Tony Benedict R.I.P.

When the Hanna-Barbera studio opened in 1957, Charlie Shows was hired as the staff writer, though Joe Barbera had a lot of say about what went into the studio's cartoons.

Shows left in late 1958 and was replaced by Mike Maltese of Warner Bros. Several months later, Warren Foster was hired from John Sutherland Productions (formerly of Warners) to take over the Huckleberry Hound Show.

The studio expanded into prime time in 1960 with the Flintstones and another writer was needed. That's when Tony Benedict was tempted away from UPA.

Word has reached me this morning that Tony has passed away. I know his health had not been good for several years.

Tony started off working on Huckleberry Hound and Yakky Doodle cartoons. He was the creator of Alfie Gator; Tony loved the Alfred Hitchcock TV show and grabbed hold of a chance to parody it. He punched up gags on the half-hour prime-time shows from TV sitcom writers (non-cartoonists) to add visual elements. The Jetsons came along and Tony's legacy is the creation of Astro.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be a young guy coming into a studio and the people you have to keep up with are Maltese and Foster, two of the greatest comedy cartoon writers ever.

He made his on-camera debut in Here Comes a Star, a half-hour promotional film for TV stations about to air The Magilla Gorilla Show.

He was a man with a sense of fun and enjoyed his time with paisanos Maltese and Joe Barbera.

I had the great pleasure to talk with Tony. You can hear our conversation below.