UBBE ERT IWWERKS was born in Kansas City, Missouri on March 24, 1901. While in his 20's he shortened his name to UB IWERKS. He graduated Ashland Grammar School (24th & Elmwood) and attended Northeast High School. Unfortunately, his father disappeared for whatever reason and UB had to quit school in order to support his family. His father showed up years later with a new wife. One can only imagine the cartoons that would have graced the "Nor'easter" yearbooks during his school years if he could have graduated.

 

His first job was with the Union Bank Note Company. When he was 18 he worked for the Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art Studio. Later, the company hired a young man by the name of Walt Disney. Within a year they both formed a company in 1920 called, "Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists". It didn't last long so Walt went to work as an illustrator for the Kansas City Slide Company, which later changed its name to Kansas City Film Slide Company. However, he managed to convince the company to hire UB.

 

Walt formed a company called Laugh-O'Gram Films and UB joined him as chief animator. But the venture didn't pan out, so UB went back to his former employer. UB still helped Walt with his projects; however, the business went bankrupt and he received very little compensation for his help. Walt left for California and UB stayed in Kansas City. In 1923 he was contacted by Walt asking him to help in drawing the "Alice in Cartoonland" series. UB went to California where he received less money, but Walt gave him 20% of the Disney Brothers Production Company, in addition.

 

Walt asked UB to come up with a new character when the "Alice Comedies" series ended. He came up with "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" which he entirely animated himself. After the first cartoon, Universal Studios insisted that the character be redesigned. Universal then started to distribute the cartoon series in 1927. A dispute arose with Charlie Mintz, the distributor of the cartoon, as to who had ownership rights. Mintz won and most of Walt's animators went to work for Mintz, although UB stayed. Although discouraged, Walt asked UB to come up with some new ideas for characters. Among them were a female cow and male horse. Walt rejected these characters, but they would appear later in cartoons known as, "Clarabelle Cow" and "Horace Horsecollar". An animator named Hugh Harmon had drawn some mice sketches around one of Walt's photographs in 1925. Remembering that, UB created a new mouse character. Walt wanted to name the character, "Mortimer", but his wife said, "Mickey" would be a better name. He created the ideas and stories, but it was UB who did the animation, making 600 drawings a day. "Steamboat Willie" was the 3rd cartoon that they created and it was the one that vaulted Disney to the top. UB was the best Disney animator and he was put in charge of training new animators.

 

A man by the name of Pat Powers made a one-year deal to distribute Disney animations. Disney would get $2500 per Mickey Mouse cartoon and 10% of the gross earnings. Walt did not receive full payment from Powers who claimed that expenses had cut into his profits. UB secretly signed a contract with Powers and went to work for him. He opened the Iwerks Studios in 1930. Disney bought out UB's 20% ownership of Disney Productions. Although animation suffered for a while because Iwerks left, Disney acquired some very talented young animators and the studios made a big come back.

 

UB developed his own cartoon series, "Flip the Frog" and later, "Willie Whopper". But, even though MGM distributed his cartoons, his studios never had a major commercial success and he couldn't compete with the Disney or Fleischer studios. He produced a series of shorts in Cinecolor named, "ComiColor Cartoons". Iwerk's studio failed in 1936 when financial backers withdrew their support. Leon Schlesinger Productions had UB produce four "Looney Tunes" shorts starring "Porky Pig" and "Gabby Goat" in 1937. He directed the first two shorts and Schlesinger animator, Robert Campett, directed the other two. He did contract work for "Screen Gems" which was Columbia Pictures' cartoon division at the time.

 

In 1940 he came back to the Disney studios supervising special effects on many productions. He created the multiplane camera and developed the methods used for combining live action and animation which were used in the 1946 production of "Song of the South" and "Mary Poppins". He also developed the xerographic process adapted for cell animation. UB worked for WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) and helped develp several Disney theme park attractions in the 1960's. He won Academy Awards in 1959 and 1965 for the filming techniques he contributed to the motion picture industry.

 

UB had a reputation of drawing fast and a wacky sense of humor. Animator Chuck Jones of Warner Brothers Cartoons, who as a young man once worked for UB, said that "Iwerks is "Screwy" spelled backwards. UB IWERKS died on July 7, 1971 of a heart attack in Burbank, California at the age of 71.

 

To find out more about UB, check out the many websites devoted to his life. The following are some other sources:

 

"The Hand Behind the Mouse:  An Intimate Biography" by John Kenworthy and Iwerk's grandaughter, Leslie.

 

A documentary on VHS tape, "The Hand Behnind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story." The documentary created by his granddaughter was released as part of "The Walt Disney Treasures, Wave VII" series.

 

A two-volume cartoon collection on DVD, "The Cartoons That Time Forgot", which features cartoons from UB's animation studio.