-- William Hanna, the co-founder and co-chairman of the legendary Hanna-Barbera Studios, died Thursday at age 90, according to a spokesman for
Warner Brothers.
Spokesman Scott Rowe said the animation legend died at his home in
North Hollywood with his wife of 65 years, Violet, by his side.
Born in
Melrose,
New Mexico, on July 14, 1910, William Denby Hanna was trained as an engineer, and began his animation career at the famous Harman-Ising Studios.
In 1937, he was hired by
MGM, where he met Barbera. Their creative partnership would last more than 60 years.
At MGM, they revolutionized animation by mixing it with live action, as their cat and mouse characters Tom and Jerry danced with
Gene Kelly in "Anchors Aweigh" and "Invitation To Dance," and with
Esther Williams in "
Dangerous When Wet."
The
Tom and Jerry shorts earned seven
Academy Awards. When MGM closed its cartoon division in 1957, Hanna and Barbera founded their own studio, which went on to produce more than 3,000 animated half-hour television shows.
Just three years after getting started, the pair's "
Huckleberry Hound" won the first
Emmy Award ever given for an animated series, and launched the first animated prime-time show, "
The Flintstones."
In 1976, Hanna and Barbera received stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame; they were inducted into the
Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993.