Hanna-Barbera Furnishes Hospital Room : Cartoonist Brings Laughs to Sick Kids

The old saying “laughter is the best medicine” is perhaps best personified by the children’s “laugh room” at a Los Angeles hospital, provided by a company that’s been in the funny business for years.

The room at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center was furnished by Hanna-Barbera Productions, responsible for such familiar cartoon characters as Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones.

The hospital’s usually drab, institutional atmosphere has been cheerfully transformed in a hallway of the pediatrics wing at the Torrance hospital, with bright arrows pointing down a corridor to the laugh room.

Before entering the door, the small patients are treated to cut-out figures of Yogi Bear and Fred Flintstone welcoming them.

Bright Colors Used

The room is painted in bright yellows, greens, reds and vivid blues. There are more cut-outs of such characters as Scooby-Doo, the Smurfs and Huckleberry Hound on the walls.

A large TV screen dominates the scene, with a two-hour cassette continuously playing the comedic adventures of the extensive and various Hanna-Barbera Productions library from “The Jetsons” to “Quick Draw McGraw,” “Wally Gator” and “Magilla Gorilla.”

“What sick children need most is love, hugs and laughter,” said Joseph Barbera. “And we’re prepared to give them as much laughter as we can.

“The success of our first ‘laugh room’ has been tremendous. We are in the midst of planning a half-dozen more in six other Southern California hospitals.”

Norman Cousins in Favor

The program was applauded by author Norman Cousins, who wrote the best-selling “Anatomy of an Illness,” his account of how he helped himself recover from a serious illness by watching old Laurel and Hardy and Marx Brothers films in his hospital room.

“A good joke, a laugh, even helps get business meetings going and provides an atmosphere for happy results,” Barbera said.

“You can feel your corpuscles perk up when you laugh. It improves your circulation and respiration. Psychologically, laughter is a tonic, a positive emotion that creates a climate of healing.

“We pipe our cartoons on a closed-circuit to rooms for children and adults who aren’t able to make it to the ‘laugh room.’

Firm Pays for Room

“What I’d like to do is put a two-hour tape in hospital waiting rooms for parents and relatives of patients. You walk into waiting rooms today and they’re like Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ People are restless, worried and frightened. Our characters might help distract them from the stress and tension.”

Hanna-Barbera picked up all the costs for the “laugh room,” and also pays for occasional visits by employees in Scooby-Doo, Yogi and Flintstone costumes.

“Today’s kids are familiar with most Hanna-Barbera characters from Saturday morning TV and all the series in re-run syndication,” Barbera said. “Many parents were raised on our characters, going all the way back to the Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Enjoyed by Adults

“Our ‘Ruff & Ready’ five-minute shorts began in 1957, but our first big star was Huckleberry Hound, which won an Emmy.

“We were pleased that tests show old folks, middle-aged people and young adults in the hospital enjoy the cassettes as much as children.”

The “laugh room” is not the company’s first venture into public service. For the past several years it has worked with the city of Los Angeles on an earthquake preparedness program.

“The city wanted a spokesperson for the program and we gave them a spokesbear in Yogi,” Barbera said. “We made a film with Yogi advising people how to protect themselves in the event of a quake.

“We built Yogi’s Quakey-Shakey Van that travels around to area schools. It holds about 20 youngsters at a time. When the switches are thrown inside, the van simulates a major quake. It is very effective.

“We’ve also published a booklet with H-B characters demonstrating what action kids should take during a quake to keep down panic and promote safety.

“We hope when a big quake does hit, our progam will help save lives and prevent injuries, but such things are hard to measure when compared to our ‘laugh room,’ which so far is working magic.”