from Wikipedia:
"Weirdly enough, before joining MGM cartoons, Joseph Barbera (after he left Paramount-distributed Fleischer Studios, a precursor to Famous Studios) began his career as an animator and storyman on this series. While still a slapstick old Hollywood cartoon in nature, this series was about a Mutt and Jeff-like pair of bungling young clown friends in strange situations. In 1940, Barbera co-created with William Hanna another duo of cartoon characters using the same names: a cat and mouse named Tom and Jerry."