Animator Iwao Takamoto, creator of the beloved cartoon dog Scooby-Doo and director of the cartoon classic "Charlotte's Web," has died. He was 81.
A spokesman from Warner Brothers, where Takamoto was still employed as a Vice President, died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Takamoto is said to have created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra's final phrase in "Strangers in the Night."
In addition to Scooby, Takamoto created cartoon pups Astro, from "The Jetsons," and Muttley, who appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He also contributed his talent to such features and television shows as "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," and "The Flintstones."
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