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Ken Spears was an American animator, television writer, producer, and sound editor from Los Angeles. Alongside his partner Joe Ruby, he co-created the "Scooby-Doo" franchise, including all five original main characters. They later co-headed Ruby-Spears Productions (1977-1996), an animation studio that produced numerous animated TV series.
Born in 1938 in Los Angeles, Spears was the son of radio host Harry Spears and Edna Graiver. His mother passed away shortly after his birth, so he was mostly raised by his widowed father. He spent part of his early childhood in New York City due to his father's work.
During high school, Spears befriended the son of animation producer William Hanna. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he aimed for a career in animation. In 1959, William Hanna personally hired him as a sound editor at Hanna-Barbera Productions. Although interested in sound editing, Spears preferred television writing and formed a writing partnership with Joe Ruby, who shared similar goals and was also a Navy veteran. Throughout the 1960s, they worked for Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, and the production company of Sid and Marty Krofft.
Ruby and Spears co-created the animated series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" (1969-1970), introducing the original Scooby-Doo characters: Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, Shaggy Rogers, and their dog Scooby-Doo. The human characters were inspired by those from the sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959-1963). They collaborated closely with Fred Silverman, then head of daytime programming at CBS, who commissioned the series.
Thanks to their relationship with Silverman, Ruby and Spears were tasked with overseeing CBS's Saturday morning cartoon lineup in the early 1970s. When Silverman moved to ABC in 1975, he brought Ruby and Spears on board. ABC later helped them secure funding to establish Ruby-Spears Productions (1977-1996), initially a subsidiary of Filmways, a television production company known for hit sitcoms in the 1960s.
In 1981, Filmways sold Ruby-Spears to Taft Entertainment, the parent company of Hanna-Barbera. During the 1980s, the two studios often co-produced series. Spears was executive producer for notable shows such as the post-apocalyptic "Thundarr the Barbarian" (1980-1981), action-adventure "Mister T" (1983-1985), and the first five seasons of the musical comedy "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (1983-1988).
In 1991, Taft Entertainment sold Ruby-Spears' library to Turner Broadcasting System along with Hanna-Barbera's catalog. That same year, Ruby-Spears became a subsidiary of RS Holdings, with Spears continuing to lead the studio. He co-produced series like the "Weird West" show "Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa" (1992-1993), and the superhero series "Megaman" (1994-1996) and "Skysurfer Strike Force" (1995-1996). These were the studio’s final productions before it closed in 1996.
In 1995, Spears produced the live-action horror comedy "Rumpelstiltskin." He largely retired in the late 1990s, avoiding the spotlight. In 2018, Spears entered hospice care and passed away on November 6, 2020, at age 82 due to complications from Lewy body dementia, which is characterized by REM sleep behavior disorder and visual hallucinations. Several of his animated works have since retained a cult following.
