Animator and "Scooby Doo" co-creator Joe Ruby has died at the age of 87.
He brought the character "Scooby Doo" to life and made many children's eyes shine. Animator Joe Ruby died last Wednesday (August 26th) at the age of 87. As the US magazine "Deadline" reports, the co-inventor of the popular US cartoon series "Scooby Doo" died in Westlake Village, California after years of suffering from health problems. Ruby started his career at Walt Disney Productions. Later he was editor and producer at Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he designed the stories about the spotted mastiff together with Ken Spears (82) at the end of the 1960s.
The success story of "Scooby Doo"
The first "Scooby Doo" episode aired in 1969. From then on, the cartoon series flickered regularly on the screens in the USA. The characters Freddy Jones, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, Daphne Blake and Scooby Doo quickly became childhood heroes and the series received numerous offshoots. In 2002 and 2004, real films by Warner Bros. were released. In addition, the cartoon series was animated.
The two inventors founded their own production company Ruby-Spears Productions in 1977 and produced other popular series such as "Mister T.", "Superman" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks".
"He was one of the most prolific minds in our industry who gave us some of the most precious characters," said Sam Register, 51, President of Warner Bros. Animation, in a statement. Scooby-Doo has been a popular companion for more than 50 years and "leaves a lasting legacy that has inspired and entertained generations".