William Hanna
July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001
As one half of the most successful film and television animation duo in the history of Hollywood, William Hanna created cultural icons like Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons. Hanna started his career in animation in the Harman and Ising1 studio out of a simple need for a post-Depression job. He quickly rose through the ranks and moved on to MGM. At MGM, he met Joseph Barbera and the two quickly teamed up and started a 60 year partnership. Hanna-Barbera’s early success with the classic cat and mouse series Tom and Jerry (which won 7 Academy Awards) led to more an more successes – especially among adult viewers. Sensing they had something to offer, they forayed into prime time television with a spoof of The Honeymooners called The Flintstones. The Flintstones became the first truly successful animated prime time series and ran for 6 seasons. William and Joe never looked back. 100’s of cartoon series, 1000’s of characters and nearly 50 years later, they were still producing successful cartoons for all ages. William Hanna died at the age of 90 from throat cancer. He will always be remembered as one of the great animators and producers of the golden age of studio animation.
Burial
Ascension Cemetery – Lake Forest, CA
Specific Location
Section A, Tier 16, Grave 81: Behind the mausoleum, about 4 rows back from a tree at the southwestern corner of the building.
1 – Harman and Ising were responsible for the Warner Bros. animation department, which produced the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. They also studied under Walt Disney. So, pretty good place to work.
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