Editing Ub Iwerks (section)

{{Short description|American animator and special effects pioneer (1901–1971)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| image         = Ub-iwerks.jpg
| caption       = Iwerks animating his most famous co-creation, [[Mickey Mouse]] {{circa|1929}}
| birth_name    = Ubbe Ert Iwerks
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1901|3|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S. 
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1971|7|7|1901|3|24|mf=y}}
| death_place   = [[Burbank, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery]]
| occupation    = {{flatlist|
*Animator
*cartoonist
*film producer
*inventor
*special effects technician}}
| years_active  = 1919–1971<ref name="korkis">{{Cite web |last=Korkis |first=Jim |date=July 1, 2020 |title=Who Was Ub Iwerks? |url=https://www.mouseplanet.com/12692/Who_Was_Ub_Iwerks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506011800/https://www.mouseplanet.com/12692/Who_Was_Ub_Iwerks |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |access-date=May 2, 2022}}</ref>
| spouse        = {{marriage|Mildred Sarah Henderson|1927}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mildred Sarah Henderson 1899–7 July 1971 (Age 72) |url=https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KCRW-KTK/mildred-sarah-henderson-1899-1971 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=[[FamilySearch]]}}</ref>
| notable_works = {{Plainlist|
* [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]]
* [[Mickey Mouse]]
* [[Flip the Frog]]
}}
| children      = 2, including [[Don Iwerks]]
| employer      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]] (1923–1930, 1940–1964)
* [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Leon Schlesinger Productions]] (1937)
* [[Columbia Pictures]] (1937–1940)
* Cartoon Films Limited (1936–1940)<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 7, 2016 |title='Minitoons' from Cartoon Films LTD/ Animated Cartoons Inc. |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/minitoons-from-cartoon-films-ltd-animated-cartoons-inc/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502180015/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/minitoons-from-cartoon-films-ltd-animated-cartoons-inc/ |archive-date=May 2, 2022 |access-date=May 2, 2022}}</ref>
}}
| relatives     = [[Leslie Iwerks]] (granddaughter)
| signature     = Ub Iwerks Signature.png
}}
'''Ubbe Ert''' "'''Ub'''" '''Iwerks''' ({{IPAc-en|ʌ|b|_|ˈ|aɪ|w|ɜr|k|s}} {{respell|ub|_|EYE|wurks}}; March 24, 1901&nbsp;– 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 for having worked on the development of the design of the character of [[Mickey Mouse]], among others. Born in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], Iwerks met fellow artist [[Walt Disney]] while working at a Kansas City art studio in 1919. 

After briefly working as illustrators for a local newspaper company, Disney and Iwerks ventured into animation together. Iwerks joined Disney as chief animator on the [[Laugh-O-Gram]] shorts series beginning in 1922, but a studio bankruptcy would cause Disney to relocate to [[Los Angeles]] in 1923. In the new studio, Iwerks continued to work with Disney on the ''[[Alice Comedies]]'' as well as the creation of the [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]] character. Following the first ''Oswald'' short, both Universal Pictures and the Winkler Pictures production company insisted that the Oswald character be redesigned. At the insistence of Disney, Iwerks designed a number of new characters for the studio, including designs that would be used for [[Clarabelle Cow]] and [[Horace Horsecollar]].

One of Iwerks' most long-lasting contributions to animation was a refined version of a sketch drawn by Disney that would later go on to become [[Mickey Mouse]]. Iwerks was responsible for much of the animation for the early Mickey Mouse and ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' cartoons, including ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'', ''[[The Skeleton Dance]]'' and ''[[The Haunted House (1929 film)|The Haunted House]]'', before a falling out with Disney led to Iwerks' resignation from the studio in January 1930. Iwerks' final ''Mickey Mouse'' cartoon was 1930's ''[[The Cactus Kid (1930 film)|The Cactus Kid]]''. Following his separation with Disney, Iwerks, operating under [[Iwerks Studio]], created the characters [[Flip the Frog]] and [[Willie Whopper]] along with the ''[[ComiColor Cartoons]]'' series as part of a contract with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], but the new studio failed to rival its competitors. Iwerks later directed two ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon shorts for [[Leon Schlesinger Productions]] and several ''[[Color Rhapsody]]'' cartoons for [[Screen Gems]] before joining Disney again in 1940, after which he worked with special visual effects on productions such as 1946's ''[[Song of the South]]''.

Iwerks had two children, [[Don Iwerks|Donald Warren Iwerks]] and David Lee Iwerks, with his wife Mildred Sarah Henderson. Iwerks died of a heart attack in [[Burbank, California]], in 1971 at age 70. Iwerks was posthumously named a [[Disney Legend]] in 1989. His likeness has been featured in his granddaughter [[Leslie Iwerks]]' 1999 documentary ''The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story'' as well as the 2014 feature film ''[[Walt Before Mickey]]'', in which he is portrayed by [[Armando Gutierrez]]. Iwerks received three nominations at the [[Academy Awards]], for which he won one. He also posthumously received the [[Winsor McCay Award]] at the 1978 [[Annie Awards]] and the Hall of Fame award at the 2017 [[Visual Effects Society Awards]].