Over at Cartoon Brew, they're reporting the death of veteran cartoonist Ed Benedict at the age of 94. Which would mean he was almost born in the same year as the cave people he drew so well for The Flintstones. Ed was mainly a designer for animation and he is generally given credit for the early Hanna-Barbera shows including Ruff 'n' Reddy, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and those cave people. (There are or were a few old-timers around who felt that others, like Dick Bickenbach, did more on those shows than is sometimes acknowledged. I'm agnostic on the issue but I thought it should be acknowledged.)
In any case, Benedict was certainly a terrific cartoonist…the kind whose very presence on a project could set the style for everyone else around him. He was especially effective in the fifties as studios were moving away from the ornate Disney look and wrestling with the new, minimalist U.P.A. look for animation. Benedict could work in either style but he was especially good at bridging the gap, managing to simplify the animation in a way that increased the expression and personality instead of diminishing it. Just drawing with fewer lines is simple. Anyone can do it. It takes the kind of talent Ed Benedict had to use fewer lines but to make them count for so much.
The Cartoon Brew obit and attendant links will tell you more about Ed Benedict than I ever could. I never met the man but I sure met and loved the drawings.