South San Francisco, California

Gold Star “Hearts & Flowers” by Saga Musical Instruments

Metal, wood, M-O-P
ca. 1970s
Length: 40 in; Width; 15 in
Strings – Lutes – Banjos

A Gold Star “Hearts and Flowers” five-string banjo with a flathead resonator and M-O-P inlay Mahogany fretted neck personally owned and played by William Hanna.  William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001), a Hollywood Legend, was a musician as well as the famous American animator and cartoonist who created Tom and Jerry.  While working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hanna met Joseph Barbera.  In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, creating or producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear.

This original GF-100 banjo by Saga Music Instruments was introduced in the early 1970s, but discontinued in the 1980s, due to costly manufacturing methods in Japan.