Joseph Barbera was born at 10 Delancey Street in the Little Italy (Lower East Side) section of Manhattan, New York,[REF] to immigrants Vincent Barbera (of Italian origin[REF]) and Francesca Calvacca, born in Sciacca, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, and he grew up speaking Italian [REF].[REF][REF]
Barbera and his wife briefly separated when he went to California.