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Joe Ruby, Scooby-Doo cocreator, dies at 87

By Wesley Coburn

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: Participants are seen in Scooby-Doo costumes at the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade at Marina Vista Park on October 27, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: Participants are seen in Scooby-Doo costumes at the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade at Marina Vista Park on October 27, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images) /
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Joe Ruby, one of Scooby-Doo’s creators, has died at 87.

Joe Ruby, one of the cocreators of Scooby-Doo, has died at the age of 87 years old from natural causes at his home in Westlake Village, California, a Los Angeles suburb.

This was covered by many major entertainment news outlets, though we heard about here at Dog O’Day through Variety.

Along with Ken Spears, Joe Ruby co-created Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? in 1969,which established the core Mystery Inc gang of Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma and their talking Great Dane companion.

“Joe Ruby made Saturday mornings special for so many children, including myself. He was one of the most prolific creators in our industry who gifted us some of animation’s most treasured characters and it was a thrill to host him at our studio,” Warner Bros Animation President Sam Register said in a press release.

Ruby also co-created the Dynomutt superhero spoof series with Spears.

“He never stopped writing and creating, even as he aged,” his grandson Benjamin Ruby told Variety.

In May, Scooby-Doo was introduced to a new generation of fans with the Scoob! movie, which longtime fans of the franchise had mixed emotions about. This is thought to become the start of a shared Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe.

The Scooby-Doo franchise has featured 14 animated TV series, 38 animated films, five live-action films (two starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar), 14 comic series and 20 video games over the half-century since Joe Ruby and Ken Spears dreamed up the concept.

As we enjoy dog movies of all kinds (and have a fairly broad definition for what qualifies), we appreciated the effort and star power that Scoob! brought to the recording studio, with Zac Efron (High School Musical, 17 Again, The Greatest Showman) and Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Mamma Mia, The Art of Racing in the Rain) among the cast and country stars Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown teaming up on the soundtrack.

Next. 5 movies on Netflix about cats and dogs that are worth watching. dark

For more movie news within the FanSided Network, check out our sister site Hidden Remote for the main site’s latest news, opinions and analysis. Amazon Adviser, Bam Smack Pow, Culturess and others all cover movies to varying degrees as well.

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