Aug 28, 2020

Joe Ruby, who died at 87, was more than a co-creator of "Scooby-Doo"

Joe Ruby, who helped create some of the most popular and strangest Saturday morning cartoons of the 1960s through the 1980s, has died of natural causes in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 87.

The writer and producer was best known for creating Scooby-Doo with his longtime business partner Ken Spears. The two conceived the character of "Scooby-Doo Where Are You.", wrote the first five episodes, and story-edited or wrote the rest of the 1969 classic series. However, the show was only an early highlight of the creative partnerships they pursued at various networks and studios, culminating in their own Ruby-Spears Productions (later Ruby-Spears Enterprises).

With their studio, Ruby and Spears remained the dominant force in Saturday morning cartoons. They developed and/or produced shows, first exclusively with ABC and later on other networks, often with a quirky and surrealist bent. The studio's productions include "Fangface," "Mr. T," "Turbo Teen," and the 1980s reboot of "Alvin and the Chipmunks." (See below for clips from the series.)

Joe Ruby was born in Los Angeles in 1933. He began his career behind the scenes at Disney while pursuing his passion for drawing cartoons on the side. 1959, he joined Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he met Spears. The two later recalled that a "fortuitous" chance led them to make the transition from editorial to screenwriting. In addition to "Scooby-Doo," they produced shows such as "Jabberjaw" and "Dinomat, Dog Wonder.

After Scooby-Doo proved a hit, Ruby and Spears were hired to direct Saturday morning cartoons on CBS (which aired the show). When Fred Silverman, the station's president of children's programming, moved to ABC, they followed him. Ruby Spears was founded in 1977 as a rival to Hanna-Barbera, but by 1981 both studios were owned by Taft Broadcasting, and they collaborated on shows such as Scooby and Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour.

Ruby Spears continued to produce shows into the mid-1990s; Jack Kirby, who joined the company in 1980, designed the characters and backgrounds for the series "Thunder the Barbarian." In his spare time, he created or developed numerous characters and projects at the studio that never saw the light of day.

Spears later told The New York Times that he suggested that Kirby "give away" his work, to which Ruby replied, "Someday, somewhere, someone will want it."

In 1991, much of the then Ruby-Spears library was sold, along with Hanna-Barbera, to Turner Broadcasting System. These shows are now owned by Warner Bros. and some are rebroadcast on its subsidiaries Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Blue Ribbon Content, said in a statement:

Joe Ruby has made Saturday mornings special for many kids, including myself. He is one of the most prolific creators in the business and has gifted us with one of the most cherished characters in animation. We are thrilled to welcome him to our studio. Scooby-Doo has been a beloved companion on the screen for over 50 years, leaving an enduring legacy that has inspired and entertained generations. We at Warner Bros. Animation have the privilege and honor of carrying on that legacy and send our heartfelt thoughts to his loved ones.

Ruby was truly prolific. Some of his shows are still remembered fondly today and some are forgotten (for good or ill). Let us jog your memory with clips from five films produced by Ruby Spears:

"Fangface," the studio's first series and owes more than a little to "Scooby-Doo":

"Rubik's Magic Cube," one of the quirkiest of the 1980s toy and features a magical Rubik's Cube that moves when the colors are correctly matched:

Turbo Teen, one of the quirks of the cartoon craze that used the A teenage protagonist gains the power to transform into a red sports car after a chance encounter with a mad science experiment:

"Centurions," a science fiction series with character designs by Kirby and fellow comic Gil Kane:

(top image : "Centurions")