Donald Warren Iwerks ( ; born July 24, 1929) is an American former

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

executive and co-founder of

Iwerks Entertainment SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment specializes in high-tech entertainment systems, films, film technologies, film-based software, Simulation Hardware Systems and services. The company has partnerships with various institutions, parks, and destinations. ...

along with former Disney executive Stan Kinsey. He is the son of the animator

Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert "Ub" Iwerks ( ; March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, Invention, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and f ...

(

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's original business partner and co-creator of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

and

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and Ozzie) is an animated series, animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short film ...

) and father of Oscar-nominated documentary film producer Leslie Iwerks.

Career

In 1950, Iwerks joined the Disney company in the machine shop as a technician. In 1954, Iwerks worked as a camera technician for the film ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...

'', starring

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...

. He spent the next 30 years driving film innovations for the Disney company. Notable contributions include the first 360 film techniques, 360-degree camera, and first Circle-Vision 360 film, ''

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...

'', and developing the process for creating seamless live action shots with animated backgrounds. In 1985, after nearly 35 years at Disney, Iwerks left to form his own company called

. Iwerks became a leading developer of special films, special venues, and virtual reality theaters throughout the world. In 2019, Iwerks published a book titled ''Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor'' about father Ub Iwerks, his career, and his relationship with Walt Disney.

Awards

On March 23, 1998, at the

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...

show, Iwerks received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

. He was awarded the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, which is given each year by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry". On March 21, 1999, at the

71st Academy Awards The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p. ...

show, an

for Scientific and Technical Achievement was presented to Iwerks Entertainment for an innovation called the Iwerks 8/70 Linear Loop projection system. In 2009, Iwerks was inducted by

Bob Iger Robert Alan Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American media executive who is chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company. He previously was the president of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and p ...

and

Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney Order of St. Gregory the Great, KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his uncle, Walt Disney, and his ...

as a

Disney Legend Disney Legends is a Hall of Fame award that is awarded by The Walt Disney Company to individuals who " avemade a significant impact on the Disney legacy." The honor was established in 1987, and was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...

, honoring him as an individual whose "imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic".

References

External links

SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwerks, Don Living people 1929 births American animators American people of Frisian descent Disney Legends Recipients of the Gordon E. Sawyer Award

Career

Awards

References

Further reading

External links