Ruby-Spears
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation Live-action |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, USA |
| Products | Television shows Theatrical films Television specials Direct-to-video films Television films Television commercials |
| Parent | Filmways (1977–1981) Taft Broadcasting (1981–1987) American Financial Corporation (1987–1988) Great American Broadcasting (1987–1991) RS Holdings (1991–1992, 1994–1996) |
Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was a Burbank, California-based entertainment production company that specialized in animation. The firm was founded in 1977 by veteran writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.
History
Both Ruby and Spears started out as sound editors at Hanna-Barbera, and later branched out into writing stories for such programs as Space Ghost and The Herculoids. In 1968, they were assigned the task of developing a mystery-based cartoon series for Saturday morning, the result of which was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. They were also writers and producers for DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, particularly for The Pink Panther and Sons.[1]
The firm's credits include the animated series Fangface, Fangface and Fangpuss, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Thundarr the Barbarian, Rubik the Amazing Cube, the 1983 version of Alvin and the Chipmunks series, The Centurions, the 1988 Superman series, and the American Mega Man cartoon series.
Only one series, Piggsburg Pigs!, used Canadian voice talent rather than American one like most of their other cartoon shows. Ruby-Spears was also responsible for the animated sequence in the 1988 film Child's Play.
The Ruby-Spears studio was founded in 1977 as a subsidiary of Filmways Television and was sold in late 1981 to Taft Broadcasting, becoming a sister company to Hanna-Barbera Productions. In 1991, Ruby-Spears was spun off into RS Holdings while most of the original Ruby-Spears library (its pre-1991 library) was sold along with Hanna-Barbera to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn merged with Time Warner in 1996. The Ruby-Spears studio closed in 1996.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012). "Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.
- ^ Shostak, Stu (01-16-2013). "Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.