Joseph "Joe" Oriolo was an Italian-American animator and children's book writer from Union City, New Jersey. He is primarily remembered for co-creating the popular character Casper the Friendly Ghost and being the main creator of the animated television "Felix the Cat" (1958-1960) which adapted the classic character of Felix to a new medium.

In 1933, Oriolo started working for the animation studio Fleischer Studios. He rose through the ranks due to his perceived talent as a draftsman. He worked on both of of the studio's feature-length films, "Gulliver's Travels" and "Mr. Bug Goes to Town". He also worked on several animated short films, focusing mostly on a short-lived series about the adventures of Raggedy Ann.

In 1939, Oriolo and the writer Seymour Reit co-created Casper as the eponymous character of a children's book. The creative duo worked on two sequel books "There's Good Boos To-Night" and "A Haunting We Will Go", but then Oriolo decided to sell the rights to the character to Famous Studios.

Oriolo continued working for the Fleischer Studios until 1942, and for the successor Famous Studios until 1944. He then began working as a freelance animator on films for the United States Armed Forces and for industrial films. He also worked on some of the earliest television commercials. He also worked as a comic book artist, working on Felix the Cat comic books until they ceased publication.

From 1954 to 1969, Oriolo served as the main writer of the Felix the cat comic strip for the King Features Syndicate. In 1958, he co-founder Felix the Cat Productions, Inc to handle the rights to the character and to produce a television series based on Felix. Leading a production crew of former Fleischer and Famous Studios animators and directors, Oriolo created 260 Felix episodes for television syndication.

During the 1960s, Oriolo created the animated television series "The Mighty Hercules" and "Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero". He also produced an animated adaptation of the comic strip Beetle Bailey. In 1969, he helped produce an English dub for the Japanese animated series "Princess Knight". Due to a legal dispute with his then business partner Burt Hecht, Oriolo's dub was not broadcast in American television.

In 1971, Oriolo became the sole owner of Felix the Cat following the death of another business partner. He continued to market the character until his own death in 1985. Oriolo died of natural causes while hospitalized in the Hackensack University Medical Center of New Jersey. He was buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.

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Brad Garrett, Joe Alaskey, Joe Nipote, and Malachi Pearson in Casper (1995)

Joseph Oriolo

Joseph Oriolo

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