Jerry Eisenberg (December 3, 1937 – February 11, 2025) was an American television producer, animator,

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mar ...

, and

character designer Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * Character (novel), ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * Characters (Theophrastus), ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek se ...

, primarily known for his work at

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

and

Ruby-Spears Productions Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was an American entertainment production company founded by veteran writers and ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' creators, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, in 1977, before closing in 1996. Spec ...

.Shostak, Stu (03-11-2011).
with Jerry Eisenberg, Scott Shaw!, and Earl Kress
. ''Stu's Show''. Retrieved 2-28-2025 Jerry Eisenberg,

Scott Shaw! Scott Shaw (born September 4, 1951) is an American cartoonist, animator, and historian of comics. Among Shaw's comic-book work is Hanna-Barbera's ''The Flintstones'' (for Marvel Comics and Harvey Comics), '' Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew ...

, and

Earl Kress Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

were all former employees of Hanna-Barbera over the years, and relate the history of the studio to host Stu Shostak

Early life

Eisenberg was born in New York City on December 3, 1937. He was the son of Harvey Eisenberg, an animator and comic book artist associated with ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' and the other characters from the

MGM cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (also commonly referred to as MGM Cartoons) was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsi ...

. They were of German descent. Jerry Eisenberg quit art school to take his first job, as an inbetweener for MGM, in 1956. The studio closed seven months after Eisenberg's hire, and he went on to work as an assistant to

Ken Harris Karyl Ross "Ken" Harris (July 31, 1898 – March 24, 1982) was an American animator best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of director Chuck Jones. Life and career Ken Harris was born in Tulare County, Califor ...

at Warner Bros. Cartoons.

Career

In 1961, Eisenberg was hired at

, run by former MGM cartoon producers

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...

. Here, Eisenberg co-created '' The Peter Potamus Show''; designed the characters on ''

Wacky Races ''Wacky Races'' is a media franchise containing five animated series, several video games, and a comic book, with most centered on the theme of various Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters primarily engaged in auto racing (although occasionally employ ...

'' and ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...

''; and worked in layout on programs such as ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produc ...

'', ''

The Huckleberry Hound Show ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on Septembe ...

'', ''

Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction–adventure media franchise created by Doug Wildey for Hanna-Barbera. It follows the character Jonny Quest, a young boy who joins his scientist father on various extraordinary adventures. The franchise sta ...

'' and ''

''. In 1977, Hanna-Barbera alumni

Joe Ruby Joseph Clemens Ruby (March 30, 1933 – August 26, 2020) was an American animator, writer, television producer, and music editor. He was best known as a co-creator of the animated ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, together with Ken Spears. In 1977, they ...

and

Ken Spears Charles Kenneth Spears (March 12, 1938 – November 6, 2020) was an American animator, writer, television producer and sound editor. He was best known as a co-creator of the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, together with Joe Ruby. In 1977, they co-foun ...

started their own studio,

, and hired Eisenberg as producer and character designer for ''

Fangface ''Fangface'' is an American Saturday morning cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears Productions for ABC. It premiered on September 9, 1978 and ended on November 10, 1979, with a total of 24 episodes over the course of 2 seasons. The executive producer ...

'', '' The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' and ''

Thundarr the Barbarian ''Thundarr the Barbarian'' is an American Saturday morning animated series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran for two seasons on ABC from October 4, 1980, to October 31, 1981, and was rerun on NBC ...

''. Eisenberg later worked as a writer, storyboard artist, and/or designer and layout artist for a number of productions at various studios, including '' Muppet Babies'' at

Marvel Productions Marvel Productions Ltd., later known as New World Animation, was an American production company owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of News Corporation which was founded in 1981 as the television and film studio subsidiary of the Mar ...

, ''

Histeria! ''Histeria!'' is an American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, ''Histeria!'' was an explicitly educational program c ...

'' at

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

, ''

House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...

'' at

Walt Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA; also shortened to Disney TVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is an American animation production company that serves as the television a ...

and ''

Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satire, satirical office humor about a White-collar worker, white-collar, micromanagement, micromanaged offic ...

'' (Idbox/

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...

). He has also worked on several productions for Hanna-Barbera and its successor,

, including ''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. The second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, it aired from July 14, 1997, to August 27, 2004. The titular Johnny Bravo (voiced by ...

'', ''

Tom & Jerry Kids ''Tom & Jerry Kids'' (formerly known as ''Tom & Jerry Kids Show'' in the first season) is an American animated television series co-produced by H-B Production Co. and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry as ...

'' and a number of ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

'' direct-to-video films. Eisenberg died in

Tarzana, California Tarzana () is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. His ...

on February 11, 2025, at the age of 87. At the

97th Academy Awards The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly r ...

, his name was mentioned in the '' In Memoriam'' section.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenberg, Jerry 1937 births 2025 deaths American television writers American male television writers American animated film producers American storyboard artists Animators from New York (state) Artists from New York City Film producers from New York City Hanna-Barbera people Television producers from New York City American character designers