Ruby-Spears

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. Specialized in animation, it was headquartered in Burbank, California, with another branch in Rome, Italy.

History

Ruby and Spears started out as sound editors at Hanna-Barbera and later branched out into story-writing for such programs as '' Space Ghost'' and '' The Herculoids''. 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, particularly for '' The Barkleys'' and '' The Houndcats''.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.

The company was founded in 1977 as a division of Filmways (later Orion Pictures) and sold in late 1981 to Taft Broadcasting, becoming a sister company to Hanna-Barbera, while Ruby and Spears were network executives at ABC supervising the Saturday-morning programming. ABC Entertainment president Fred Silverman 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 production was ''The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy''. The company's credits include the animated series '' Fangface'', '' Goldie Gold and Action Jack'', '' The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'', '' Thundarr the Barbarian'', '' Rubik, the Amazing Cube'', the 1983 version of the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' series, '' Mister T'', '' Sectaurs'', '' Centurions'', the 1988 ''Superman'' series, the '' Police Academy'' animated series and the American '' Mega Man'' cartoon series.

Among the unrealized projects at the studio were ''Roxie's Raiders'', an ''Indiana Jones''-style serial about a female adventurer and her allies; ''Golden Shield'', about an ancient Mayan hero seeking to save earth in the apocalyptic year 2012; and ''The Gargoids'', about scientists who gain superpowers after being infected by an alien virus.

Ruby and 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''.

In 1991, Ruby-Spears was spun off into RS Holdings. Most of the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library was sold along with Hanna-Barbera to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn merged with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery) in 1996. The Ruby-Spears studio closed later that year, 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, Ruby-Spears' pre-1991 library is owned by Warner Bros. through Warner Bros. Animation. The few pre-1991 Ruby-Spears shows not owned by Warner Bros. are '' Rambo: The Force of Freedom'', which is owned and distributed by StudioCanal which also own and distribute the first three live-action '' Rambo'' films, '' It's Punky Brewster'', which is owned by Universal Television (but distributed by MGM Television outside the US, along with most of the pre-2004 NBC Studios library), and ''Piggsburg Pigs!'', which is owned by The Walt Disney Company through its acquisition of Fox Kids Worldwide (now ABC Family Worldwide) in 2001.

Ruby-Spears' post-1991 library does not appear to be owned by any company; however, there are a few exceptions: '' Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa'' is now owned by WildBrain, ''Mega Man'' is owned by Shochiku and '' Skysurfer Strike Force'' is owned by Invincible Entertainment Group under license from 41 Entertainment, along with most of the Bohbot Entertainment library.

The founders both died in 2020 within three months of each other – Ruby died of natural causes on August 26 at the age of 87 and Spears died of complications from Lewy body dementia on November 6 at age 82.

Filmography

See also

* List of animation studios owned by Warner Bros. Discovery
* Animation in the United States in the television era

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
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. divisions
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery brands
Former Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries
Television production companies of Italy
Film production companies of Italy

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