Animator and writer Joe Ruby will go down in history as the co-creator of generations of youngsters’ favourite cartoon characters.
Mr Ruby died of natural causes at his home in Westlake, California, on Wednesday at the age of 87.
He was born on March 30, 1933, and served in the US Navy before beginning a career in animation.
He began his television career at Walt Disney Productions working as an assistant animator, before making the move into creating magic of his own after meeting his writing partner-to-be Ken Spears while working at Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1959.
The pair were credited with redefining Saturday morning cartoons, creating characters including Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Jabberjaw, The Barkleys, and The Houndcats.
Their big break, though, came with their most-popular creation Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? which was launched in 1969 and ran on CBS until 1976, spawning several reboots and films.
Alongside character designer Iwao Takamoto, the pair tried out several incarnations of the gang before creating the now infamous line-up of “pesky, meddling kids” Freddie, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and the Great Dane, Scooby-Doo.
In an past interview with website ScoobyAddicts.com, Mr Ruby recalled moving into writing after a “freak opportunity”.
He said: “It was just a freak opportunity that came up at Hanna-Barbera in 1959.
“They desperately needed people to write the short openings, closings and 30 second bridges for the Huck Hound and Yogi Bear Shows, and both Ken and I started writing them on the side while we worked our regular jobs in the editorial department.”
Ruby-Spears Productions produced animated series Alvin and the Chipmunks, Mr. T, Superman and Thundarr the Barbarian.
Mr Ruby also wrote the sci-fi thriller series Planet of the Apes in 1974 and the horror film Rumpelstiltskin in 1995.
His grandson Benjamin Ruby said: “He never stopped writing and creating, even as he aged.”
Mr Ruby is survived by his wife of 63 years Carole, their four children and 10 grandchildren.