'Scooby-Doo' creator dies - USA TODAY 1/9/07

[ALIASd]

Cartoonist who created Scooby-Doo dies

Updated 1/9/2007 9:06 AM ET

Reuters
Iwao Takamoto, the animator who designed the
cartoon canine Scooby-Doo, died at 81.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created the beloved Scooby-Doo and directed the cartoon classic "Charlotte's Web," has died. He was 81.

Takamoto died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Takamoto assisted in the designs of some of the biggest animated features and television shows for Disney and the Hanna-Barbera animation team. They included Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, The Jetsons and The Flintstones.

But it was his creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and endured for generations.

Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra's final phrase in Strangers in the Night.

The breeder "showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such," Takamoto said in a recent talk at Cartoon Network Studios.

"I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong."

Takamoto also created other famous cartoon dogs such as Astro from The Jetsons and Muttley, the mixed-breed that appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He also directed the 1973 feature Charlotte's Web.

Takamoto was survived by his wife, Barbara, son Michael and stepdaughter Leslie.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...oto-obit_x.htm

[sailerm]

Still a sad time at the Hanna-Barberra studios

[barfownz]

I loved his show when i was a kid!

[cellarhound]

Yeah, I know, it's a little depressing that this much tallent has passed in such a short time period... sigh.