Editing Ruby-Spears

{{short description|American entertainment production company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ruby-Spears Productions
| logo = File:Ruby Spears logo 1981.png
| logo_caption = Logo used from 1981 to 1991
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Entertainment]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1977}}
| founders = [[Joe Ruby]]<br>[[Ken Spears]]
| defunct = {{End date and age|1996}}
| fate = Closed
| successor = Library:<br>[[Warner Bros. Television Studios]]<br>{{small|(through [[Warner Bros. Animation]])}}<br>(pre–1991, except ''[[Rambo: The Force of Freedom]]'', ''[[It's Punky Brewster]]'' and ''[[Piggsburg Pigs!]]'')
| genre = [[Animation]]
| hq_location_city = [[Burbank, California]], U.S.<br>[[Rome]], Italy
| num_locations = 2
| products = [[Television program|Television shows]]<br>[[Television special|Television specials]]<br>[[Title sequence]]s
| parent = [[Filmways]] (1977–1981)<br>[[Taft Broadcasting]] (1981–1987)<br>Great American Broadcasting (1987–1991)<br>RS Holdings (1991–1996)
}}
'''Ruby-Spears Productions''' (also known as '''Ruby-Spears Enterprises''') was an American [[entertainment]] [[production company]] founded by veteran writers and ''[[Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!]]'' creators, [[Joe Ruby]] and [[Ken Spears]], in 1977, before closing in 1996. Specialized in [[animation]], it was headquartered in [[Burbank, California]], with another branch in [[Rome]], [[Italy]].

== History ==
Ruby and Spears started out as [[Sound editor (filmmaking)|sound editors]] at [[Hanna-Barbera]] and later branched out into story-writing for such programs as ''[[Space Ghost (TV series)|Space Ghost]]'' and ''[[The Herculoids]]''. In 1969, they were assigned the task of developing a mystery-based [[Saturday-morning cartoon|cartoon series for Saturday mornings]], the result of which was ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!''. They left Hanna-Barbera shortly after because "they were having a hard time moving up" and wanted to be "associate producers".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqDi77RnNAQ|title=Ruby & Spears : WonderCon 2012|website=[[YouTube]] |date=August 28, 2020}}</ref> They were also writers and producers for [[DePatie–Freleng Enterprises]], particularly for ''[[The Barkleys]]'' and ''[[The Houndcats]]''.<ref name="STUEP1">Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012). "[https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php?y=2012 ''Program 276'' (Legendary animation producers JOE RUBY and KEN SPEARS discuss their long association, which began at Hanna-Barbera in 1959 when they were film and sound editors and eventually led to the formation of their own company in 1977, and writer MARK EVANIER talks about the differences between working for H-B as opposed to R-S.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612173408/https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php?y=2012 |date=2020-06-12 }}". ''Stu's Show''. Retrieved 03-18-2013.</ref>

The company was founded in 1977 as a division of [[Filmways]] (later [[Orion Pictures]]) and sold in late 1981 to [[Taft Broadcasting]], becoming a sister company to Hanna-Barbera, while Ruby and Spears were network executives at ABC supervising the Saturday-morning programming. [[ABC Entertainment]] president [[Fred Silverman]] wanted to create competition for Hanna-Barbera, which then provided the bulk of the Saturday morning content for all three major networks. Silverman was concerned the studio was stretching their projects too thin, diluting the quality of their series, requiring competition.<ref name="STUEP2" /> The company's first production was ''The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy''. The company's credits include the [[animated series]] ''[[Fangface]]'', ''[[Goldie Gold and Action Jack]]'', ''[[The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show]]'', ''[[Thundarr the Barbarian]]'', ''[[Rubik, the Amazing Cube]]'', [[Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series)|the 1983 version of the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' series]], ''[[Mister T (TV series)|Mister T]]'', ''[[Sectaurs#TV series|Sectaurs]]'', ''[[Centurions (TV series)|Centurions]]'', the 1988 ''[[Superman (TV series)|Superman]]'' series, the ''[[Police Academy (TV series)|Police Academy]]'' animated series and the American ''[[Mega Man (1994 TV series)|Mega Man]]'' cartoon series.

Among the unrealized projects at the studio were ''Roxie's Raiders'', an ''[[Indiana Jones (franchise)|Indiana Jones]]''-style serial about a female adventurer and her allies; ''Golden Shield'', about an ancient Mayan hero seeking to save earth in the [[2012 phenomenon|apocalyptic year 2012]]; and ''The Gargoids'', about scientists who gain superpowers after being infected by an alien virus.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100418141038/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/movies/13kirby.html Jack Kirby's Heroes in Waiting - The New York Times]</ref>

Ruby and Spears' favorite Ruby-Spears-produced show was ''Thundarr the Barbarian''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruby & Spears : WonderCon 2012 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=2 April 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqDi77RnNAQ |quote=10:21}}</ref>

Only two pre-1991 series, ''Police Academy: The Animated Series'' and ''[[Piggsburg Pigs!]]'', used Canadian rather than American voice talent like most of their other cartoons. Ruby-Spears was also responsible for the animated sequence in the 1988 film ''[[Child's Play (1988 film)|Child's Play]]'' and replaying the sequence as a fictional commercial in the 1991 sequel ''[[Child's Play 3]]''.

In 1991, Ruby-Spears was spun off into RS Holdings. Most of the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library was sold along with Hanna-Barbera to [[Turner Broadcasting System]], which in turn merged with [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] (now [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]) in 1996. The Ruby-Spears studio closed later that year, after 19 years of operation.<ref name="STUEP2">Shostak, Stu (01-16-2013). "[https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php?y=2013 ''Program 305'' (TV animation producers JOE RUBY and KEN SPEARS return to discuss the formation of their own company and creating such series as "Fangface", "Rickety Rocket", "Goldie Gold" and many others. Also - animation writer MARK EVANIER talks about working on "Thundarr" and "Plastic Man" for the team.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918230458/https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php?y=2013 |date=2020-09-18 }}". ''Stu's Show''. Retrieved 03-18-2013.</ref> As of now, Ruby-Spears' pre-1991 library is owned by [[Warner Bros.]] through [[Warner Bros. Animation]]. The few pre-1991 Ruby-Spears shows not owned by Warner Bros. are ''[[Rambo: The Force of Freedom]]'', which is owned and distributed by [[StudioCanal]] which also own and distribute the first three live-action ''[[Rambo (franchise)|Rambo]]'' films, ''[[It's Punky Brewster]]'', which is owned by [[Universal Television]] (but distributed by [[MGM Television]] outside the US, along with most of the pre-2004 [[NBC Studios (production company)|NBC Studios]] library), and ''Piggsburg Pigs!'', which is owned by [[The Walt Disney Company]] through its acquisition of [[ABC Family Worldwide|Fox Kids Worldwide]] (now ABC Family Worldwide) in 2001.

Ruby-Spears' post-1991 library does not appear to be owned by any company; however, there are a few exceptions: ''[[Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa]]'' is now owned by [[WildBrain]], ''Mega Man'' is owned by [[Shochiku]] and ''[[Skysurfer Strike Force]]'' is owned by Invincible Entertainment Group under license from [[41 Entertainment]], along with most of the [[Bohbot Entertainment]] library.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.invincibleent.com/television |title=Invinclible Entertainment TV holdings (including most of the Bohbot Entertainment catalog) |access-date=2020-10-05 |archive-date=2020-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009030259/https://www.invincibleent.com/television |url-status=live }}</ref>

The founders both died in 2020 within three months of each other – Ruby died of [[natural causes]] on August 26 at the age of 87 and Spears died of complications from [[Dementia with Lewy bodies|Lewy body dementia]] on November 6 at age 82.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/joe-ruby-dies-dead-scooby-doo-1234750948/|title=Scooby-Doo Co-Creator Joe Ruby Dies at 87|first1=Pat|last1=Saperstein|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=August 27, 2020|access-date=October 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/ken-spears-dead-scooby-doo-co-creator-1234825813/|title=Ken Spears, Co-Creator of 'Scooby-Doo,' Dies at 82|first1=Ellise|last1=Shafer|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 9, 2020|access-date=October 21, 2022}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
{{main|List of Ruby-Spears productions}}

== See also ==
* [[List of animation studios owned by Warner Bros. Discovery]]
* [[Animation in the United States in the television era]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Hanna-Barbera}}
{{Animation industry in the United States}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ruby-Spears| ]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1996 disestablishments in California]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1977]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:American animation studios]]
[[Category:Italian animation studios]]
[[Category:Animation duos]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1977]]
[[Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Film production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Television production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Taft Broadcasting]]
[[Category:Hanna-Barbera]]
[[Category:1981 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Filmways]]
[[Category:Turner Broadcasting System]]
[[Category:Warner Bros.]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. divisions]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery brands]]
[[Category:Former Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Television production companies of Italy]]
[[Category:Film production companies of Italy]]

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