Joe Ruby

Joseph Clemens Ruby (March 30, 1933 – August 26, 2020) was an American animator, television editor, writer, and producer. He was the founder of television animation production company Ruby-Spears Productions, together with Ken Spears.[2] They co-created the animated Scooby-Doo franchise beginning with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! which debuted in September 1969 on CBS.

Joe Ruby
Born
Joseph Clemens Ruby

(1933-03-30)March 30, 1933[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 2020(2020-08-26) (aged 87)
Westlake Village, California, U.S.
OccupationAnimator, writer, editor, television producer
Years active1960–2020
Spouse(s)
Carole Ruby
​
(m. 1957)​
Children4

Early life

Ruby was born on March 30, 1933 in Los Angeles, the son of Canadian parents, Mildred (Fineberg) and Carl Ruby, a doctor.[3][4] His family was Jewish.[5] He attended Fairfax High School. After graduating, he joined the United States Navy and worked as a sonar operator on a destroyer during the Korean War.[6][7]

Career

Ruby studied art and began his career in animation at Walt Disney Productions in the inbetweening department. He began as music editor, knowing it would take a long process to become an experienced animator, but nonetheless pursued his passion at the side as a freelance comic book artist and writer.[6] He later worked for a short time in live-action television editing before moving to Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he met Ken Spears.[8] The two men teamed up to become writers for several animated and live-action television programs, both freelance and as on-staff writers, starting at Hanna-Barbera in 1959,[9] before leaving the studio due to a wish to become associate producers.[10] They also worked as writers for Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions and DePatie–Freleng Enterprises.[8]

For Hanna-Barbera, Ruby and Spears created Scooby-Doo and the related characters. The concept began with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! which debuted on CBS in September 1969.[11] Their other series for the company were Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, and Jabberjaw, among other programs. At DePatie–Freleng, they created The Barkleys and The Houndcats. In the early 1970s, CBS president of children's programming Fred Silverman hired Ruby and Spears to supervise the production of CBS's Saturday morning cartoon lineup, a position they assumed at ABC when Silverman defected to that network.[8]

Wanting to create competition for Hanna-Barbera, ABC set Ruby and Spears up with their own studio in 1977, as a subsidiary of Filmways.[12][13] Ruby-Spears Productions produced animated series for Saturday mornings, among them Fangface, The Plastic Man Comedy-Adventure Hour, Thundarr the Barbarian, Saturday Supercade, Mister T, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Superman, among others.[13] Ruby-Spears was bought by Hanna-Barbera's parent company, Taft Entertainment, in 1981, and its back catalog was sold along with the Hanna-Barbera library and studio in 1991 to Turner Broadcasting. Current reissues of Ruby-Spears shows on DVD and digital platforms are therefore copyrighted by Hanna-Barbera Productions.[13]

Personal life

Ruby married his wife, Carole, in 1957. Together, they had four children: Cliff, Deanna, Craig and Debby. They remained married for 63 years until his death.[6][14]

Death

Ruby died of natural causes on August 26, 2020, at his home in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 87.[6][15] Dan Haskett made a dedication poster for Ruby's contribution to Scooby-Doo five days after his death.[16]

References
  1. "Joseph Clemens Ruby, Born 03/30/1933 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". www.californiabirthindex.org.
  2. Itzkoff, Dave (April 12, 2010). "Jack Kirby's Heroes in Waiting" – via NYTimes.com.
  3. Del Rosario, Alexandra (August 27, 2020). "Joe Ruby Dies: 'Scooby Doo' Co-Creator Was 87". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  4. "Joe Ruby obituary | Anthony Hayward". the Guardian. September 1, 2020.
  5. Bros, Warner. "How Scooby-Doo became TV's most Jewish cartoon dog". The Forward.
  6. Barnes, Mike (August 27, 2020). "Joe Ruby, Co-Creator of Scooby-Doo, Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  7. "Scooby-Doo creator Joe Ruby dies, aged 87". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. Shostak, Stu (February 5, 2012). "Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  9. "ScoobyAddicts.com". ScoobyAddicts.
  10. "Ruby & Spears : WonderCon 2012".
  11. "Scooby-Doo co-creator Ken Spears dies aged 82". BBC News. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. "News From ME - Mark Evanier's blog". www.newsfromme.com.
  13. Shostak, Stu (01-16-2013). "Tribute To Joseph Barbera". Stu's Show. Retrieved 05-9-2019.
  14. Day, Nate (August 27, 2020). "Scooby-Doo' co-creator Joe Ruby dead at 87". Fox News. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  15. "Scooby-Doo Co-Creator Joe Ruby Dies at 87". Variety. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  16. https://twitter.com/WB_Animation/status/1300529607666479105
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