William Hanna & Joseph Barbera: The Sultans of Saturday Morning

by Jeff Lenburg

The seven-time Oscar-winning team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created or produced some of film and television's most beloved cartoon characters, including Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Jonny Quest, the Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo. They also pioneered and revolutionized television animation with a less-expensive style of animation that allowed them to produce the hundreds of memorable cartoon series still shown today around the globe. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Hanna-Barbera was a top producer of television animation, and the team also produced numerous animated features and television movies. The 50-year partnership between William Hanna and Joseph Barbera resulted in the creation of some of the most memorable and popular characters in 20th-century animation and pop culture. Readers will gain an understanding of how this multiple award-winning team worked together to become animation legends.

Chapters include:

The Accidental Artist
The Incessant Doodler and Dreamer
Chasing Their Cartoon Dreams
Fathering Filmdom's Most Famous Cat and Mouse
Conquering Prime-time with America's Favorite Prehistoric Family.

167 pages, Library Binding

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

JEFF LENBURG is a prolific, award-winning author, celebrity biographer, entertainment historian, and writer-producer. He has authored 35 books, both fiction and non-fiction. His work has garnered nominations for several awards, including the American Library Association's "Best Non-Fiction Award" and the Evangelical Christian Publisher Association's Gold Medallion Award for "Best Autobiography/Biography."

In his teens, Jeff began interviewing many famous Hollywood personalities and became a frequent contributor to many leading and respected film journals and magazines that published his freelance work.

As one of the nation's premier biographers, he has authored 18 acclaimed celebrity memoirs and biographies. They include: the autobiography of actor Lorenzo Lamas, "Renegade at Heart"; the eight-book "Legends of Animation" series featuring biographies of Tex Avery, Walt Disney, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Matt Groening, Walter Lantz, John Lasseter, Hayao Miyazaki, and Genndy Tartakovsky; "How to Make a Million Dollars With Your Voice (Or Lose Your Tonsils Trying)" with radio/TV legend Gary Owens; "All the Gold In California and Other People, Places & Things" with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Larry Gatlin; "Peekaboo: The Story of Veronica Lake," the only authorized biography of her; "Dudley Moore: An Informal Biography"; "Dustin Hoffman: Hollywood's Antihero"; and "Steve Martin: An Unauthorized Biography."

An acknowledged authority on cartoon animation, Jeff has spent three decades preserving its history. He has penned seven books about its history: the first-ever "Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film and Television's Award-Winning and Legendary Animators"; three editions of "The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons," the most comprehensive history and so-called "Bible" on animated cartoons ever produced; "The Great Cartoon Directors"; and two editions of "The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoon Series," the first reference book on animated cartoons ever produced.

In 1993, in recognition of his contributions to the world of animation, Jeff was inducted into Hollywood's "Cartoon Legends Walk of Fame" along with cartoon icons William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Friz Freleng, June Foray and Don Messick.

Jeff is also a leading expert on the Three Stooges comedy team. A close friend of the original Stooges Moe Howard and Larry Fine and latter-day additions Joe Besser and Joe DeRita (and the only author-historian to have known them), he has co-written two books about this wacky comedy trio: "The Three Stooges Scrapbook," the official, authorized history, and "Once A Stooge, Always A Stooge," the autobiography of Three Stooges member Joe Besser. In 1983, along with radio-TV legend Gary Owens and his twin brother Greg, he spearheaded a nationwide write-in campaign that earned the Stooges their long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Jeff is also the author of numerous popular references: "Career Opportunities in Animation," a guide to a career in film, television, and games animation; two editions of "The Facts On File Guide to Research," the most comprehensive guide ever written on the subject of writing and research; and "Baseball's All-Star Game," a definitive game-by-game history of baseball's mid-summer classic.

In addition, Jeff has turned to writing fiction. In 1995, he published his first novel, "Scared to Death: A Lori Matrix Hollywood Mystery."

As writer and producer, Jeff has also worked on many top-rated programs and specials for ABC, NBC, PBS, and Tribune Broadcasting, served on the advisory board of Cartoon Network in its development from its inception, and as founder of his own company, Sandcastle Entertainment, develops original properties for both film and television, including live-action and animated television series (including original branded reality series), specials, and documentaries, and original branded characters for animation.

Throughout h

Reviews

[nAeEMak نعیمک]

هانا و باربارا شاید در نگاه اول اسم آشنایی نباشد اما وقتی پای کارتون‌هایشان وسط بیاید خیلی از ما و نسل قبل‌تر کارتون‌هایشان را دیدند. «یوگی خرسه»، «عصر حجر»، «گالیور»، «تام و جری»، «اسکوبی‌دو» و چندتا کارتون دیگر. کتاب از آغاز فعالیت این دو نفر تا تاسیس شرکت خودشان و مرگ‌شان را بازگو می‌کند و نهایتاً ادغام شدن شرکت در شرکت‌های بزرگ‌تر. چیزی که برایم جالب بود این بود که زمانی که دنیا این قدر بهم وصل نبود ما کارتون‌هایی را می‌دیدیم که در جای دیگری هم تقریباً هم‌زمان پخش می‌شد و حتماً باید یک یادی از آن دوبله‌های شگفت‌انگیز هم بکنیم. هانا و باربارا شرکت خیلی مهمی هستند و بخشی از حافظۀ تصویری کارتونی امریکا و بخش دیگری از این کرۀ خاکی را ساخته‌اند.
دربارۀ کتاب چیزی که بیشتر از همه بهم خوش گذشت خواندن سرگذشت به شیوۀ کلاسیک بود. اتفاقی که کمتر رخ می‌دهد و یا در اینترنت خیلی جسته‌گریخته دنبال مطالب می‌گردیم یا حتی زندگی‌نامه‌ها هم زیادی مدرن شدند و باید از بین‌شان کشف کنی. اینجا خیلی خطی وقایع را می‌دیدیم و پر از نقل‌قول و عکس و اسامی و تاریخ‌ها بود که خیلی دیدن این رد در تاریخ انیمیشن امریکا به من خوش گذشت. مخصوصاً که این کارتون‌ها واقعاً برایم مهم بودند و همیشه در تیتراژ فکر می‌کردم «هانا باربارا» یک نفر است که این کارتون‌ها را می‌سازد.
باورم نمی‌شد که یک شرکت این قدر شخصیت به یادماندنی خلق کند و وقتی داشت داستان «تام و جری» که هزاران بار می‌دیدم را می‌گفت یک بار دیگر با خودم مرور کردم که اصلاً ساختن چنین کارتونی ساده نبوده. کتاب خیلی سراغ تکنیک‌ها نمی‌رود و روایت تاریخی ارائه می‌کند اما در همین روایت مثال‌هایی از کارهایی که شرکت برای کم کردن هزینه و سریع‌تر کردن کارها پیش می‌برده را ارائه می‌داده. تجربۀ خوبی بود چون از دورانی صحبت می‌کرد که من خیلی دوست دارم. دورانی که با تمام خرتوخری‌ها و نارو زدن‌ها و مهم بودن پول (مثل همیشه) کارتون‌ها ارج‌وقرب بیشتری داشتند و تماشایشان خیلی زیادتر خوش می‌گذشت.
کتاب را سورۀ مهر درآورده و تقریباً مطمئن هستم که حتی یک بار هم خوانده نشده این قدر که غلط دیکته‌ای و غلط ویرایشی داشت. ای کاش یک بار خوانده می‌شد و نسخۀ فارسی پیراسته‌تری در دسترس ما بود.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook with kids

[Luis F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es interesante como biografía de los creadores de Los Picapiedra y el Oso Yogui, pero echo de menos más profundidad en la obra de los autores: Se queda a veces en un listado cronológico de sus trabajos.