FAREWELL, AND HOW COULD YOU NOT LAUGH?

Today's news reported that professional animator Iwao Takamoto passed away this week, at the age of 83. Takamoto learned his trade as a young man in the Manzanar Internment camp, then caught on with Disney in the 50s, where he worked on feature films. In the 1960's he jumped over to animation upstarts Hanna Barbera, where he worked on famous toons of all shapes, sizes and species.

Perhaps Takamoto's greatest creation was the lovable, snack munching Great Dane known as Scooby Doo. According to a family spokesperson, Takamoto got the name for his creation from an ad lib in Frank Sinatra's version of "Strangers in the Night."

My Lawdy, that's funny enough to ALMOST make me like Sinatra. Goodbye Mr. Takamoto.