Animator Joe Ruby, who co-created Scooby-Doo has died aged 87.
Ruby died of natural causes at his home in Westlake Village in California, Variety reports.
Ruby worked alongside creative partner Ken Spears to create several successful cartoons – as well as Scooby-Doo, the pair also developed Dynomutt, Dog Wonder and Jabberjaw.
His grandson Benjamin Ruby said: “He never stopped writing and creating, even as he aged.”
Ruby started out working for Walt Disney Productions, before joining Hanna-Barbera where he met Spears.
Scooby-Doo launched on CBS back in 1969, with Ruby and Spears writing the first five episodes and then supervising and editing the rest of the season.
The original show ran until 1976 but has been successfully rebooted over the years, even making its way on to the big screen.
Speaking to Scooby-Doo fansite Scooby Addicts, Ruby said: “I did some magazine cartooning years before, but never pursued [working as a writer] much.
“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.”
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