Atom Ant, the Banana Splits, Captain Caveman, Dynomutt ...

        Anyone who knows what “Yabba Dabba Doo!” means has been influenced by William Hanna.

        If you know Yogi is “smarter than the average bear,” then you've learned a little something from Mr. Hanna.

        The man who co-founded Hanna-Barbera cartoon empire, creating a legacy of Saturday morning memories, died Thursday at age 90.

Joe Barbera (left) and Bill Hanna pose with some of their cartoon creations in 1988 (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        “His contribution to American society will live forever. Next to Walt Disney, it's Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Nobody else even comes close,” said Dennis Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services and a friend of Mr. Hanna's for more than 30 years.

        Beyond the cartoons on television, any child who frolicked at Kings Island during the 1970s and '80s can recall riding the Scooby Doo roller coaster or hugging a real-life Quick Draw McGraw or other character strolling Hanna-Barbera Land.

        The Flintstones, Funky Phantom, GoBots, the Great Grape Ape, the Hillbilly Bears, Hong Kong Phooey ...

        Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting Co. and business icon Carl Lindner owned Hanna-Barbera Productions for nearly 25 years.

        “Bill was a good partner and one of the most creative men I've ever known,” Mr. Lindner said. “His creativity provided good, wholesome entertainment for all of us.”

        Charles Mechem, former chairman and CEO of Taft Broadcasting, said Mr. Hanna was loved and respected.

        “Bill Hanna was not only a pioneer and genius in the world of animation but he was also a superb gentleman.”

        Mr. Hanna and Joe Barbera changed the animation industry, simplifying the process so it became possible to produce hundreds of half-hour shows.

        Huckleberry Hound, Inch High Private Eye, Jabberjaw, the Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Josie and the Pussycats ...

Speigel

        Mr. Speigel was an assistant manager at Kings Island when it opened in 1972. “He was like a father to me. I've never met anybody who didn't like him. He was a wonderful, giving person.”

        Remember the Enchanted Voyage boat ride?

        For nearly 15 years, it was among the park's few air-conditioned places where people could escape the summer heat. The water ride was filled with singing Hanna-Barbera characters until they were replaced by Smurfs.

        Mr. Speigel can sing every word of the theme song that played on that ride. He helped Mr. Hanna write the ditty one week in 1970 when they were lounging on Mr. Hanna's boat off Catalina Island.

        “A lot of people say Joe was the creative genius, but Bill was just as creative,” Mr. Speigel said.

        “"Bill wrote the jingles for all the great cartoons back then, Huckleberry Hound ... the Flintstones ... Scooby-Doo.”

        Magilla Gorilla, Penelope Pitstop, Pound Puppies, Quick Draw McGraw, Richie Rich ...

        Mr. Hanna was a fan of barbershop quartets and sang in one for years. “He had a little piano in his office where he'd work out the melodies to the songs,” Mr. Speigel said.

        Gary Wachs, the first general manager of Kings Island, also had frequent contact with Mr. Hanna.

        “Bill was the ultimate gentleman. He really wasn't the Hollywood type,” Mr. Wachs said.

        Mr. Hanna and Mr. Barbera started working together in 1938. Their early collaboration included Tom and Jerry, which they created for movie theaters.

        But television quickly became their favored medium. In 1960, their hit Huckleberry Hound became the first cartoon ever to win an Emmy.

        Scooby Doo (and Scrappy too), Secret Squirrel, Smurfs, Snagglepuss, Space Ghost...

        Over the decades, Hanna-Barbera Productions created or produced more than 300 different series, specials, TV movies and films. Their shows have been seen in more than 80 countries and in 22 languages.

        The Flintstones found success in prime-time TV by not limiting its reach to children. Hanna and Barbera freely admitted it was a parody of The Honeymooners.

        Likewise Top Cat was modeled on Phil Silvers' character Sgt. Bilko.

        Corporate control of the cartoon rights has changed hands over the years.

        Taft Broadcasting bought the studio for less than $7 million in 1966. Mr. Lindner bought Taft and in 1991 sold off the studio for more than $320 million to a joint venture involving Turner Broadcasting System.

        “I saw a (media) report two weeks ago that said they were worth $1.5 billion now. That's how big the characters are,” Mr. Speigel said.

        Speed Buggy, Superfriends, Tom and Jerry, Top Cat, Trollkins, Undercover Elephant ...

        Thanks to cable channels like the Cartoon Network and Boomerang, scarcely an hour passes without one of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons airing. And Scooby Doo, Shaggy and the gang still figure among the mall crowd, thanks to cartoon theme stores.

        Scooby still tickles preschoolers at Reach Child Development Center in Montgomery.

        “If we say, "Let's choose a movie,' Scooby Doo wins every time,” said director Denise Donahue.

        Wally Gator, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, and of course ... Yogi Bear.

        At Kings Island, the Hanna-Barbera flavor has faded since Paramount took control of the park in 1984. But come summer, when the park opens again, children can still get a hug from Barney Rubble, Scooby Doo and others.

        Mr. Hanna is survived by his wife, a son and daughter, seven grandchildren and by Mr. Barbera, who turns 90 today.
       

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