Year by year we’re forced to watch as the headlines announce that some of the best and the brightest in the entertainment industry continue to pass on, taking their place among the many that have already come and gone. Joe Ruby is one of the most recent names to add to that list as the co-creator of Scooby-Doo passed away recently at the age of 87 due to natural causes. People can at least be grateful that the famed artist and writer, among other titles, didn’t pass due to the coronavirus as several have, but it’s still enough to be saddened by the loss of such a talent to the industry, particularly one that has been instrumental in entertaining generations of kids with his works and also helping to create other ideas that were instrumental in bringing beloved characters to the fore over the course of his career. It does sound as though Joe was working up until his passing, as his talent for coming up with new ideas and new works that people would enjoy was boundless and wasn’t going to be hampered by age. It’s a time to be saddened of course, but it’s also a time to be thankful that people such as Joe have found their calling in the entertainment industry since if anyone’s taking the time to look back, his contributions have kept a lot of people entertained from childhood onward, as many adults still love the old cartoons and characters that were created back in the day.
There’s a definite sense of comfort that comes from the old cartoons since even if they were a bit different in their content and aren’t considered as valued today by some, many of us grew up with these cartoons and remember them fondly. Joe has been working on such toons as Scooby-Doo and many others for years and it’s a bit amazing to learn just how many famous cartoons he’s been associated with and responsible for. The list of accomplishments that he achieved in his life is extensive enough that one should be able to admit that Joe was a valued and venerated member of the entertainment community, not to mention that without him and those he worked with it’s likely that a lot of our childhood memories would have been filled with other images that might have been far different than what we can see on a regular basis at this time. Entertainment has been such a large part of human culture that each new generation has all but demanded something to keep them entertained and to keep them amused. Joe is just one of many that had the idea to create characters that weren’t always believable but were almost always amusing and fun to watch. The point of entertainment after all isn’t to be 100% believable at all times, but to keep people occupied and to take our minds off of the world that we have to deal with on a regular basis.
Entertainment is meant to take us away from the world that we know and whether it shows us the same world but from a different perspective, it gives people a bit of relief and in some cases allows them to laugh and have a good time with what they’re seeing. This was the magic that Joe participated in since he helped to give people the kind of characters that they could associate with and possibly embrace as their own since if anyone recalls a lot of the older cartoons, they weren’t always what people would call PC, but they were almost always amusing in some way, or conveyed some sort of meaning that we could enjoy on a personal level. Scooby-Doo was a pretty silly cartoon that still had a lot of value to it since the group of teens were pretty comical most times and the fact that they rolled around with a Great Dane in a van labeled the Mystery Machine was something that had a lot of people talking since let’s face it, teenage characters tend to make a lot of people think in certain ways unless they happen to be kids, then everything appears to be as innocent as the animators might have tried to make it.
The fact that Joe was working up until his passing is inspirational in itself since it means that this was a man that took a lot of pride in his work and felt confident that he could keep coming up with ideas and ways to express them no matter how old he was. That’s the kind of thought that a lot of us would like to employ as we keep moving through life, though it’s very likely that some people are looking forward to retirement and a slower pace of life. Personally, I can’t help but hope to be like Joe when that day comes. Rest in peace sir, you’ll be missed.
Follow Us
