Ken Spears

Ken Spears was an American animator, television writer, television producer and sound editor from Los Angeles. He and his partner Joe Ruby co-created the "Scooby-Doo" franchise, and all five of its original co-protagonists. They later co-led the animation studio Ruby-Spears Productions (1977-1996), which produced a large number of animated television series.

In 1938, Spears was born in Los Angeles. His parents were radio host Harry Spears and his wife Edna Graiver. Edna died shortly after her son's birth. Spears was primarily raised by his widowed father. He spend part of his early years in New York City, due to his father's work there.

During his high school years, Spears befriended a son of animation producer William Hanna. Following his service in the United States Navy, Spears aspired to a career in the animation industry. In 1959, he was personally hired by William Hanna as a sound editor for the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions. He was more interested in a career as a television writer. He formed a writing partnership with Joe Ruby, who had similar aspirations and was also a Navy veteran. During the 1960s, the duo variously worked for the animation studios Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. They also lend their services to the production company of Sid and Marty Krofft.

Ruby and Spears served as the co-creators of the animated series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1970), the original incarnation of Scooby-Doo. They also created its main characters: Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, and Shaggy Rogers, along with their pet dog Scooby-Doo. All of the human characters were modeled after characters from the popular sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959-1963). Ruby and Spears collaborated closely with Fred Silverman, then head of daytime programming at CBS. Silverman was the one who had commissioned the series in the first place.

Due to their working relationship with Fred Silverman, Ruby and Spears were hired to supervise the production of CBS's Saturday morning cartoon lineup during the early 1970s. When Silverman started working for ABC in 1975, he soon hired Ruby and Spears. ABC would eventually help Ruby and Spears to secure the funds to create their own animation studio, Ruby-Spears (1977-1996). The studio was initially a subsidiary of Filmways (1952-1982), a television production company that had produced a number of hit sitcoms during the 1960s.

In 1981, Filmways sold the Ruby-Spears studio to Taft Entertainment. Taft was the parent company of Hanna-Barbera, and the two animation studios often co-produced series during the 1980s. Spears served as the executive producer of a number of notable series, such as the post-apocalyptic series "Thundarr the Barbarian" (1980-1981), the action-adventure series "Mister T" (1983-1985), and the first five seasons of the musical comedy "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (1983-1988).

In 1991, Taft Entertainment sold the library of Ruby-Spears to Turner Broadcasting System, along with the entirety of Hanna-Barbera. That same year, Ruby-Spears became a subsidiary of the RS Holdings. Spears continued leading the studio for its remaining years. Spears co-produced the "Weird West" series "Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa" (1992-1993), the superhero series "Megaman" (1994-1996), and the superhero series "Skysurfer Strike Force" (1995-1996). But these were the studio's last productions. Ruby-Spears ceased operations in 1996.

In 1995, Spears served as the producer of the live-action horror comedy "Rumpelstiltskin" (1995). He mostly retired in the late 1990s, staying away from the limelight. In 2018, the elderly Spears entered hospice care. He died on November 6, 2020, due to complications from Lewy body dementia. Core features of this form of dementia include "REM sleep behavior disorder" (RBD) and visual hallucinations. Spears was 82-years-old at the time of his death. Several of Spears' animated productions have maintained a cult following.