Scooby Doo: The Real Creator

Posted by Mary Rayme Jan 9, 2007

Joseph Barbera the creator of the TV show Scooby Doo died in December 2006. Less than a month later I discover that while the television series Scooby Doo was created by Barbera, the character of Scooby Doo, upon which the series was based, was created by Iwao Takamoto, who passed away January 9, 2007.

Takamoto was born in Los Angeles to Japanese parents and was sent to an internment camp in the California desert during World War II. It is there that Takamoto learned to draw, a talent that led him to a job interview with Walt Disney after his family's release from the camp. Takamoto apprenticed at Disney's studio and worked on such great films as Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp.

In 1961 Takamoto went to work for Hanna-Barbera and worked on such television shows as The Flintstones, Josie and the Pussycats, The Great Grape Show, and The Harlem Globetrotters.

Scooby Doo was named for the last line of the Frank Sinatra rendition of Strangers in the Night, and based on a conversation Takamoto had with a Great Dane dog breeder. Hence was born one of the most beloved cartoon characters of all time, the scaredy-cat dog who always manages to come through in the end, with maybe a little Scooby Snack persuasion and assistance from the rest of the gang-Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, and Wilma.

Takamoto created two other cartoon canines, Astro from The Jetsons and Muttley who was in several Hanna-Barbera creations. He also directed the 1973 animated version of Charlotte's Web which has also been remade and released recently.

Since Iwao Takamoto is the man who first drew and named Scooby Doo it is my contention that he be considered the true creator of Scooby Doo. Let it also be noted that Joe Ruby and Ken Spears are also listed on Wikipedia as the creators of the series Scooby Doo.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/09/ap3312202.html