Oh man, this one really hurts, we all grew up with Hanna-Barbera...

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=245376&GT1=7703

As a kid, I was never much of a Hanna-Barbera fan, but now I have a better appreciation of what they were able to create given the small budgets and hectic schedules of TV production. And "Top Cat" wasn't too bad.

Farewell to Joe Barbera and partner Bill Hanna, who died in 2001 — they'll both be missed.

I cut my teeth with these guys. The first cartoons I remember watching are Quick Draw Mcgraw and Huckelberry Hound on my local kiddie show "Captain 5".
A couple of years later Hannah Barbara introduced the prime-time animated network series The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Top Cat. While they may have perfected the dubious art of "limited animation", they countered that limitation with great voice artists, music, and theme songs. They were as ubiquitous to my childhood as were Oreos and Coca Cola.

In a world without Hanna and Barbera, there would be *NO* Jonny Quest.
I don't even wanna think about that...
Though I met Bill Hanna (and had him sign a "Man Called Flintstone" one-sheet for me), I only came close once with Joe Barbera. I was at H-B doing some research for an article on JQ collectibles and getting the grand tour from their press liaison in 1996, and he asked if I'd like to meet Mr. B. - well yeah, of course! Unfortunately, he was at lunch and I had a plane to catch so I couldn't wait for him to return. I did get to look around in his office and see all the amazingly cool art on his walls.
When I was in L.A. this Summer, I rode past the H-B HQ - which started life as a high school in the 1950's and was painted bright yellow and lime green when I visited in '96 - to see that it had been sold and the company was no longer there. When did that happen? I noticed that Cel Color, the animation supply store accross the street, was also gone.
The end of an era.
AT

How sad. :(