Academy Award-winning special effects pioneer Don Iwerks dies at 96

Don Iwerks, a filmmaker and inventor who won Academy Awards for his special effects work, died peacefully on Thursday at the age of 96. The Walt Disney Company announced his death and remembered him as someone who changed the way movies and theme parks work. Iwerks spent most of his life building cameras, improving film technology, and helping create some of Disney's most famous attractions. His ideas are still used in Disney parks and movie theaters around the world.

Iwerks grew up around creativity and technology. His father, Ub Iwerks, was a talented animator who worked closely with Walt Disney. Ub even designed and animated 'Plane Crazy,' the very first Mickey Mouse cartoon. Don received his first camera at age 14 as a birthday gift from his father, and that gift sparked a lifelong passion for film and invention.

Don's father, Ub, met Walt Disney when both men were teenagers working at an art studio in Kansas City, Missouri. They went on to build one of the most famous entertainment companies in history together. Ub later returned to Disney as a special effects engineer and invented a 360-degree motion-picture camera. Don looked up to his father more than anyone else, calling him 'absolutely my inspiration.'

The Iwerks family moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1936. Don graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1947 and later served as a military photographer in Germany during the Korean War. After leaving the U.S. Army in 1952, he joined his father at Disney. An allergic reaction to film chemicals moved him to the Studio Machine Shop, where he worked for the next 34 years.

During his long career at Disney, Don worked on some very exciting projects. He spent three months underwater in the Bahamas filming scenes for the 1954 movie '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' He also worked on an early Disneyland attraction called 'A Tour of the West,' a 360-degree film shot using his father's Circarama camera system. These experiences helped him become one of Disney's most important technical minds.

Don and his father Ub worked together on several big inventions. One was the 'endless loop' system, which let a single film print play up to 10,000 times without breaking down. They also improved the photography tricks used in 'Mary Poppins,' which Don called his favorite Disney film. Their teamwork helped make Disney movies and attractions look more real and exciting than ever before.

One fun fact from Don's career involves his own hands. They were used as the model for Abraham Lincoln's hands in a famous Disneyland attraction called 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,' which opened in 1965. These are now known as the 'Iwerks Hands,' and copies of them appear on similar robotic figures in Disney parks all over the world. It is a quiet but lasting tribute to the man who helped build so much of Disney's magic.

In 1986, Don co-founded his own company called Iwerks Entertainment. The company became well known for making large-format films and creating 3-D movie systems. One of its biggest projects was the 3-D projection system used in the Terminator rides at Universal Studios parks in Hollywood and Florida. His company showed that his talent and drive did not stop when he left Disney.

Don Iwerks received some of the highest honors in the film industry. He won an honorary Gordon E. Sawyer Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as an Academy Scientific and Technical Award. These awards are given to people who make important contributions to how movies are made, rather than to the movies themselves. Don's work behind the scenes changed what was possible on screen.

Don is survived by his wife Betty, his sons Larry and John, John's wife Chris, and his daughter Leslie. His family described him as 'a humble genius, a consummate problem solver' who loved sharing what he knew with others. Don and his father Ub are both honored with a storefront window on Main Street U.S.A. in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The lettering on the window reads: 'Iwerks-Iwerks Stereoscopic Cameras — No Two Exactly Alike.'