Don Iwerks, the Disney Legend whose camera and projection innovations shaped Disney films and theme park attractions across seven decades, has died. The Walt Disney Company confirmed that Iwerks passed away the evening of July 9 at the age of 96.
In a statement, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said Iwerks embodied the rare combination of heart, ingenuity, and passion that has always defined Disney, adding that his contributions to some of the company’s most iconic films and attractions helped create experiences that have delighted generations of fans around the world. Iwerks was the eldest son of animator and fellow Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, the co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney’s earliest business partner.
A Career That Spanned Decades At Disney
Born July 24, 1929, in Dallas, Texas, Don Iwerks grew up in Southern California in a household where invention was a way of life. He followed his father to Walt Disney Productions in 1950, starting as a technician in the studio’s special photographic processes laboratory. His early tenure was interrupted by two years of service during the Korean War with the Army Signal Corps before he returned to the studio.
In January 1953, Iwerks transferred to the famed Studio Machine Shop, where he worked directly alongside his father and was soon promoted to camera technician. His first major film assignment was Walt Disney’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Over a 35-year Disney career, he went on to lead the Machine Shop, the Camera Service Department, and the studio’s Technical Engineering and Manufacturing Division.
Innovations That Changed Disney Parks And Film
Iwerks helped develop the 360-degree Circle-Vision camera system first used inside Circarama, U.S.A. when Disneyland opened in 1955. The Circle-Vision film “America the Beautiful” played at Disneyland for more than 17 years, and a later reshot version delighted guests at EPCOT, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Working alongside his father, he also refined the sodium vapor traveling matte process that allowed live action and animation to blend seamlessly in 1964’s “Mary Poppins,” including its beloved “Jolly Holiday” sequence.
His engineering touched an extraordinary range of Disney history, from equipment built for the 1964 to 1965 New York World’s Fair to the 3D camera system for “Captain EO” and the projection system for Star Tours. Generations of guests have also experienced his work without realizing it, as he served as the hand model for the Abraham Lincoln figure in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, casts that became a studio standard still known as the “Iwerks Hands” and used on Audio-Animatronics figures throughout Disney Parks worldwide. Much like the ongoing effort to honor Disney’s legacy performers, such as the tribute Disney paid when it remembered the passing of Mufasa voice James Earl Jones, Iwerks leaves a fingerprint on Disney storytelling that endures.
After 35 years with Disney, Iwerks co-founded Iwerks Entertainment, Inc. in 1986 with former Disney executive Stan Kinsey, building giant-screen theaters and 3D, motion-simulator attractions before the company was acquired by SimEx, Inc. in 2001. He received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ honorary Gordon E. Sawyer Award in 1997 and was named a Disney Legend at the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009. He and his father share a window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom reading “Iwerks-Iwerks Stereoscopic Cameras.” Iwerks is survived by his wife of 54 years, Betty; his sons, John and Larry; and his daughter, Leslie. You can read Disney’s full tribute on The Walt Disney Company website.
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