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IMDbPro

Ub Iwerks(1901-1971)

  • Animation Department
  • Director
  • Visual Effects
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ub Iwerks
Ub Iwerks worked as a commercial artist in Kansas City in 1919 when he met Walt Disney who was in the same profession. When Disney decided to form an animation company, Ub Iwerks was the first employee he had due to his skill at fast drawing as well as being a personal friend.

When Charles Mintz raided Disney's animation studio and stole the rights to their character Oswald the Rabbit, Ub was the only associate to remain with Disney. He served as the principle animator for the first Mickey Mouse shorts and Silly Symphonies. Iwerks was so prominent in the production of these shorts that it was speculated that Ub was the dominant force behind the success of Disney Productions. The combination of Iwerks' rising ambitions, occasional differences with Walt and a tempting deal with Pat Powers to finance his own studio prompted him to break away in 1930. His studio was never a tenth of the artistic or financial success that Disney was. He simply did not have the creative talents of his partner and his characters, Flip the Frog and Willy Whopper were rather dull failures. His studio was closed in 1936 when Powers withdrew his support. He worked for Columbia starting in 1938 and worked for two years until he decided to return to Disney. The two men never commented on their renewed relationship but the reunion was mutually beneficial. Iwerks was able to abandon animation and concentrate on technical development which helped create many of the special effects that the Disney company excelled in for decades, especially concerning the live action animation combination sequences in Song of the South (1946) and Mary Poppins (1964).
BornMarch 24, 1901
DiedJuly 7, 1971(70)
BornMarch 24, 1901
DiedJuly 7, 1971(70)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 4 wins & 1 nomination total

Photos

Ub Iwerks in Mary Poppins (1964)

Known for

Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963)
The Birds
7.6
  • Visual Effects
  • 1963
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
7.2
  • Visual Effects
  • 1954
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping Beauty
7.2
  • Visual Effects
  • 1959
Barbara Luddy and Larry Roberts in Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Lady and the Tramp
7.3
  • Visual Effects
  • 1955

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Animation Department

  • Little Boy Blue (1936)
    Little Boy Blue
    • animator (as U.B. Iwerks)
    • Short
    • 1936
  • Tom Thumb (1936)
    Tom Thumb
    • animator (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1936
  • Simple Simon (1935)
    Simple Simon
    • animator (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1935
  • Sinbad the Sailor (1935)
    Sinbad the Sailor
    • animator (as U.B. Iwerks)
    • Short
    • 1935
  • Mary's Little Lamb (1935)
    Mary's Little Lamb
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1935
  • Little Black Sambo (1935)
    Little Black Sambo
    • animator (as U.B. Iwerks)
    • Short
    • 1935
  • Bulloney
    • animator (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1933
  • The Music Lesson (1932)
    The Music Lesson
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)
    The Goal Rush
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)
    Circus
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)
    Stormy Seas
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Puppy Love
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Fire! Fire!
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)
    The Milkman
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1932
  • Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)
    Spooks
    • animator
    • Short
    • 1931

Director

  • Melodious Zach: O! Melodious Song (2014)
    Melodious Zach: O! Melodious Song
    • Director
    • Music Video
    • 2014
  • Bye, Bye Bluebeard (1949)
    Behind the Tunes: Bosko, Buddy and the Best of Black and White
    • Director (original material)
    • Video
    • 2005
  • ToonHeads (1992)
    ToonHeads
    • Director (original material)
    • TV Series
    • 2003
  • Stop That Tank! (1942)
    Stop That Tank!
    • Director (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1942
  • The Carpenters (1941)
    The Carpenters
    • Director (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1941
  • Alan Ladd, Walt Disney, Ernie Alexander, Claud Allister, Robert Benchley, Nana Bryant, Frank Churchill, Louise Currie, Lester Dorr, John Dehner, Frank Faylen, Norman Ferguson, Frances Gifford, Florence Gill, Henry Hall, Verna Hillie, Ward Kimball, Leone Le Doux, Billy Lee, Jim Luske, James MacDonald, Hamilton MacFadden, Eddie Marr, Linda Marwood, John McLeish, Gerald Mohr, Fred Moore, Maurice Murphy, Clarence Nash, George Offerman Jr., Barnett Parker, Steve Pendleton, Buddy Pepper, Wolfgang Reitherman, Raymond Severn, Val Stanton, Alfred L. Werker, J. Donald Wilson, Truman Woodworth, Jack Young, and The Staff of the Walt Disney Studio in The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
    The Reluctant Dragon
    • Director (cartoon sequences, uncredited)
    • 1941
  • A Busy Day
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Baby Checkers
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • The Wise Owl (1940)
    The Wise Owl
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Beauty Shoppe
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Ye Olde Swap Shoppe
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • The Egg Hunt
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Blackboard Revue (1940)
    Blackboard Revue
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Crop Chasers (1939)
    Crop Chasers
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1939
  • Nell's Yells
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1939

Visual Effects

  • Sterling Holloway, George Sanders, Sebastian Cabot, Phil Harris, Clint Howard, J. Pat O'Malley, Louis Prima, and Bruce Reitherman in The Jungle Book (1967)
    The Jungle Book
    • special processes (uncredited)
    • 1967
  • The Boston Tea Party
    • special processes
    • Short
    • 1966
  • Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (1964)
    Mary Poppins
    • special processes (uncredited)
    • 1964
  • Junius Matthews, Rickie Sorensen, Karl Swenson, and Martha Wentworth in The Sword in the Stone (1963)
    The Sword in the Stone
    • special processes (uncredited)
    • 1963
  • Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963)
    The Birds
    • special photographic advisor
    • 1963
  • Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap (1961)
    The Parent Trap
    • special photographic effects
    • 1961
  • Rod Taylor, Sandra Abbott, Cate Bauer, Barbara Beaird, Lisa Daniels, Lisa Davis, David Frankham, Betty Lou Gerson, Mimi Gibson, Barbara Luddy, Mickey Maga, J. Pat O'Malley, Tudor Owen, Thurl Ravenscroft, Rickie Sorensen, Martha Wentworth, Mary Wickes, Frederick Worlock, and Ben Wright in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
    One Hundred and One Dalmatians
    • special processes
    • 1961
  • Goliath II (1960)
    Goliath II
    • special processes (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1960
  • Jungle Cat (1960)
    Jungle Cat
    • special processes
    • 1960
  • Howard Keel, Susan Kohner, and John Saxon in The Big Fisherman (1959)
    The Big Fisherman
    • special processes
    • 1959
  • Sleeping Beauty (1959)
    Sleeping Beauty
    • special processes
    • 1959
  • White Wilderness (1958)
    White Wilderness
    • special processes
    • 1958
  • Wales
    • special processes
    • Short
    • 1958
  • The Magical World of Disney (1954)
    The Magical World of Disney
    • special processes
    • TV Series
    • 1954–1957
  • Luana Patten and Hal Stalmaster in Johnny Tremain (1957)
    Johnny Tremain
    • special processes
    • 1957

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • 'Ub' Iwerks
  • Height
    • 5′ 9½″ (1.77 m)
  • Born
    • March 24, 1901
    • Kansas City, Missouri, USA
  • Died
    • July 7, 1971
    • Burbank, California, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Mildred Sarah HendersonJanuary 5, 1927 - July 7, 1971 (his death, 2 children)
  • Children
      Don Iwerks
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In addition to his skill as an animator, he became an expert in special visual effects. Outside of Disney, he did special effects work on such films as Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).

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