James Francis Ryan (April 21, 1936 – August 31, 2022) was an American screenwriter in the

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (also known as Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with the Mirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions; and DFE Films) was an American animation production company that was active from 1963 to 1 ...

, also the

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

studios and

Hanna–Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

. As Jim Ryan he wrote the screen story from the 1987 ITC Entertainment Group film ''

The Brave Little Toaster ''The Brave Little Toaster'' is a 1987 American animated musical film directed by Jerry Rees. It is based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. The film stars Deanna Oliver, Timothy E. Day, Jon Lovitz, Tim Stack, and Thu ...

''.

Career

Ryan began his career at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, where he penned episodes of ''

The Inspector ''The Inspector'' is a series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comical ...

'' and scripted the ''

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pin ...

'' short '' Psychedelic Pink''. At

, he wrote for several cartoons alongside writing partner Bill Danch, including '' Mission: Magic!'' (starring

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

), '' Shazam!'', one of Ryan's few forays into live action, and '' Fabulous Funnies''. Ryan and Danch were head writers of ''

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty ''The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty'' (later called ''The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty'') is an American animated and partially live-action television series, produced by Filmation, which originally aired for one season Saturday mornings on the N ...

''. His most notable contribution at the studio was ''

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert and himself. Film ...

''. Ryan wrote early episodes of the series as well as a Christmas special. While working on ''Fat Albert'', Ryan's scripts were reviewed by a panel of teachers and psychologists to ensure there was educational content. Ryan supervised stories for Hanna-Barbera's ''

Casper and the Angels ''Casper and the Angels'' is an American animated television series based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1979, to December 15, 1979. ...

''. While with the studio, he wrote the 1988 film ''

Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf ''Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf'' is a 1988 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' series. It marked Scrappy-Doo's last appearance as a protagonist in ...

''. Other productions Ryan wrote for include ''

Pound Puppies Pound Puppies is a toy line that was created by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, two animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries. Toy ...

'' and ''

Tom & Jerry Kids ''Tom & Jerry Kids'' (formerly known as ''Tom & Jerry Kids Show'' in the first season) is an American animated comedy television series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry a ...

''. In 1996, Ryan wrote an article for ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', discussing his difficulty finding writing work at 60 years old and critiquing commercialism in animation. His last script was an episode of ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpar ...

''.

Works

His works include: *''

The Super 6 ''The Super 6'' is an animated cartoon series which was produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and Mirisch-Rich Television Productions in 1966, and shown on the NBC television network from 1966 to 1969. This was DePatie–Freleng's first vehicl ...

'': writer (1 episode) *''

The Pink Panther Show ''The Pink Panther Show'' is a showcase of animated shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the live-action films. The series was pr ...

'': story *''

Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down ''Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down'' is a 1970 animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the 1965 film '' The Family Jewels'', and styled in a fashion similar to ''Archie's TV Funnies' ...

'': writer (1 episode) *''

Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (titled ''Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies'' or ''The Sabrina Comedy Hour'' and promotionally referred to as ''The Sabrina the Teenage Witch Show'' or ''The Sabrina Comedy Show'') is an American animated television seri ...

'': writer (16 episodes) *''

Groovie Goolies ''Groovie Goolies'' is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1971. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its mo ...

'': writer *''

Archie's TV Funnies ''Archie's TV Funnies'' is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation which appeared on CBS from September 11, 1971, to September 1, 1973. The series starred Bob Montana's Archie characters, including Archie Andrews, Betty C ...

'': writer *''

'': writer (1 episode) *'' My Favorite Martians'': writer *'' The U.S. of Archie'': writer (16 episodes) *''

'': writer *''

The New Adventures of Gilligan ''The New Adventures of Gilligan'' is an American Saturday morning animated series produced by Filmation, which aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 seasons. The show was based on the 1964–1967 sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. A few years later, Fi ...

'': writer (5 episodes) *'' Shazam!'': writer (4 episodes) *''

Ark II ''Ark II'' is an American live-action science fiction television series, aimed at children, that aired on CBS from September 11 to December 18, 1976, (with reruns continuing through November 13, 1977 and reruns returning from September 16, 1978, ...

'': writer (1 episode) *''

The New Adventures of Batman ''The New Adventures of Batman'' is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with ...

'': writer (1 episode) *''

The New Archie and Sabrina Hour ''The New Archie and Sabrina Hour'' (advertised as ''The Archie-Sabrina Show'') is the seventh and final animated series featuring Archie Comics characters under the Filmation banner. The series premiered on NBC in September 1977, rebroadcasting ...

'': writer *''

Galaxy Goof-Ups ''Galaxy Goof-Ups'' (also known as ''Yogi's Galaxy Goofs-Ups'') is a 30-minute American animated television series, a spin-off of ''Yogi's Space Race'' and the fourth incarnation of the '' Yogi Bear'' franchise. The show was produced by Hanna-Bar ...

'': story *'' Buford and the Galloping Ghost'': story *'' Yogi's Space Race'': story (13 episodes) *'' The New Shmoo'': story *'' Trollkins'': story *''

The Kwicky Koala Show ''The Kwicky Koala Show'' is a 30-minute Saturday-morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Hanna Barbera Pty, Ltd. that aired on CBS from September 12 to December 26, 1981. This series is notable for being among cartoon director ...

'': writer *'' Space Stars'': story *''

Shirt Tales ''Shirt Tales'' are characters that were created in 1980 by greeting card designer Janet Elizabeth Manco and were featured on Hallmark Cards greeting cards. The characters were adapted into a 1982-1985 animated series for television, by Hanna-Bar ...

'': story (5 episodes) *''

Pink Panther and Sons ''Pink Panther and Sons'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng. The series was originally broadcast on NBC from 1984 to 1985 and moved to ABC in 1986. Friz Freleng ...

'': story *''

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'': writer (2 episodes) *''

Paw Paws ''Paw Paws'' (also known as ''Paw Paw Bears'') is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that first aired in 1985 and 1986. It debuted as part of the weekday/weekend morning programming block '' The Funtastic ...

'': story/writer (9 episodes) *''

'': writer (1 episode) *'' Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers'': writer *''

'': screen story *''

'': writer *''

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his human companion ...

'': writer/teleplay (3 episodes) *'' Droopy: Master Detective'': writer (7 episodes) *'' The Tom and Jerry Kids Show'': writer (12 episodes) *'' The Cartoon Cartoon Show'': writer (1 episode) *''

What a Cartoon! ''What a Cartoon!'' (later known as ''The What a Cartoon! Show'' and ''The Cartoon Cartoon Show'') is an American animated anthology series created by Fred Seibert for Cartoon Network. The shorts were produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions; by ...

'': writer (1 episode) *''

'': writer (segment "Hookey")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Jim 1936 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters American television writers Filmation people Hanna-Barbera people