Joe Ruby was a renowned American animator, television writer, television producer, and music editor, hailing from Los Angeles.
Born in 1933, Ruby was the son of Dr. Carl Ruby and his wife Mildred Fineberg, both Canadian immigrants of Jewish descent. He attended Fairfax High School, where he was part of a predominantly Jewish student body until the late 1960s.
After high school, Ruby joined the United States Navy, serving as a sonar operator during the Korean War. Following his military service, he received art lessons and began working as an inbetweener at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He later left the studio to pursue careers in music editing, freelance comic book art, and writing.
In the late 1950s, Ruby transitioned to television writing, forming a partnership with Ken Spears, a fellow veteran of the United States Navy. The duo worked for various animation studios, including Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, and also lent their services to the production company of Sid and Marty Krofft.
Ruby and Spears co-created the iconic animated series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" (1969-1970),the original incarnation of Scooby-Doo, and its main characters, including Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby-Doo. The human characters were modeled after those from the popular sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959-1963).
The success of "Scooby-Doo" led to Ruby and Spears being hired to supervise the production of CBS's Saturday morning cartoon lineup in the early 1970s. When Fred Silverman, then head of daytime programming at CBS, moved to ABC in 1975, he brought Ruby and Spears with him. ABC helped Ruby and Spears secure the funds to create their own animation studio, Ruby-Spears (1977-1996),which was initially a subsidiary of Filmways.
Ruby-Spears produced a large number of animated television series, including "Thundarr the Barbarian" (1980-1981),"Mister T" (1983-1985),and the first five seasons of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (1983-1988). In 1981, Filmways sold Ruby-Spears to Taft Entertainment, which was the parent company of Hanna-Barbera. Ruby served as the executive producer of many notable series during the 1980s.
In 1991, Taft Entertainment sold the library of Ruby-Spears to Turner Broadcasting System, along with the entirety of Hanna-Barbera. Ruby-Spears became a subsidiary of RS Holdings, and Ruby continued leading the studio until its closure in 1996.
During his later years, Ruby co-produced several series, including "Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa" (1992-1993),"Megaman" (1994-1996),and "Skysurfer Strike Force" (1995-1996). He mostly retired in the late 1990s and stayed away from the limelight.
In 2020, Ruby suffered an accidental fall, which led to complications that ultimately resulted in his death on August 26, 2020, at the age of 87. He was survived by his wife Carole.
