Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created Scooby-Doo and directed the cartoon classic “Charlotte’s Web,” has died. He was 81.Takamoto died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Warner Brothers spokesperson Gary Miereanu said.In a career that spanned more than six decades, Takamoto assisted in the designs of some of the biggest animated features and television shows for Disney and the Hanna-Barbera animation team. They included Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, The Jetsons and The Flintstones. But it was his creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and endured for generations.Born in Los Angeles to parents who had emigrated from Japan, Takamoto graduated high school when World War II began. He and his family were sent to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert, where he learned the art of illustration from fellow internees.Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after he spoke to a Great Dane breeder, and named him after Frank Sinatra’s final phrase in Strangers in the Night.The breeder “showed me pictures and gave me some important points of a Great Dane—like a straight back, straight legs and small chin,” Takamoto said in a recent talk at the Cartoon Network Studios.“I decided to do the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs and big chin. Even his colour is wrong.”Takamoto also created other famous cartoon dogs such as Astro from The Jetsons and Muttley, the mixed-breed that appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He also directed the 1973 feature Charlotte’s Web.Takamoto is survived by his wife, Barbara, son Michael and stepdaughter Leslie.-DAISY NGUYEN
