A few months after the passing of his partner Joe Ruby, we are sad to report Ken Spears has died. Spears died on November 6th, 2020 due to complications from Lewy body dementia. Mark Evanier first reported this info on his blog – and we recommend visiting his website for more information on this great man and animation industry veteran. Spears was one of the creators of Scooby Doo, Dynomutt and Jabberjaw, among other programs. At Depatie-Freleng, Ruby and Spears created The Barkleys and The Houndcats.

Spears started at Hanna-Barbera Productions as a sound editor in 1959. He met Ruby in the editing department and the two men began a writing partnership. In addition to shows for Hanna Barbers, the team wrote programs for Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions and DePatie–Freleng Enterprises.

Ruby-Spears Productions began in 1977 and produced numerous Saturday morning shows, among them Fangface, The Plastic Man Comedy-Adventure Hour, Thundarr the Barbarian, Saturday Supercade, Mister T, and Alvin and the Chipmunks, among much else.

From Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios:

“Warner Bros. Animation is saddened to learn of the passing of Ken Spears and we send our warmest thoughts to his loved ones. He was a true innovator in the industry whose gifts of humor and storytelling continue to delight audiences. You cannot find a screen in the world that has not played a version of Scooby-Doo. We continue to be inspired by his work at Warner Bros. Animation and are honored to carry on the legacy of his beloved characters.”