You’ve heard the tale of how Mickey Mouse was born on a train. And we all know Walt Disney was a pioneer of animation from its early days. But do you know the story of the man behind some of Walt’s greatest achievements? Disney Legend Ub Iwerks spent most of his career quietly helping Walt’s dreams become reality.
Let’s dive into the life and accomplishments of this lesser known – but hugely deserving – animation and technical wizard in this edition of Disney Legends Spotlight.
A Working Boy
Ubbe Ert Iwwerks was born in March 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri. Ubbe’s father was a German immigrant who moved to the United States at age 14. His father worked as a barber, and had fathered and abandoned several previous children and wives prior to Ubbe. When Ubbe was a teenager, his father abandoned him as well. As a result, Ubbe dropped out of Northeast High School in 1916 to help support his mother, working full time at the Union Bank Note Company. Sadly, Ubbe was so scarred by his father’s neglect, that he never spoke of him as an adult.
The Birth of Disney Animation
In 1919, when he was 18, Ubbe got a job at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, where he was hired to do lettering and air brush work. It was here that Ubbe’s life trajectory would forever be changed, when he met Walt Disney. Walt’s outgoing entrepreneurial manner contrasted Ubbe’s shy, quiet nature, yet the pair immediately clicked.
Both were 19 years old when – after being laid off from Pesmen-Rubin – they decided to start their own business. For a name, they decided on Iwerks-Disney Studio Commercial Artists (they determined that “Disney-Iwerks” sounded too much like the name of an eyeglass manufacturer). In an effort to help keep their fledgling business afloat, Walt took a job as an artist at the Kansas City Slide Company (later called the Kansas City Film Ad Company). Ubbe held down the fort at their studio. However, Ubbe’s quiet, introverted nature was exactly the opposite of the salesmanship that was needed to grow a new enterprise. The Iwerks-Disney studio closed shortly after, and Walt got Ubbe a job working with him at the Film Ad Company.
But Walt wanted to try again. In 1922 he left the Film Ad Company to form his own enterprise called Laugh-O-Gram. Ubbe (who around this time shortened his name from “Ubbe Iwwerks” to “Ub Iwerks”) joined him immediately and was the key animator in producing six modernized animated cartoons based on classic fairy tales. Walt was unable to secure a successful distribution deal for their cartoons, and the business went bankrupt.