Comic book publisher Bruce Hamilton passed away on June 20, 2005, following a prolonged illness. In 1981, Hamilton, along with Russ Cochran, two long-time Disney comics fans, decided to combine forces to bring greater recognition to the work of one of the greats of comic art — Carl Barks, creator of the popular Disney comic book character, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, miserly-yet-adventurous uncle of Donald Duck.

Marie Johnston, the wife of legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston, passed away on May 20 from complications due to pneumonia, at her home in Flintridge, California. She was 87 years old and had been in declining health. The Johnstons celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Thurl Ravenscroft, who provided the rumbling "They're Grrrrreeeat!" for Kellogg's Tony the Tiger ads and voiced many Disney characters, has died of prostate cancer, reports CNN. He was 91.

"I'm the only man in the world that has made a career with one word: Grrrrreeeat!" Ravenscroft told the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER in 1996. "When Kellogg's brought up the idea of the tiger, they sent me a caricature of Tony to see if I could create something for them. After messing around for some time I came up with the 'Grrrrreeeat!' roar, and that's how it's been since then."

Howard Morris, best known for roles on YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS and as poetry-spouting Ernest T. Bass on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, died on May 22, 2005, reports CNN. He was 85.

For his animation career, the comedian was under contract in the 1960s with Hanna-Barbara Prods. and ended up providing voices for such shows as THE JETSONS, THE FLINTSTONES, ATOM ANT, THE ARCHIE SHOW, BEETLE BAILEY, MY FAVORITE MARTIANS, COW AND CHICKEN and DUCKTALES. He also did most of the voices for Gene Deitch's Oscar-winning classic short, MUNRO.

Henry Corden, the second voice of Fred Flintstone died May 19, 2005, of emphysema at AMI Encino Hospital, at the age of 85, according to his longtime agent Don Pitts. Corden's wife of nine years, Angelina, was with him at the time.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Corden moved to New York City as a child and came to Hollywood in the 1940s. His first acting role was in the 1947 Boris Karloff film, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. With his dark hair, bearded face and deep voice, Corden often played villains and heavies.

Joe Grant, one of Walt Disney’s most creative and trusted artists and storymen, who designed the Queen/Witch character in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, and co-wrote DUMBO, passed away May 6 at his home in Glendale, California. He was 96, just nine days short of his 97th birthday. Grant suffered a heart attack while working at his drawing board at his home studio. Still very active, Grant continued to work at Walt Disney Feature Animation four days a week, including the day before he died.

Animator/director Ed “Eddie” Friedman passed away on April 29, 2005, at the age of 92 in Los Angeles, due to complications from a stroke he had suffered a stroke about a year ago. From 1933 until 1989, Friedman worked for Iwerks, Mintz/Screen Gems, John Sutherland, Disney, UPA, Format, Bagle Productions, Ed Graham and Filmation.

Cartoonist Emil Samuel Zekley (aka Zeke Zekley), 90, died April 28, 2005 at his Beverly Hills home, with his family at his side, after a long illness.

He drew BRINGING UP FATHER/MAGGIE AND JIGGS, PEACHY KEEN, DUD DUDLEY, MCDONALDLAND MAGAZINES, THE SQUIRREL’S CLUB MAGAZINE for Glendale Federal Savings and AT EASE magazine for the U.S. Army.

BLUE’S CLUES animator Paul Beard died April 22, 2005, from injuries suffered the previous day in a two-vehicle crash southeast of Kansas City, Missouri, reports THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS. He was 27 years old.

Beard, a 2000 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, was a passenger in a Ford Explorer driven by his girlfriend, Elizabeth Smail, when she lost control and swerved into oncoming traffic on state highway 13. A second Ford Explorer struck the passenger-side door, where Beard was sitting. Smail was injured, but survived.

Romania-born cartoonist and illustrator André François, whose satirical style moves editorial cartooning away from traditional realism, died on April 11, 2005, at his home in Grisy-les-Plâtres, France, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES. He was 89. Cause of death was heart and kidney failure.