Scooby-Doo Designer Takamoto Dead

Animator, 81, Created Many Popular Hanna-Barbera Characters

(CBS)  In the few days prior to the interview, Takamoto quickly filled two newly-purchased sketchpads with every image he could imagine. Disney hired him on the spot as an apprentice in-betweener on June 5, 1945 - just two months before the end of World War II.

Takamoto trained under Disney's legendary "nine old men," including Ollie Johnston, Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Frank Thomas and Eric Lawson. While at Disney, Takamoto worked on short animated cartoons as well as full-length films, including "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty" and "101 Dalmatians."

In mid-August of 1961, Takamoto moved to Hanna-Barbera Studios, where he stayed for four decades. As a character designer, it was his job to create the look and images of the characters based on an idea for a proposed cartoon show.

3Not only did Takamoto design Scooby-Doo, he also created Shaggy and the rest of the Mystery Machine crew. He named the popular Great Dane after Frank Sinatra's rendition of "Strangers in the Night," in which Sinatra keeps the song going by intoning, only half playfully: "Scooby Dooby Doo."

At a recent chat with Cartoon Network Studios personnel in Burbank, Takamoto offered some tidbits regarding his approach to creating the Scooby-Doo design.

"There was a lady at (Hanna-Barbera) that bred Great Danes," Takamoto explained. "She showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such. I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong."

He was the primary designer of the "The Secret Squirrel Show" (featuring both the title character and Atom Ant), "The Great Grape Ape Show," "Harlem Globe Trotters," and "Josie and the Pussy Cats" series.

He created the Penelope Pitstop character from "The Wacky Races" in two hours, after a client complained to Barbera that the show had no female characters.

"The Flintstones" character the Great Gazoo was another of Takamoto's cosmic designs.

Takamoto received several lifetime achievement honors towards the end of his life. In 1996, received the Windsor McKay's Lifetime Achievement Award from ASIFA-Hollywood. In 2001, he was honored by the Japanese American National Museum, and in 2005, he received the Golden Award from the Animation Guild.

A resident of Beverly Hills, Takamoto is survived by his wife, Barbara; his son Michael and step-daughter Leslie; and his brother Robert and sister Judy.

[zelalamedo]

That's a big miss......................(-_-)

[nothappyatall]

Another one of the great old time real seat of the pants animators gone, the ones who DREW all this stuff by hand on paper with pencils before the era of computers and EZ computer generated special effects.
Their characters had personality and life.

Takamoto, Hanna Barbera, Walt Disney and many other old timers were the most creative old time greats, generations have grown up watching their entertaining and personable cartoons and other presentations.

[gramto7]

RUH ROH!! The world needs more people like this man.