Charles Kenneth Spears (March 12, 1938 – November 6, 2020)[1][2] was an American animator, writer, television producer and sound editor.

[9] Spears became a friend of the son of animation producer William Hanna while attending high school in California.

[9][10] As an adult, shortly after leaving the United States Navy, Hanna hired Spears as a sound editor for Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1959.

[4] After Fred Silverman, then head of daytime programming at CBS, concluded that, after about 15 drafts, a Great Dane was the star of the project,[9] Spears and Ruby tried multiple ideas before settling on a cowardly dog who solves mysteries.

It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Jabberjaw, and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, among other programs.

[13] Spears died of complications from Lewy body dementia at his home in Brea, California, on November 6, 2020, at the age of 82, three months after Ruby had passed.