Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was a

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

–based American

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

that specialized in

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

with another branch in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. This company was founded in 1977 by veteran writers and ''

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on Septem ...

'' creators

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 the creator of the animated ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, together with Ken Spears. In 1977, they c ...

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-found ...

History

Ruby and Spears started out as sound editors at

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and later branched out into story-writing for such programs as ''

Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Ja ...

'' and ''

The Herculoids ''The Herculoids'' is an American Saturday-morning animated-cartoon television series, created and designed by Alex Toth, that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show debuted on September 9, 1967, on CBS. Hanna-Barbera produced one sea ...

''. In 1969, they were assigned the task of developing a mystery-based cartoon series for Saturday mornings, the result of which was ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!''. They left Hanna-Barbera shortly after because "they were having a hard time moving up" and wanted to be "associate producers". They were also writers and producers for

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (also known as Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with the Mirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions; and DFE Films) was an American animation production company that was active from 1963 to 1 ...

, particularly for ''

The Barkleys ''The Barkleys'' is an American animated television series that aired in Autumn of 1972 on NBC and was produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. Premise The cartoon – inspired by the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' – featured an anthropom ...

'' and ''

The Houndcats ''The Houndcats'' is an American Saturday morning cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, with reruns continuing until September 1, 1973. Thirteen episodes were ...

''.Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012).
''Program 276'' (Legendary animation producers JOE RUBY and KEN SPEARS discuss their long association, which began at Hanna-Barbera in 1959 when they were film and sound editors and eventually led to the formation of their own company in 1977, and writer MARK EVANIER talks about the differences between working for H-B as opposed to R-S.)
". ''Stu's Show''. Retrieved 03-18-2013. Ruby-Spears Productions was founded in 1977 while Ruby and Spears were network executives at ABC supervising the Saturday morning programming.

ABC Entertainment The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...

president

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

wanted to create competition for Hanna-Barbera, which then provided the bulk of the Saturday morning content for all three major networks. Silverman was concerned the studio was stretching their projects too thin, diluting the quality of their series, requiring competition. The company's first breakout was ''The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy''. The company's credits include the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

Fangface ''Fangface'' is a 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears Productions for ABC that aired from September 9, 1978, to September 8, 1980. The executive producers were Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, and this was their first cartoon they ...

'', '' Goldie Gold and Action Jack'', ''

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show ''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' is an animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions from 1979 to 1981; it was shown right after ''Super Friends'' on the ABC Network. The show featured various adventures of the DC Comic ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Rubik, the Amazing Cube ''Rubik, the Amazing Cube'' is a 1983 half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the puzzle created by Ernő Rubik, produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and broadcast as part of '' The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour'' block on ABC ...

'', the 1983 version of the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' series, ''

Mister T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his di ...

'', ''

Sectaurs ''Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion'' was a line of action figures released by Coleco in 1985. Created by Lawrence Mass, Tim Clarke, and Maureen Trotto, the Sectaurs world blended humanoids with insects and arachnids. Marvel Comics released a limited ...

'', '' The Centurions'', the 1988 '' Superman'' series, the '' Police Academy'' animated series and the American '' Mega Man'' cartoon series. Joe Ruby's and Ken Spears' favorite Ruby-Spears-produced show was ''Thundarr the Barbarian''. Only two pre-1991 series, ''Police Academy: The Animated Series'' and '' Piggsburg Pigs!'', used Canadian rather than American voice talent like most of their other cartoons. Ruby-Spears was also responsible for the animated sequence in the 1988 film '' Child's Play'' and replaying the sequence as a fictional commercial in the 1991 sequel ''

Child's Play 3 ''Child's Play 3'' is a 1991 American slasher film and the third installment in the '' Child's Play'' film series. The film is written by Don Mancini and directed by Jack Bender. Brad Dourif once again reprised his role as Chucky from the previo ...

''. The Ruby-Spears studio was founded in 1977 as a subsidiary of Filmways (later Orion Pictures) and sold in late 1981 4 years later to

Taft Broadcasting The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the Un ...

, becoming a sister company to Hanna-Barbera. In 1991, Ruby-Spears was spun off into RS Holdings. Most of the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library was sold along with

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

, which in turn merged with

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

(now

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

) in 1996. The Ruby-Spears studio closed in 1996 after 19 years of operation.Shostak, Stu (01-16-2013).
''Program 305'' (TV animation producers JOE RUBY and KEN SPEARS return to discuss the formation of their own company and creating such series as "Fangface", "Rickety Rocket", "Goldie Gold" and many others. Also - animation writer MARK EVANIER talks about working on "Thundarr" and "Plastic Man" for the team.)
". ''Stu's Show''. Retrieved 03-18-2013. As of now, most of the original pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library is now held by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, through Hanna-Barbera,

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. The only pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library not owned by Warner Bros. is '' Rambo: The Force of Freedom'', which is owned and distributed by

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

which also own and distribute the first three live-action ''

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

'' films. As of 2019, it is unclear where Ruby-Spears' post-1991 library is held; two exceptions are the ''Mega Man'' series, which is at least partially owned by

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of childr ...

, and ''

Skysurfer Strike Force ''Skysurfer Strike Force'' is a science-fiction superhero animated series that was featured on Bohbot Entertainment's Amazin' Adventures cartoon block and was co-produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and Ashi Productions. The show lasted two seaso ...

'', which is owned by Invincible Entertainment Group, along with most of the Bohbot Entertainment library. The founders both died in 2020 within three months of each other – Joe Ruby died of natural causes on August 26 at the age of 87 and Ken Spears died of complications from Lewy body dementia on November 6 at age 82.

References

1977 establishments in California 1996 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1977 American companies disestablished in 1996 American animation studios Italian animation studios Animation duos Mass media companies established in 1977 Mass media companies disestablished in 1996 Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United States Companies based in Burbank, California Taft Broadcasting Hanna-Barbera 1981 mergers and acquisitions Filmways Turner Broadcasting System {{coord missing, Los Angeles County, California

History

See also

References