'Flintstones' and "Yogi Bear" Artist Ed Benedict Dies
PUSSS...@aol.com
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ed Benedict, a legendary animator who put life,
love and laughter in TV cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone, Barney
Rubble and Yogi Bear, has died at the age of 94.
Benedict died in his sleep on Aug. 28 in Auburn in Northern California,
his longtime friend and fellow animator David K. Sheldon confirmed
Tuesday.
"He was quite an interesting fellow, that's for sure," Sheldon said.
"He was the main character designer for all the early Hanna-Barbera
cartoons, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw."
Benedict, who worked at MGM, Universal and other studios on short,
theatrical cartoons, joined Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera soon after the
pair launched their groundbreaking Hanna-Barbera TV animation studio in
the late 1950s. Among his many designs for them were the characters for
their first series, 1957's "The Ruff & Reddy Show."
For "The Flintstones," the story of a "modern Stone Age family,"
Benedict not only designed the hapless cavemen Fred and Barney, but
also their long-suffering wives, Wilma and Betty, and the show's clever
array of Stone Age houses and gadgets, including the characters'
foot-powered cars.
"The Flintstones," one of the first cartoon series created for adults
as well as children, debuted in 1960 and was an immediate hit.
Forty-six years later, Fred and Barney remain squarely in the public
consciousness as pitchmen for various products, including Flintstones'
vitamins.
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that a large part of H-B's
success in TV animation is owed to Benedict's incredibly appealing and
fun character designs," cartoon historian Jerry Beck wrote in a tribute
posted on the Web site cartoonbrew.com
Without the time and budget that were lavished on classic theatrical
cartoons, TV animated comedies had to leave out beautiful backgrounds
and lifelike movement in favor of witty dialogue and stories with vivid
characters.
"Benedict's designs are both simple - they needed to be to accommodate
the strenuous demands of limited TV animation - and highly
sophisticated, containing that indefinable drawing quality that gives a
drawing charm and personality," Amid Amidi wrote in his book "Cartoon
Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation."
Before joining Hanna-Barbera, Benedict worked for another cartoon
legend, Tex Avery, at both Universal and MGM studios. At MGM, where
Hanna and Barbera also worked, he was the lead layout artist and
designer on "Deputy Droopy" and other popular theatrical shorts.
He also worked with "Woody Woodpecker" creator Walter Lantz on several
shorts, including "The Dizzy Dwarf" and "Unpopular Mechanic."
Benedict, who was preceded in death by his wife, Alice, had requested
that his ashes be scattered over California's Carmel Bay.
Information on survivors was not immediately available.