Ken tried many ideas before deciding on a mystery-solving, but cowardly, dog.

Other Famous Cartoons

Besides Scooby-Doo, Joe and Ken created other popular shows for Hanna-Barbera, including:

• Dynomutt, Dog Wonder
• Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!
• Jabberjaw

At DePatie–Freleng, they created The Barkleys and The Houndcats. In the early 1970s, Joe and Ken also helped supervise the production of Saturday morning cartoons for CBS and later for ABC.

Ruby-Spears Productions

In 1977, ABC helped Joe Ruby and Ken Spears start their own animation studio. It was called Ruby-Spears Productions. This studio made many animated series for Saturday mornings.

Some of their well-known shows include:

• Fangface
• The Plastic Man Comedy-Adventure Hour
• Thundarr the Barbarian
• Saturday Supercade
• Mister T
• Alvin and the Chipmunks
• Superman

In 1981, Ruby-Spears Productions was bought by Taft Entertainment. Later, in 1991, the studio's shows were sold to Turner Broadcasting. This is why newer versions of Ruby-Spears shows are now owned by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Later Life

Joe Ruby passed away at his home in Westlake Village, California, on August 26, 2020. He was 87 years old. His wife, Carole, said he died from problems after a fall. A dedication poster was made by animator Dan Haskett to honor Joe Ruby's important work on Scooby-Doo.

See also

In Spanish: Joe Ruby para niños